Halcyon

He stood alone on the hilltop and looked out across the city. The
sun was just beginning to rise and as it rose, he slowly began to fade.
He chose to only appear at night - when people dreamed. He knew all of
their dreams, the people in this city; but tonight his thoughts had
gone out to just a few:

His thoughts had gone out to Dorothy: an old lady who dreamed of oneday
meeting her son, a son whom she hadn't seen now for well over twenty
years. A son who had broken his mother's heart. A son who didn't seem
to care about her anymore, who never wrote to her, or telephoned her.
Dorothy who didn't have much longer to live, and who everyday thought
about her missing son..

To Lee who dreamed of travelling abroad; of seeing far distant lands,
who constantly thought about the sea and crossing over it. Lee who
walked passed travel agents and stared at the prices of flights in the
window. Fascinated by the names of the different destinations.
Imagining what these places looked like. Such strange exotic names. Who
at times, impulsively, wanted to just walk into the travel agents and
buy a plane ticket out of there, and never come back. Lee who longed
for freedom with all his heart. Longed to get away from his dull city
job and see something different.

To Jack who suffered from loneliness. Who dreamed of the simple comfort
of friendship. Who played himself on an old chess computer, longing for
somebody to sit across a table with him on a Sunday afternoon; someone
who would share a simple game with him. Jack who had a telephone that
only ever rang when someone wanted to sell him something. Jack who was
an old man now, who drank whiskey each night from a lonely bottle; who
drank as he sat and watched mindless sitcoms on the telly. Who when
he'd had enough: switched them off with his walking stick, then stared
at old photographs of relatives he had outlived. Jack who just dreamed
of companionship.

To Lucy, a young single mother, who dreamed of love. Someone to hold
her at night, someone she could cuddle up to in bed; and share the
experience of listening to the rain fall outside against the window
pane with. At times being a mother tired her out, and she longed for
someone else to share the burden with her, someone understanding. She
dreamt of a man who would take her out places, make her feel special.
Share simple meals with her and talk deeply. Lucy who dreamt of someone
romantic, someone who would suprise her with gifts at unexpected
moments, who would kiss her, sweep her off her feet. Someone who would
make her feel good about herself, someone she could grow old
with.

And to David, who dreamed of oneday becoming famous. He was a lead
guitarist, for a rock band. He loved the stage and the crowds of people
at gigs. Loved to play for them, becoming a completely different person
behind his instrument. It was his main passion, the main thing he lived
for. But he had to pay the bills, and the rent; and the only way he
could do this was by working in a dead end job, that he hated, that
numbed his mind, tired him out and made him feel depressed. So that at
times when he got home, he didn't have the energy for his music. But
everyday he dreamed of becoming some kind of rock star, of being able
to make music his job - like the people on the posters that adorned his
bedsit walls. Only he would be different, he would write music that
would make people think. He dreamed of people tuning into their radios
and listening to his band play, hearing songs that would hopefully open
their eyes to a more beautiful world.

There were more, the people's dreams communicated to him each night,
but he could only single out a few at a time; and always he was on the
move, traversing the worlds, going from one to the next. But when these
five people woke up later on that day. They would find something to
make them smile:

Dorothy would wake up to find a letter from her beloved son - waiting
for her on the doormat.

Lee would recieve a telephone call from an old friend he hadn't seen in
five years, a friend, who would inspire him with an idea about
backpacking Europe.

Jack would be visited by a long lost brother, someone he had presumed
was dead. Someone who also loved a good game of chess.

Lucy would talk to a handsome young man who was due to start at the
place where she worked later that day, someone whom she would fall in
love with, and end up marrying.

And David would recieve an e-mail from an agent who had listened to his
bands demo tape and liked it; asking him if they would be interested in
visiting a recording studio, and discussing a possible contract for a
record deal.

Halcyon preferred to work at night and alone, keeping his activities
secret, this was so the others wouldn't find him. He was a fallen angel
now, who didn't follow Heaven, and didn't follow Hell.. he drifted
somewhere between the two realms, and worked alone.

Halcyon didn't care if his actions displeased Jehovah. Maybe he
shouldn't be interefering with people's lives like he was doing. Maybe
bad things would happen, but he didn't care. Everyday the people's
prayers would go unanswered, and Halycon, unable to bear the cries
anymore, angry at Jehovah's lack of responses, had left his position in
heaven.

Jehovah had told him that oneday, the people would no longer cry, that
he would wipe the tears from their eyes, but after thousands of years,
Halycon, had lost faith in this now. He had seen his brother Lucifer
and a third of the angels rebel, and the temptation to rebel himself
had overcome him. He could no longer just sit and watch.. maybe he
couldn't change the big events, stop the wars, or the horrors of
pollution; he wasn't a particularly powerful angel, not like Lucifer
had been.. but he had the power to change the little things, could
perform miracles that would add a little happiness to normal everday
people's lives. Help to make their lives a bit more bearable.

He wasn't sure if Jehovah would forgive him for his actions. Nor did
he care. He had no desire to go back to his old position in heaven. He
didn't care what fate might await him at the end of time, when God
judged men and angels. He was following his heart now and doing what he
wanted to do. He was free from laws and commandments. He followed noone
but himself.

He smiled as the sun began to rise, he wished he could make everybodies
dreams come true, but that was impossible. He could only single out a
few at a time. There was just too many people, and it would become a
chore to change everyone's lives. He thought of himself now, as being
an angel who answered people's prayers, whilst they slept unaware. He
would answer the one's that spoke the loudest to him; the ones that
touched his heart the most.

He was Halcyon the angel of dreams now.