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lifts as he watches the understanding flow to my face. “I did this so it would tell me if you are in trouble.”
    “Really?” I ask. The attention slightly embarrasses me, but at the same time I feel special.  
    He nods.  
    “Did you do it for Yellow too?” I ask.
    He wobbles his heads slightly from side to side and shyness emerges on his face. “Well . . . yeah.” He runs his hand through his hair. “But yours burns as well, just in case I miss the glow.”
    I feel my face heating up.  
    He grabs my hand and says, “Here, feel it.”  
    I allow my finger to touch the surface and I am surprised just how hot it is. “Doesn’t that burn you?”
    “Not really.” He shrugs. “I have these pants on that it needs to travel through before that, but I can still feel the warmth. Anyway,” he says, “what’s going on with you? Why are you glowing?”
    I pull away and look down. I should be so ashamed, but all that I want to do is tell him everything. If he tells Archangel Michael, I could be in real trouble, maybe even thrown in the abyss.  
    He touches my chin lightly with his fingers and pulls my face up, so my eyes meet his. “You know you can tell me.” His eyes are sincere.  
    I think for a moment then I begin to spill my secret. “I. . . I am struggling with our mission.”
    “What do you mean?” he asks. “I thought you wanted to protect the Innocent.”
    “I do,” I say. “I really do. But my first mission has resulted in the perpetrator killing themselves.” I study his face to watch the changes in his features as I tell him my problem. So far, I do not see any judgement.  
    Pointing to the man on the bed, I say, “He couldn’t face the guilt of his conscience, so he ended his life.” I look at him searching again for judgement. I cannot see any. I continue, “He had good inside of him too. Maybe, just maybe, with the right circumstances he might have changed.”
    He shakes his head, but I still do not see any criticism in his eyes. I hold on to hope that he might understand. “But we have been trained and are under strict instructions to fill them with a conscience. We cannot deviate or else we will break the rules.”  
    My hopes crash and my heart drops. I turn away and face the bed. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t expect you to understand.” I shake my head. My heart is crushed. My best friend doesn’t understand, so neither will the rest of the fledglings at the base. “Why don’t you go on ahead to base? I will follow soon.”
    My arm is pulled gently from behind. “Hey. I do understand. You have just been through a lot having your first mission ending in death, and all because of something you did to follow of your training. I get that. I really do.” He spins me around to face him and looks me in the eyes. He reaches his hand up and strokes my hair around my ear. “But you can’t just not obey the rules. It will be the end of you. I don’t want to lose you . . . my new best friend,” he inserts at the last moment.  
    I look at him and try to smile. His eyes hold concern.  
    He continues, “We will work it out together. Okay?”
    I nod. I know I haven’t come to a conclusion, but having someone who understands and to share my concerns with — well, that’s a good start.  
    “What about Yellow?” I ask.
    He shakes his head. “This has to be our secret. Leave Yellow out of it.”
    I nod.  
    He grabs my hand. “Come, let’s fly back. Despite your unhappy ending, we did good today. You should be proud."

- Chapter Five -

    Down below, I see our old stomping grounds. Our tropical island lies and waits for our return. My eyes scan the area below. Yellow is back along with a couple of others. We land and let our wings air. It is nice to not have to put them away.  
    We approach Yellow. She is standing at the edge of the island looking over the water.  
    “Hey, Yellow,” I say trying to sound casual. “How did you go?”
    She spins around to face us. “Hey, Blue