Road Trip with A Fallen Angel

He eats sour cream & onion potato chips as if his life depends on it

So I ask him if angels can die and he shakes his head so

slowly I almost swerve off the road trying to catch it

“People like me just get reborn as another sad child,” he whispers,

and the halo I always thought I imagined

glows a little bit

brighter over his matted, oily head

When I turn on the radio, he sings till his voice breaks and then turns to me

small eyes wide, searching for salvation, or Damnation perhaps

and I ask him what angels fear

he smiles, “Nothing, of course,”

But I can feel the breath caught in his throat, chafing against the hot plasticky seats and

fogging up the windows under the empty, open sky

We stop for gas and he stares at the lighters a little

longer than he should, for someone destined to burn (in Eternal Hell)

And he fidgets, slouches, itches in front of the cashier

“Forgive me,” he says, uneasily, back in the car. “Not angry,”

I answer but turn on the windshield wipers for the fiery hail-stones, the lightning-bolts,

the fire n’ the brimstone

At night he sleeps curved into a ball as if he still had wings to leave space for

He snores like a broken steam iron and I wonder what he dreams of

“Naked women,” he lies proudly, staring at the stars

But I know angels don’t leave Heaven for women, plural

He wants to be interesting, this knock-off Lucifer. But all I see is

another broken boy, spat out by the world, with the Ache in his bones

Inshal Kabeer (she/her) is a Pakistani-Canadian writer living on the unceded traditional territory of the Semiahmoo, Katzie and Kwantlen First Nation. Currently studying Neuroscience at UBC with a hope to minor in Creative Writing, Inshal’s wish to see more positive representation of Muslim women in literature led her to pick up a pen and write her own stories. You can follow her on Threads (@_inshal.k).

Syd Danger's (she/her) illustrations are inspired by tarot, folklore, myths, and the unknown. Her work has been featured in Slice of Life, CARDED!, Get Lucky, SNAG, Vancouver Mural Festival, 100 Amigos and more. And yes, Danger really is her middle name. Follow her on Instagram (@syd_danger).

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"Road Trip with A Fallen Angel" by Inshal Kabeer