The flight of birds in the tranquil sky was interrupted by the roar of a bell. The sound vibrated in the air—an expansive wave that forced the winged creatures to spread their feathers, fleeing from the insistent tolling that shook the atmosphere. The eyes watching their dance in the heights blinked when a cold spray of holy water struck them, soaking the skin with a freezing dampness.
The air mixed with the scent of melted wax, withered flowers, and burning copal, saturating every breath. Janab lowered her head, wiping with her fingers the face dripping with sacred liquid, feeling the droplets slide down her neck.
—One cannot even walk peacefully in this place. The ways to ruin the moment are many —Dan murmured, watching her as if he expected to find some kind of suffering or something more revealing and somber in her nature. His gaze was incisive, dissecting her every micro-gesture.
She received the rite of purification and blessing, but there was no special reaction—only the sensation of being splashed by something alien, a liquid that cleansed nothing, but merely made her wet.
—I am sorry; we have made you wait —Ana approached with her hand extended, seeking Janab's greeting. Her palm was warm and soft, contrasting with the cold that still lingered on Janab's skin.
Until then, Dan looked at the barefoot faithful advancing amidst chants and flickering tapers toward the entrance of the temple, where he intended to lead Janab.
The candle flames were reflected in his pupils, void of devotion. He himself had planned this encounter as an apology, but in reality, he was anxious to convince himself that their meeting did not obey chance, but rather an invisible thread binding them.
Ana led the way, inviting them to follow the path of the procession toward the opaque stained-glass windows that formed the building's inner doors, adorned with colorful flowers from the walls to the ceiling, where a Renaissance painting was elevated and sanctified by the procession. The light filtered through in tinted hues, projecting colored shapes onto the stone floor.
—Since this is the month of the angels, each of these portals represents an archangel. They have been adorned for the great celebration —Ana explained as they moved inside. Her voice bounced off the high vaults, multiplying.
Janab's attention was lost in the six feathered wings covering strange beings revolving around a human eye. Most sacred precincts always showed beautiful figures of celestial beings, but this was the first time she had encountered such a disturbing painting. The painted eyes seemed to follow her movements. Drawn by the tetramorphs, she moved forward to look closely at that utterly overwhelming angelic representation, feeling a slight vertigo upon contemplating the multiplicity of gazes on the canvas.
—It is quite terrifying, don't you think? —Dan smiled at her, moving closer until his body covered the lower part of the mural—. They say angels took human forms so as not to frighten men when they manifested.
Janab turned; her face almost brushed Dan's, who was studying her so closely and without disguise. The proximity was invasive—a subtle transgression that forced her to recoil even as it left her motionless.
—Isaiah... —her lips parted, her voice barely perceptible, escaping like a fatal error.
That slip evoked an inexplicable chill that ran through Dan's entire body. The mention of the name froze the air between them. He would have tried to pull more words from those lips, but Ana's voice forced him to straighten up, breaking the spell.
—They are the messengers of God; we must not fear them. They protect us from the darkness and from everything that comes out of it. Achieving the purification of an archangel can erase any curse.
Ana tucked her hair behind her ear; her expression, too bright, was like the sun giving light to the moon: a chance to live in clarity. Janab, who had always felt distant from the light promised in such places, found her too alive and too affable... and perhaps, too likable. Ana's benevolence felt as beautiful to her as the wings painted on the ceiling.
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