he understands what I’m saying. But he can’t. He can never know. He follows his Father blindly while the rest of us struggle to make sense of even the simplest of things. It’s faith, Cal/Big Eddie/Abe whisper. It’s faith pure and simple. Sometimes, oh sometimes, you’re not meant to understand.
“It’s not a game,” Michael agrees. “And maybe I was a little harsh when I said it as such when we first met. I did not know then what I know now.”
“What happened?”
Michael hesitates.
“Tell me!”
“Father revealed the whole of the design to Calliel,” he says. “The outcomes of his decisions, however far down the line they could go. He gave Calliel the choice of who to save on that day.”
“Why didn’t he save my father?” I croak out. “Why did he choose to save Griggs?”
“Sacrifice, Benji. It all comes back to sacrifice. Choices are never meant to be black and white. By saving your father, he would ensure he would have lived a long and healthy life, that he would have been by your side for decades to come until one day, at the age of ninety-eight, he would have died peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by you, your partner, your children and grandchildren. He would have been so loved by the family you would have had.”
“And by saving Griggs?”
“By saving Griggs, he potentially ensured the survival of humanity.”
“What?”
Michael looks down at his hands. “Should the business of the Elementals on the other plane of existence resolve in the way we hope and all the worlds be saved, there will come a time, a hundred years from now, when there will be the possibility that a man will rise in the East on this plane with the intent to destroy all he sees. His fate will be decided by a simple action by George Griggs. Two years after your father died, Griggs helped save a young woman involved in a car accident. Because of him, she lived and will go on to give birth to a daughter. That daughter will grow up and give birth to a son. That son will save another woman from a fire, who in turn will live and give birth to twins. And so on and so forth, down the line, until the necessary opposition will rise against the man in the East, and humanity will have a fighting chance.
“My father revealed more of the design to Calliel than he ever had to anyone before. Calliel was left with a choice of whether to ensure your happiness or to make sure the world has a chance at survival should this dark man rise, long after you’ve already gone.”
“He punished him,” I say bitterly. “What you’re trying to say is that he punished him for loving me.”
“Sacrifice, Benji. It all comes down to sacrifice. And while the decision was difficult on Calliel, he made the only one he could, the only one an angel in his position could.”
“And it had nothing to do with jealousy?” I snap at him. “Cal saw my future if my father had lived. You said I had my own family with me when my father died. Cal was obviously not in it. You don’t think that influenced his decision at all?”
Michael looks at me sharply. “Does anything you know about Calliel suggest pettiness?” he asks, his voice hard. “I know you’re angry, and I know it hurts, but think carefully before you speak, child. You’re not a stupid boy, so don’t act like one.”
Ashamed, I look away. He’s right. Of course he’s right. Calliel doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. But even though it’s not fair to him, I still can’t find a way to soothe the anger burning through my veins. He could have saved my father. Cal could have saved Big Eddie and I would have had him for a lifetime.
“Why did he fall, then?” I ask.
“Because of your grief, Benji. Calliel was finding it harder and harder to live with the consequences of his decision. He broke protocol by making a promise to your father, one that was not his to make.”
“What promise?”
“Think, Benji. You know. You’ve seen this. You’ve heard this. You’ve been there. It was in—”
the river
“—your dreams. You’ve been getting closer and closer every time, and you finally heard what you were supposed to hear.”
I close my eyes and in the dark, I remember the river:
You have to protect him. If you are who you say you are, if you are a guardian angel,