Trapped [YWC]

Joshua walked down the road, his backpack slung across his shoulder, and though many cars stopped to ask if he wanted a ride, he only smiled and said no thank you. They just wouldn't accept the fact that he wasn't hitch-hiking, that he was just walking, taking the time to clear his thoughts. He was on a highway in the middle of nowhere, walking and waiting.

A car slowed down, a black Toyota Celica, pulled off to the side of the road, and stopped ahead of him. Oh geez, he thought, another wanna-be charitable family. He braced for the pain of denying charity.

The car waited. He got to the driver's window which was down already, and glanced inside, a solo female driver.

“I'm not hitch-hiking,” he stated blatantly, “I didn't have my thumb out. There's no reason for you to stop.” It was a line he had rehearsed many times over.

“I saw that. What I want to know is why someone would be walking down a highway in the middle of nowhere. THAT'S why I stopped.” She looked back at him, through her sunglasses, and he couldn't see her eyes, which bothered him. He would entertain a conversation with her, however briefly, and then suddenly felt a sort of mystery overcome him.

“I'm here to find myself again, to answer your question. I'm waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“I'll know when I find it.”

At that point she lifted her sunglasses, and looked back at him. Her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

“A ride to the next town? And conversation? Is that what you are offering me?”

“Get in.”

She shifted gears and started driving again once he had buckled his seat belt.

“So what's your story, uhm, didn't get your name yet. I'm Sam. Short for Samantha.”

“I call myself Joshua, Josh for you,” he said as he smiled back at her.

“So what's your story, Josh? I am driving cross country to visit relatives in Ohio. I wouldn't mind some company.”

“It's a long one.”

“We have time.”

He looked at her.
“How do you know I won't hurt you, or do something wyrd. You're a very attractive female that shouldn't be picking up strangers.”

“I'm not too worried about you. I have a sixth sense about these things.”

“What else does your extra sense tell you about me?”

She was quite for a moment. He felt the connection.

“That there's nothing to worry about.” She looked at him, and stated, “nothing at all.”

“I'm listening,” she said to break the silence, “Go on with your story.”

He looked at her, and explained that he could be clinically certified as insane, and she smiled at him, making him feel at ease, a feeling he hadn't felt in hundreds of years. She didn't judge him, she just wanted to listen. So he talked to her, and explained to her his past, and why he was walking alone.

“I'm fallen, Sam, as in angels.”

She looked back at him quizically, obviously intrigued.

“I fell from grace. It was my choice. Everyone has the freedom to choose their path, and I choose mine. I decided to join the rebellion against God, and was cast out from heaven with all the other people who thought like me. We rebelled because we thought our own desires to be better than his, and in heaven in retrospect, there is no place for inequality. Hard lesson learned well. I'm constantly learning new things. It's one of my gifts I've retained.”

“Sooo, you are seriously telling me you used to be an angel in the presence of God?”

“Pretty much.” He braced for her to slam on the brakes to let him out. She kept driving smoothly down the road. “I've fallen.”

The road passed by as they drove along.

Sam broke the silence. “So what you are saying is that you are one of the bad guys, like the devil's servants and #? The ones cast out of heaven?”

“I'm one of those. I chose to upset the perfect balance, my thoughts desiring mortal life and love. As a fallen I can only taste them for a moment, and they are once again gone from me, ripping life from my very soul. I can't have balance nor love, forever torn and tormented in my heart. It's fitting for my behaviour, and I accept the path I'm on.”

“So there's really no hope for you?”

“I've only found one way to be redeemed.”

“Oh, you have?” She was thinking about slamming on her brakes at any moment.

“It's love.”
“What do you know about love, you supposed fallen angel? Seems to me like you'd be the last to know about that!”

“Angels are a manifestation of love. Having fallen, I can't express my love anymore, until I find love in this earthly realm. Fallens usually are evil and debase, but many of us only want to restore the balance, and have learned from the great mistake. Why else do you think evil is so rampant in the world today? Can't you see the imbalance? We still have certain abilities left to us. There are those of us out there that do care.”

“So why the hell are you walking along this god-forsaken highway? Feeling sorry for yourself?”

He smiled inside. She had spunk.

“No, not really. Finding love is an ardurous task. I was walking and waiting. Nothing more. You're the car that stopped, I believe.”

“I stopped because I thought you were hot, and I sensed you were harmless. Who's to say I don't tie you up and torture you tonight. Who's to say how I think? Your life is in my hands as well.”

“So you see the balance.”

She remained silent as she continued driving.

“I'm trapped here, Samantha. I really am. Until I can re-establish that connection with pure love, your god, nirvana, utopia, or whatever you damn well please, I'm stuck here.”

“So you need love to get back home?”

“In a nutshell.”

She looked at him, his weathered face, and felt his simple soul, and she couldn't help but love him.

“So what happens to me after I give you my love?”

“It depends on if you believe my cracker jack story. It depends on how much you believe. There are no guarantees.”

“No. I can't do it. I've been hurt too many times before.”

He sat there in the passenger seat, and exuded his love. She felt it. He knew she did.

“I'm offering you a taste of heaven, mortal woman. It's all we can have in this life, but one taste of heaven here is worth a lifetime. Your love is the price for my redemption.”

“Nope, not happening.”

He sat silent for several miles.

She eventually reached out her hand and rested it on his leg.
“I can't afford to believe you Joshua. My heart has been broken way too many times already. I'm not being cruel, I'm just being honest.”

“Then why touch me?”

“It's because I want to.”

“So what do you feel?”

“Sincerity, honesty, and love.”

“It was my choice to fall. I could've stayed there. My desicion was to find someone who loved me, and I left paradise to find her. Eternity is nothing felt alone, and without love it gets really boring. I had to fall because I was unhappy. I search now. I was walking and waiting.” He looked at her. “It was my choice.”

“So let me get this straight. You fell from perfection to find love? Isn't heaven pure love?”

“It's eternity.”

“So you fell to experience love? I'm the stupid mortal?”

“It was my choice to be separated. I was part of the rebellion. I chose mortality.”

She looked at him. She was tired from driving.

“I will continue driving if you need sleep. Do you trust me to drive?”

“Uhm, yes, I do.”

They pulled off into the next rest area, and switched seats. He continued down the road, and within minutes she was fast asleep.

Sooooo, Is that the end because I am hooked and wanting to know what happens next, or are you suppose to come up with your own conclusion?

reply to post by Ops4Ops


The story is an entry into the latest ATS writing contest. Check the link in my sig, and enter if you like. I left it open-ended, as I do with most of my short stories. On purpose. Most of the characters in my stories have a relation.

Thanks for the comment, and yes, I'll write on demand. Just ask for more.

I like your writing style and I like your story, but I too would love to know what happens next......

reply to post by Druid42


even if she would wake up and all just was a dream
she is one lucky woman

thank you for touching me with your story

reply to post by bestintentions


You are welcome. I feel things inside, and I express them in words. I'm glad you liked my entry. Namaste.

Such a beautiful story. You actually made me feel the love coming from Joshua. Please finish the story, like someone else said, even if she wakes up and it's all a dream, what a beautiful dream.