A little time to enjoy eternity

black color that it was as if the void itself had taken

shape. It was cold and hard to breathe. Was

the flow really running out of oxygen? Or maybe he didn’t notice and was

poked by another piece of black arrow? Keijigen

tried not to move, trying to figure out what he could

do to get out of the vortex, but his thoughts were slow

and nothing came to mind.

Another change in the flow direction significantly changed

the positions of flying objects. It hit him on the head

some newspaper. He decided not to take it off, because the extra

movement caused pain. But then something soft bumped into him

.

«Green Alley, find Reana,»

a low voice told him.

With his good hand, Keijigen tore the newspaper off his face

and saw the angel that Milo had been

talking to outside the hunting lodge a few minutes ago.

He smiled to himself. Yeah, compared

to what was happening right now, the conversation was very nice.

Keijigen tilted his head and looked at him.

It was difficult to call him an angel now:

a black arrow was running through his chest from right to left, and his left arm, broken

in the shoulder and forearm, hung unnaturally down. His face

was scratched and covered with blood, and his white clothes were no

longer white, covered with dirt, blood, and dirt.

17

«This is a meeting,» Keijigen said softly.

Without opening his eyes, the angel repeated in a barely audible voice, «Find

Reana.» Return stone… around your neck…

It was hard for him to speak, the black

arrow in his chest moved with every word, something gurgled, and

blood came out of his mouth. He hung up. Or died.

Keijigen struggled to think through his words. His thoughts flowed

like jelly, and he didn’t know if seconds or minutes were passing

,hours or days. «On the neck… what’s on the neck, what’s on the neck?…»

As luck would have it, the angel landed on the side of the burned

palm, and Keijigen had to roll

over to reach the unfortunate man with his good hand. A groan escaped

his mouth as he grazed a piece of black spear sticking

out of his leg, and for a second he lost consciousness. «Where am I? Who am I?»

When he came back to himself, he remembered why he had rolled over.

«Come on! he groaned, holding out his good hand

.«Got it!»

Keijigen found the chain around the angel’s neck. It was rather

thin and cold, and it slid between his fingers, and he

turned it over and over until he found a small

,rounded object in his hand.

– And what’s your activation code, light ones?».. he

sighed. «I hope you don’t

change the factory settings either…» and pressed a certain

sequence of runes located on the stone.

At the same time, a blue beam from somewhere below caught

the angel, and Keijigen wrapped his arms around him as best he could, and an unknown

force pulled them out of the stream, and everything around them flashed

like rainbow sparks, and they plopped down on the grass, wet

from the recent rain.

Keijigen fainted again from the pain, and a piece of the black

spear clattered and almost flew out of his leg. Opening his eyes at

last, he got up, took off his half-torn

jacket, wrapped it around his arm, and pulled out the hated fragment.

18

Blood immediately filled the wound. He tied it up with the same

piece of jacket and got to his feet.

It was dark and quiet. People were sleeping. Next to it was a white

two-story house, surrounded by bushes and flowers, smelling

of roses. A dim streetlamp illuminated the street. In the dark sky

there was a moon and a few stars. Keijigen took a deep

breath. Life seems to be getting better, he thought,

but then he remembered his companion, who was lying

unconscious on the bed. His chest was slightly raised,

which made him assume that he was alive, and decided to walk around the house

to see where they were.

A few meters to their left,

a gate and porch with a white wooden door appeared behind a large rose bush

.On the mailbox, Keijigen read: Green

Alley, 7, Reana Dammer. «Oh,» he said, «it looks

like we’re here.» Then there was a commotion and he hurried

back.

On the other side of the house, there was a glass-enclosed

porch and another door that Keijigen hadn

’t noticed at first. It opened and a girl ran out

He was wearing bare-footed sneakers, casual clothes, and a striped

zip-up jacket.

19

CHAPTER 5. THE FIND

Lina ran as fast as she could without stopping until

she was almost out of breath from running. «It seems to be over… Today

this is clearly the most unusual day of my life,

she thought. She’d never wanted

to be home again so badly. With your own people. It was as if she had looked at the whole picture.

your life on the other side. There was a desire

to spend time with my younger brother, help him with his lessons,

come to my mother’s shop after school, do something

useful, and in general, hug her and whisper in her ear that

she was doing great. Sit down to dinner with them, listen

to Michael’s ridiculous stories, and have a nice chat with him, too

.She switched from running to walking. It suddenly became

very important for her to tell her friends that they were wonderful and loved

.Tears welled up in her eyes. «Probably everyone

is asleep right now, and I will have to go quietly and unnoticed into the house

and wait until morning until everyone wakes up to remind

them how much I love them!» -some wave of kindness and tenderness washed

over her.

She thought of Mara, and she wanted to hug

her friend and tell her everything, all the strange things that had happened

today, but then something tinkled behind her. The girl looked around.

A few feet away from her was a broken mirror,

which reflected the moon brightly.

20

When she came closer, she was very surprised to see that it

was not a mirror at all, but a sword lying in front of her. Her heart

began to pound again, and Lina recognized it, for it was in the hands of an-

gel, who had descended from heaven. The girl looked around —

no one. She looked up at the sky and shouted:

– You’re lost here…

But her voice broke, and she didn’t repeat it.

No one responded.

Lina crouched down. She’d watched a lot of movies and decided not to touch such things with her bare hands.

With one finger, through a three-fold

handkerchief, she touched the sword – nothing happened. Then,

without letting go of her handkerchief, she took

hold of her hand with two fingers. The cloth slipped, and Lina almost dropped the sword, but

when she reached out with all her hands, she caught it – again, nothing.

«Ugh,» she breathed out in relief, and took a

more comfortable grip on the hilt, twirling the sword in the air.

It was small and very light, but it still

felt balanced. The girl felt the handle

shake, changing its shape, and now

lay as comfortably as possible in her hand. It didn’t seem cold, even though

it looked like the sword was made of a solid piece

of metal. And the metal was strange, unknown. Silvery

as a mirror, it reflected everything around it. The blade was very sharp.

The handle on top was quite

simple: a slight bend and curl to the right and left.

It ended in a curve at the bottom, a strange head

with open, empty eyes. Nothing more to note-

It was empty, and Lina hurried to put it

back in her backpack, but the sword fell out immediately, cutting a small hole in the bottom

.Then the girl wrapped it in a jacket and, having already

stuffed this bag into her backpack, went to the house.

In front of the house, Lina checked to

make sure the sword was wrapped up well, to see if there was a glint anywhere. She

didn’t want to tell anyone about the strange find just yet.

21

Everyone was asleep at home. The girl tiptoed

into her room, kicked off her shoes, flopped down on the bed

,and fell asleep.

22

CHAPTER 6. THE AWAKENING

Inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale, then faster, faster, even

faster. Reana woke up and sat up in bed. It wasn

’t bad, but it was also restless. It seemed that something was wrong. The girl

got up, went to the kitchen and drank cold water. I lay

back down. I couldn’t sleep. Hot. Opened – cold. I rolled

over on my pillow – it was hot. I slid down to the floor – ho-

lodno. She sat up, leaning her back against the bed. Sleep was gone with

everything, I wanted to get up and run somewhere far away, right

into the night haze.

Reana threw on a long button-down shirt and

went downstairs. Turning on the TV, she quickly ran through 25

channels and, not finding anything interesting for herself, turned it off.-

I found him and stood by the window. She was always drawn somewhere, always

feeling that she had to do something

important and necessary right now, but what exactly —

did not occur to her.

She was looking up at the dark sky, trying to remember

if she had forgotten something, when she saw

that a meteorite had fallen into the garden. Or a comet. Or something else.

It gave off a bluish light, but she couldn’t see

what it was. There was only a flash, and then she

heard a thud. Right in her garden, just a few

steps away.

23

Reana had always wanted to find a meteorite, so her

first thought was to find it. And the fact that he fell very

close to her made her so happy that she forgot about everything:»

This is such an incredible event! I will have my own space kuso-

check! I can go to exhibitions with it if it

’s big enough. Running,

knocking over a stool that got in her way, she rushed into the

corridor, pulled on her sneakers and jacket, and ran out through the veranda

into the garden.

When she opened the door and jumped down two steps

at a time, the girl suddenly stopped. Exiting the do-

As she stared into the darkness, for a few moments she could see

nothing but the foliage of the lush garden shrubs.

«And why didn’t I bring a flashlight or smartphone to

dedicate? I won’t find anything, she thought.

But his eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness.

She saw a man lying on the lawn and froze.

There was a rustle to the right as another one came around the corner. A dark-

haired man in a light shirt was dragging his right leg

and holding on to the fence. It was hard to see the details in the moonlight and

the dim streetlamp, but it was pretty

creepy.

The man was getting closer and closer, about three meters away,

and then he said her name and some words. At first Reana

didn’t understand, but he repeated it again, and it seemed to her that it

was a request for help. The last words began to echo strangely

in my head, then all over my body. The hands

rose of their own accord and stretched out, and

streams of glowing green smoke flew from the tips of the fingers

,flew to the stranger, wrapped around him, and then disappeared.

Her hands were obedient again. Reana

looked at them in surprise, as if hoping to read an explanation

for what had happened, but there was nothing there. Ordinary palms

with a nearly healed cut from a stationery knife and a smudge

of ink.

24

The man looked up from the fence and patted his right

leg.

He was no longer limping, but walked over to the ground

and looked at Reana:

– I actually thought you’d start with him.»

After a few seconds of stupor, the girl also went to the second one.

She had never seen

so much blood near him in her life.

What should I do? – What is it? «she asked

in an agitated voice.

«I don’t know,» the stranger said, and spread his hands. —

Cure him. And preferably as soon as possible!

Reana crouched down to examine the wounded man and thought that

she should probably run to call an ambulance, but suddenly her hand was

drawn like a magnet to the spot just above where

the black arrow had pierced her chest. Once again, the greenish light

began to sparkle and sparkle around the

unconscious man. His broken arm

took shape, something snapped, the bone snapped

back into place, the blood and scratches disappeared from his face and clothes,

and he breathed more deeply and evenly, but the arrow remained

where it was. Reana snatched her hand away.

– It doesn’t work! – No, «she said. «We need to remove this!» she

gripped the black shaft with both hands.

«Wait!» The stranger shouted at her, but it was

too late.

Reana couldn’t help but scream. She jumped

back and looked at her hands – which were covered with red blisters

,as if she had grabbed a pot of boiling water. But then

green light streamed out of her hands, illuminating the garden, and the

burn marks disappeared as if nothing had happened, except for the strip of old

cut that continued to turn pink on the side.

Reana ran back to the wounded man. As luck would have it, it started

to rain.

25

«We should probably take him inside,»

she said.

«No, we can’t go to the hospital,» the stranger told her,»

at least not until we have a chance

to sort this out.»

He picked up

the man lying on the ground with no effort at all, carried him across the verandah into the house

,and laid him on the sofa.

– At least there’s something left, «he muttered under

his breath as he passed the veranda, and then said to Reana,

«I’ll put the arrow away, don’t touch it.»

He picked up a cloth napkin from the table, wrapped it around his arm

,and snapped off the back of the arrow. Then

he lifted the wounded man off the pillow, yanked the arrow

out of his body, and threw it far into the corner of the room. The wreckage

they hissed and melted away. Blood spurted from the hole in his chest

,and Reana ran to him, putting her hand on his arm.

above the wound and closed her eyes.

A queasy, unpleasant feeling

came over her, as if she had been seasick on a train. It seemed that she herself

was being dragged down by an unknown force, pulled

inside this man, and that there was no air to breathe

,but after a couple of minutes it was all over. She let out an exhausted sigh

and lowered her head. The man on the couch took a deep breath.

He was asleep. Not a trace

of the terrible wound remained on his chest.

– Are you all right?» The dark – haired stranger

nudged Reana’s shoulder.

«Yes, yes, I’m fine,» she said, looking up

. – Or rather, what is in order there! her voice grew louder

. – What’s going on?» Who are you? What am I doing?

This is some kind of nonsense, I don’t understand!

The man took a few steps back

and forth across the room.

26

«You know,» he said pointedly,»I

don’t understand it myself yet. But all that’s clear is that

the three of us» – and he pointed to Reana, the sleeping man, and himself-

«are in some terrible and dangerous scrape, and we

’d better stick together and keep a low profile.

We’ll wait until this one wakes up – " the stranger pointed with some

hostility at the man lying on the sofa. —

Maybe he knows what’s going on…

The guest tore the remnants of his torn tie from his neck and

tossed them on the floor, then continued to pace

thoughtfully.

Reana stared at him, batting her

lashes. «I got into trouble. It’s scary, it’s very scary

.I’m stupid, I can’t get into trouble. It’s not going to end

well.»

The stranger suddenly saw the bottle

through the transparent door of the sideboard. «May I?» —

What is it? «he asked, pointing to it.

«Yes, of course,» Reana said. «Please don’t

get too drunk, because I don’t know what to do,»

and I thought,«What nonsense I’m talking.»

Mentally berating herself for being naive, she went to kuh-

nu for a drink.

– I don’t get drunk at all!» A voice answered

as Reana entered the kitchen. «Alcohol just

calms me down. A little bit.

When she returned with a shot glass, she saw that the guest had already

settled into a chair, his feet propped up on the coffee table,

right on the white lace napkins, sipping cognac

from his throat. He took the proffered glass and set

it on the table beside him. Then he patted his chest.

«Holy shit, I lost my phone,» he said, and smiled.

She forced a smile in return:

27

– Can I give you mine? If you need

to make a phone call somewhere…

– Not yet, thank you. I need to think about it,»

the visitor said, and took another swig from the bottle.

28

CHAPTER 7. AT BREAKFAST

Birds were singing in the garden. Dawn began to break.

Reana made herself a cheese sandwich and

sat down in the chair opposite. She offered a boo-

terbrod to her guest, who declined and sat lost

in thought.

Deciding not to press him with questions, she simply

watched, hoping that something might become clearer.

Who is sitting in front of her with their booted feet unceremoniously propped up

on her coffee table?

The stranger’s hair was tousled, as if he

had been in a strong wind. His black eyes

were fixed on a single point, and he held his hand thoughtfully

near his cheek, where a light stubble was growing on it.

An expensive watch glinted from under the sleeve of his white shirt, which was torn and stained

in several places.

Probably, dear ones. Reana didn’t know much about it, but the cha-

si caught her eye, and they looked interesting,

inside, there were many mechanisms that

constantly spun, and all this resembled a kaleidoscope

of parts, arrows and gears. On the belt of his trousers, she

noticed a metal buckle with a picture of the head of

an angry bull, which, as it seemed to

her, did not match the classic trousers.

29

The guest had already finished the rest of his brandy. Indeed, it

looked as if he hadn’t been drunk at all. His eyes

remained focused.

He swirled the empty bottle in his hand, set it

on the table, and finally looked at Reana. She had already finished her bread

and was also looking at him in silence.

«I didn’t introduce myself,» he said suddenly. «My name is

Keijigen.

«Nice to meet you, and I’m Reana.»

– I know…

She pointed

to the pool of blood that had dripped from the sofa to the floor when they

had taken out the arrow.

– Yes, of course…

«It’s a pity, the sofa is light,» Reana said, wiping

the floor, «I’ll probably have to take it to the dry cleaners,»

and again she thought to herself that she had said something stupid or at

least something inappropriate. – Are you sure we

don’t need to take him to the hospital?» She asked about

the other one.

The man seemed to hear, stirred, gave a heavy gasp, and

opened his eyes, startling Reana.

The second guest turned out to be quite different from the first:

large curls of blond hair falling almost to

his shoulders, a manly face with expressive eyebrows

and a strong chin, blue eyes. He probably

would have looked like a movie star if he hadn’t been wearing a strange baggy

hoodie that had once been white,

but was now completely rumpled and dirty, giving him the

appearance of a ragamuffin.

he felt the

spot where the arrow used to stick out, then looked at Reana

and smiled a snow-white smile. – I had no doubt

you could do it!» He exclaimed happily, and snatched it up.

Reanu in his arms.

31

She tried to pull away from him, but

it was absolutely impossible. After a few seconds, he

released her himself, got up from the couch, and looked around.

«So that’s what it’s like to be a mortal! – What is it? «he shouted loudly

.«Stand up, demon, when he’s talking to you…

«You’ll be fine,» Keijigen interrupted. «You

owe me one, light one. If it wasn’t for me, black arrow would have already killed you.

finished it off, «he muttered in a disgruntled voice.

– I’m not that easy to kill!» – raising a finger up,

the blonde retorted. – Even in a human body,

as it turns out, I’m incredibly resilient and strong! —

he concluded. Then he added – " I don’t feel very well… I

can’t understand… it’s like something’s missing… my mouth is

too dry…

Reana poured him some water from a decanter and handed him a glass.

«Here, take this, please.

He gently took the glass from her.

– What’s that?“ – What is it? „he asked softly.

«It’s water, you drink it,» Keiji —

kyung explained with a sigh and covered his face with his hand.

«Drinking?» Oh, yes, of course! Since I am now a mortal,

enjoy all the delights of being human. So? and he

gulped down the water, spilling the rest out of carelessness. – From-

in person! Invigorates!

– Maybe you’re hungry.» Ryo-

ana asked quietly.

– I want to! Of course I do! the visitor exclaimed.

«At least introduce yourself, angel,» Keijigen drawled with boredom in his voice

and without removing his hand from his face.

«Call me Damiel.» I’ve

had that name for thousands of years, even though it doesn’t matter in our world, but it’s true.

As I labored here on Earth, the elder brotherhood

gave me the name Damiel-the lightbringer, «waving the ru-

kami, the guest said as he followed Ryoana into

the kitchen.

32

– Eat rice, pasta and fried chicken. What do you need?

Reana asked.

«To your taste!» Damiel replied. – How

unusual it is that I can see you the way people see you!»

This whole world-it looks different, plays with completely

different colors! It’s such an incredible experience! – What is it?»

he raved.

– Do you know me?» Reana asked. From all these

conversations, she got a bit of a sense of what was going on, deciding that

her guests before were probably not people, but

someone else.

She warmed up the food in the microwave and set it in front of the table.

Damiel brought a cup and cutlery, poured herself and him

orange juice, and sat down on the stool opposite.

He examined the fork, then began

to thread chicken and macaroni slices on it and put them in his mouth.

«Mmm, this is a wonderful dish,»

he purred with his mouth full. «Yes, of course I do! I

’ve been protecting you since you were a child! I helped you when it was difficult

and not very much, I was present in your studio when

masterpieces were born. Do you remember when you were laying out a mosaic

of rose petals and decided to add

cornflowers at the last minute? I suggested it. It was wonderful,

wasn’t it?

When Reana heard about the cornflowers, she choked on her orange

juice.

– That’s impossible! How can you possibly know? – What is it?»

she whispered.

«Oh, I know so much! I used to be a disembodied

spirit, I was everywhere. He swirled his fork in the air

.«But something’s happened – » —

I became a human being for some reason. They tried to kill me.

But you saved me, and I’m fine now —

«he said, chewing again.

Keijigen entered the kitchen.

33

– Will you have chicken and pasta? I asked him

Reana.

«No, no, thank you, I don’t need anything,» he waved at ru —

kami, then pulled up a chair and turned to Damiel: —

So… We became mortals. What happened? «No,» he said, spreading out his hands.