Omens For Divine Discretion

The moon shined brightly on the riverbed, as a man lie near the edge, staring at the sky. The air, palpable and stagnant, like the waters of the river itself. In a nearby tree, an owl, white as fresh snowfall, atop the highest branch. The owl scouted the area, then took flight. As it perched upon an uprooted stump, the man rose to his feet.

“I took care of his ‘playpen’ long enough” he confessed to the owl. “So if you’re telling me to go back I won’t.”

“You have a job to do, father expects it done.”

The man looked at the owl, seeing only his father imposing upon him. “Well, tell dad to piss off. I’m done” he says, moving away from the owl.

The owl, unmoved or angered replied “Remember your place, Morbius.”

“My place, is wherever I want it to be. I don’t need a deadbeat dad telling me what to do.” Morbius, visibly annoyed by this “heavenly messenger”, walked back to the owl. “Let me ask you something Jegudiel, where is our ‘loving daddy’? He’s been gone for how long? A few eons give or take.” Morbiusmoved towards the owl, close enough to hear its heartbeat. “Why should I follow his rules if they’re being spit out by a worthless piece of shit like you?”

In an instant, the owl was transformed into a man. Dressed in red robes and massive wings of a crow on his back, he stood before Morbius. “How dare you question the wisdom of our father” Jegudiel said, in a tone similar to one that would be used to scold a child.

As almost a prodding rebuttal, Morbius proclaimed “I think you forget who his favorite was once and is still the most well made of all of his creations.” Jegudiel pulled a silver sword from the inside of his robes, yet Morbius stared at him unaffected. “I’m not in the mood for this; just put it away. We can measure dick size later.” Jegudiel, still holding the blade in hand, moved closer to Morbius. “You are a disgrace to our father, Morbius.”

“Don’t forget, Jegudiel, he made me this way.” Jegudiel was unsure how to feel about that, and Morbius knew it. He just liked to torture his family with the fact their father made everything the way he wanted, Morbius included. “Anyway, this has been fun, but I have business to take care of.” As he moved away, Jegudiel returned the blade to the inside of his robes. They’d hit a standstill; they both knew it. Morbius walked away from Jegudiel but stopped and turned back towards him. “Also, one more thing. I have a message for Michael.”

Snap! With the snap of Morbius’s fingers, Jegudiel’s head had spun around to the back. As his body fell limply to the ground, the air began to move, and the river’s water flowed. Morbius turned towards the skies, perhaps hoping for a sign that his brother had been watching, or was descending to confront him, but there was only moonlight and silence.

“I see, nothing will make you come down here. I’m sure after all this time you have a vessel. You’re too egotistical to just sit up there running the show while father’s gone without preparing for the ‘big title fight,’” Morbius proclaimed to the sky. “Father gave me whit and beauty, but it seems that he forgot to give you balls, you coward.” Morbius heard nothing, not a sound came from the heavens. He was alone, and that was his punishment. Killing other angels was not enough to warrant the arrival of his brother or his father, and Morbius knew that now. He could bring all of heaven crashing down and his father would not come back. If he had made Morbius the way he was, then why cast him out? Why destine your son to a world of torture and conflict? Morbius couldn’t answer these questions no matter how long he thought about them.

Without a word, Morbius left the riverbed, more confused than he had been. The other angels followed father blindly, yet he was the only one to disobey or question anything father had done. Perhaps that was his curse, free-will, the will to choose a path or many paths. He was the only one of his brothers to break from the mold and destinies they were told to follow. That is why Morbius hated humanity; he was so different from humans, yet he was the same. He felt anger, sadness, betrayal, jealousy, devotion, and that was his curse, his chance to show his family how to love humanity and each other.