Old, cramped apartments are never good. They’re even worse when you live with a childlike man-boy who doesn’t know how to clean up after himself. Revenge can be pretty sweet, though, and I imagine Oliver was quite upset to find all his stuff in the garbage that morning.

“What the hell, Luce!” He was barely awake, his shockingly red hair a mess of vibrant color, clashing with his pale skin. I love him, he’s like a brother to me, but you almost need sunglasses to look directly at him.

“I only pitched the stuff you had on the floor. If it means that much to you, keep it where I don’t have to trip over it every damn morning.” I handed him the trash can and let him sift throw to find all the various action figures and video games. Yes, I live with a twenty-two year old who still collects action figures. In fact, I’m pretty sure he still plays with the mini-men too.

Oliver is exactly a year older than me. We were born on the same day, one year apart. Our mothers were mortal enemies so, naturally, he and I got along great. It still makes me laugh, remembering my mom’s frustration at how much time I spent “that woman’s spawn”. When Ollie and I moved in together, the families both assumed that meant we were getting married at some point. I don’t think my mother has ever yelled so loud in her life.

“Lucy,” Oliver spoke, snapping me out of my trip down memory lane, “Can you get that, I’m kind of busy saving my priceless collection.” I hadn’t heard our doorbell ring, but whoever was there really wanted in. Every two seconds it would ring again, long and loud and way too much noise for seven o’clock in the morning. I rolled my eyes at Oliver but answered it anyway. What I saw on the other side of that door would change my life, both our lives, forever.

“Hello, Lucille Jacobs.” It was a little girl, no older than ten, wearing a blue sundress and white sandals. The way her jet black hair was done up made her look like she was ready for church. Worst of all, she knew my name.

“Hey there! Who is this, Luce?” Oliver stood beside me and smiled cheerfully at the little girl. He’s always loved kids.

She spoke for me, which was good because I was too busy trying to figure out how I knew her to really comprehend his question. “I am Emily Mader. It is a pleasure to meet you, Oliver.”

He looked as shocked as I was that she knew both our names, but he handled it better. “Come in, come in. What’s with you, Lucy? Don’t just leave her standing in the hallway.” Oliver ushered her into our tiny and, thanks to me, freshly cleaned living room. Emily took a seat on the couch. Her posture and the very essence of the air around made her seem more like a queen than a little girl. She made me feel like I needed to respect her, though it should have been the other way around.

I sat beside her on the couch and studied her face, still trying to figure out who she was. “Do you know us, Emily? I mean, have we met before?”

Her response was, at that time, very strange. As I look back on it, I feel she could have been less cryptic and more informative. “Yes we have, but not in this life.” While I processed that answer, Emily played with her skirt as if her being here and the fact that she knew us, but apparently ‘not in this life’, was entirely normal.

When Oliver spoke I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hadn’t noticed him standing behind me, holding a box of cookies no less. “Not this life, huh? Well, where are your parents, Emily? Maybe we know them.” He handed her the cookies and I felt an urge to slap him. She was already strange, the last thing she needed was a sugar high. Oddly enough, Emily didn’t even glance at the box.

“No, you do not know my parents here either. You know my friends though.” As soon as she stopped talking, the doorbell rang again. I was seriously starting to wish I had just stayed in bed. When I made no effort to do so, Oliver went to answer the door.

A moment later there were three more people in my living room. The first, a boy of about fourteen, had a frizzy blonde afro and was holding a cell phone. He had taken the device apart and seemed to be working on the inner mechanics of it. The other male looked to be in his late twenties and emitted an odor that reminded me of when I used to volunteer at the animal shelter. And, finally, there was a little girl around Emily’s age, but very different. She must have been caught in a fire or something, because there were burn scars all over her face and down what I could see of her arms and legs. She wore an outfit identical to Emily’s, except her dress was green.

Emily smiled at the odd group. “These are my friends.” Then she stood up, lead Oliver to the couch where he took her seat, and finally went to stand beside her friends. “We have some very important news for you.”

Usually I probably would have kicked them out at that point. They must have escaped from mental hospital; definitely not the kind of people you want standing in your living room, outnumbering you. But something made me sit there and listen to them. I felt calm, at peace, and like I needed to hear whatever they had to say. I suppose I’m glad I did, but I do sometimes miss the old life.

“First, introductions. This is Ren,” Emily pointed to the boy who smelled like a dog pound, “this is Cole,” The blonde headed boy looked up from his cell phone – or I hope it was his – and gave us a little wave, “and this, is Miri.” The horribly mutilated little girl smiled and shook both our hands.

“Second, the reason why we are here. You are not who you think you are, neither of you. You were sent to this plane of existence to save the human race from destroying itself. You were created and sent here by the being many humans know as God, but you can think of it however you wish. You are, in the human mind, Angels. To be slightly more specific, Oliver, you are the Angel of Innocence, and Lucy, you are the Angel of Justice. I am the Angel of Empathy, Cole is the Angel of Invention, Ren is the Angel of Wild Animals, and Miri is the Angel of Beauty.”

I have no idea why, but I accepted all of this right off the bat. I could feel a part of me wanting to fight it, but something about the little girl made me believe it. The next bit of information they had for us didn’t go over quite so well.

Ren stepped up and began talking. “Now about this ‘God’ person. There is a creator of the Universe, but it’s more high tech that the Bible lets on. All your crop circles and UFO sightings; all of that is Creator trying to warn you of something.” He stared at us, and we stared back, blankly. When he finally gathered that we weren’t following a bit of this, he tried another path. “Okay, we’re all aliens. The Creator, that’s God. The Creator made everything, even us. He’s been trying to warn you of a terrible danger, but his personal beliefs and values prevent him from directly interfering. As the Creator’s Chosen, we have to get rid of the danger and save the human race.”

I much preferred Emily’s speech. Really, I think I would have taken Ren’s bit better if Emily had said it. Oliver was the one to stand up with a simple request. “Prove it.” he said.

Ren seemed taken aback, but Emily just smiled and walked toward the window. She snapped her fingers, and a ship appeared, floating outside our tenth story apartment. And I really do mean a ship; not like a spaceship, a pirate ship. And for some reason, there was something that made me accept it. It felt right, true, it felt like a part of me and I needed to embrace it.