Heavenly Creatures

I shot up from the recliner a bit too suddenly and had to sink back down, trying to look smooth about it. Sun laughed.

“The dizziness is natural,” Sun said. “Don’t move too quickly at first. Here, I got you some water from the kitchen.”

“How did you get it so quickly?” I asked. “Are you a vampire?”

Sun’s lips quirked upwards. “Reading too much YA?”

I had to smile as well.

“To answer your question, no, I just told you I’m from heaven. No vampires allowed.”

“Wait,” I asked. “Are vampires real?”

“Off and on,” Sun said. “History is long, and people are weird.”

“Huh.”

Sun tapped his fingers on the table in seeming impatience, although maybe celestial beings didn’t get impatient.

“So, listen. If you’re feeling better, let’s get back to what we were talking about before.”

I grimaced. Yep, definitely impatience. “Oh right, you wanted to get back to heaven or something. Well, what do you want my help for?”

Sun huffed, and I suppressed a smile at how much like a petulant child he looked.

“I told you, dragon.”

“My name is Tara, and don’t forget it.”

“Tara, come on! Why are you in the in-between?”

“I don’t know what you’re going on about!” I said, waving my hands and almost upsetting the cup of water on the recliner’s armrest. Sun grabbed it before it fell. “I am no dragon.”

Sun sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“Okay,” he said, as if to a slow child. “Let’s take this from the top. You’re not a dragon?”

“Nope,” I said.

“And you’re not from heaven? Or trying to ascend to heaven?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Hmmm…”

“What?” I asked. “You don’t believe me?”

“My eyes see otherwise.”

“Well, obviously, your eyes are defective, because I’m a normal girl living in this normal house with a normal family. Not a dragon from heaven.”

“Or maybe,” Sun said, as if something had begun to dawn on him. “You just don’t remember. And that’s why you’re trapped down here too. And my job is to help you remember!”

“Oh, no,” I groaned.

“Oh, yes,” Sun said, shooting up from his seat beside the recliner. “Either way, you are my ticket out of here.”

“Sun,” I said. It had taken a while, but the jumble of puzzle pieces in my head finally connected to form a picture. “Assuming this is all real, which I’m not sure of yet. But assuming. You really are the Monkey King, aren’t you? Where have you been these past few centuries?”

“Yes, I am. I’ve been trapped by the dastardly beings of heaven,” Sun said, looking proud and wounded at the same time.

“For disobeying the laws of heaven and thinking you’re better than everyone else,” I said.

Sun deflated like a balloon after a children’s birthday party. “Well, I wouldn’t word it quite like that.”

“And now—” I sat up, getting heated. “You’re in my house, sitting in my dad’s chair, insisting that I help you. Do you think the beings of heaven would like that? Pestering someone? Harassing someone like this?”

“Well, you’re no ordinary person, Tara, you’re a dragon…”

“Stop,” I said, putting up a hand. “I think you should leave now, and maybe we can work on this packet some other day.”

“But, it’s due soon!”

“Tell you what,” I said. “Since you’re from heaven and know plenty about astronomy, why don’t you finish this for us? It’s the least you can do after putting me through all this, don’t you think?”

“But, that’s cheating and a demerit!” Sun said. “I need to gather merits to get back into heaven, not accumulate more demerits!”

I sighed. “Okay, let’s make a deal. I’ll help you with your project, and you help me with mine.”

Sun perked up. “You would do that?”

“Help me with classes, and in exchange, I’ll try to help you get back into heaven.”

“It’s a deal,” Sun said, holding out a hand. I shook it. “But you should know, I still won’t help you cheat. So we should meet tomorrow morning at the cafe near the park here.”

I groaned. “Do I have to?”

“Yes,” Sun said. “No cheating.”

“Fine,” I said. “It’s a deal.”