She hated the sky.

The large, overbearing ceiling on the earth seemed to swallow her in, eager to overtake its weak prey. She stayed indoors, shutters closed, door bolted. She would not succumb to the sky. She would not let herself be overtaken by the sky. She would not be scared by the sky. The precautions she took to make sure the sky couldn't penetrate her life were just that--precautions. She could live a completely normal life if she wished.

If she wished.

She found irony in the fact that God placed his heaven in the sky. She wanted nothing more than to join him up there, instead of wasting her time away on the cold earth.
However, everyone said that heaven resided on clouds, floating peacefully in the tranquil sea of blue sky.

Tranquil. She had giggled once at the prospect of a tranquil sky. She knew, she knew beyond a doubt, that the sky only threw on its deceptive clearness to hide its plans.

Thus, the girl had to abandon all hope of ever going to heaven. If it meant trespassing on the grounds of the sky, she would rather stay on earth. And when it came her time to die... she supposed God wouldn't want her anyways. She would sink into the ground. To that fiery dungeon underneath.

The girl was not insane, far from it. She had once been a cheerleader, a violinist, a writer. But the sky had taken it all away from her. She remembered the days when the many trophies congratulating her academic honors had spanned across the shelf on the wall her father had put up for her. But the sky had taken it all away from her. She could sometimes hear phantom sonatas ringing on a piano her mother had once played for fun. But the sky had taken it all away from her.

She lead her life sheltered, her house shielding her from the horrors outside. She wasn't ignorant of the goings outside though, she had newsletters delivered to her house every morning. The dusty, flimsy papers scattered around her home, creating the false effect of a snowstorm whenever she walked through them.

One day, the doorbell rang. It was a disconcerting sound, the rusty, unused bell squeaking as it tried to create noise. She was startled, but ignored the sound, thinking it must have been a prank. A few seconds later, the bell rang again, insistent. When she continued to refuse to answer, the knocks began.

Knock knock.
-Nobody's home.
Knock knock.
-Leave me alone.
Knock knock.
Knockknock knock knock knock knockknock.
The knocking became persistent, louder with each rap on the door.

Knock kno--
The door suddenly clicked, and opened just a crack. The chain on the door prevented it from opening too much, reducing the possibility of anything invading her haven.
Even so, she could see her enemy through the crack, blue and imposing.

-What do you want?
Oh, nothing. I'm just the new paperboy. I wanted to say hello to you, since everyone's been talking about how interesting the girl who lived in this house was.
-Everyone?
Yup. So, anyways, here's your paper! Y'know, you really shouldn't lock yourself up like this, can't you see how pretty it is outside?

She took the paper and shut the door.

Knock knock.

-Again? You can just leave it on the doorstep.
Nah, I wanted to deliver it to you personally.

Knock knock.

Hey, it's snowing outside today, you should come outside and check it out!
-No thanks, snow's too cold for my tastes.
Oh really? Do you like the sun then?
-You could say that. I'm not really a snow person.
Ahh, you like the beach?
-...sure.

Knock knock.

-Good morning.
Mornin'! Hey, are you free tomorrow?
-Why do you ask?
I've got tickets to an indoor beach! Wanna come with?
-Why me?
Why, why, why. Who cares why. I want to see you have some fun! You're always looking out from that tiny crack in the door. I'm not that scary, am I?
-...
Anyways, stop being so gloomy! Enjoy life once in awhile!
-Tomorrow?
Yup! I'll pick you up in the morning, say, eight? Be ready for me, okay?

Knock knock.

Ready?
-Yeah. The beach... I haven't been to anything like it in awhile...

She kept the conversation lighthearted, but she was shaking as she walked, feeling as if the sky could come crashing down at moment's notice.
It was her first time out of the house since her parents died. The sudden bravery that caused her to do such a thing surprised her. She turned her head to take a look at the boy who had the strength to drag her out of her shell. His hair was white-blond, and seemed to almost blend into the snowy landscape. He was tall, much taller than she was, but didn't seem imposing in the slightest. His eyes however, were the things that startled her the most. They were blue, a blue so unlike any color she had ever seen before. They were light, yet dark at the same time. They had a hue that couldn't merely be described as blue. Baby blue? No. Sea blue? No. Realization dawned, and she almost laughed at the immense irony of it all.

The eyes of her hero were of the same color as the eyes of the enemy that had held her captive.

His eyes were sky blue, the exact same shade as the sky overtop of their heads.

He noticed her staring at him, then grinned.

Have you noticed how incredibly good looking I was?
-You're funny.
Hey, way to be sarcastic.
-Your eyes...
Color of the sky, right? I get that alot.

She could see his grin grow wider, like the cheshire cat.

Take a closer look if you're so interested.

He leaned in, his eyes inches away from hers.

The wind pushed at the two gently, and she could almost hear background music playing at the extremely cliche setting of it all. The wind continued to blow, still, the boy and the girl remained stationary.

As if determined to break the two apart, the wind began to howl, blowing cold snow into her eyes. She blinked, breaking the spell that had held her gaze. Fear now replaced the calm that had originally been carefully placed into her heart. That day... that day two years ago... hadn't the exact same thing happened? Mother, father, her home, her neighborhood... hadn't they all been flattened by the wind?

The wind wasn't to blame. It was but an underling of its cruel master. It was the weapon that the sky used to tear the world asunder on a whim. The correct way to state it would be, hadn't they all been flattened by the sky?

The sky was dark, overcast and covered with large ominous clouds. The mere breeze had turned into a full scale snow-storm.
She couldn't see the boy standing right beside her.
She couldn't see her own hands, as they scrambled for something to hold onto.
She couldn't see anything.
She was blind. Just like the day the tornado arrived two years ago.

The girl screamed into the wind. She knelt down and covered her head with her hands, screaming as the wind whipped around her. She was cursed! No matter where she went, the sky would follow her! Should she but peek her head out onto its territory, the sky would punish her!

Hands came out of the blinding wind, and grabbed onto her shoulders.

Hey, are you alright? There's no need to worry, I'm right here.

The voice was calm, too calm.

I'll protect you. I know about the tornado that struck your town two years ago. I know about you, the lone survivor of the tragedy. I know about your fear! I'll protect you!

How did he know? Who was this boy? Arms followed the hands, and gradually, the girl could see a body emerge from the wind. He hugged her, blocking the wind from assaulting her tear-streaked face any longer. He patted her head with one hand, the other hand still holding on to her, to keep the wind from whisking her away.

Shh... It'll be alright.

The screams died away, until only the sound of the fierce wind remained.
He remained silent. As did she. Until, finally, she decided to break the quiet.

-Are... are you an angel?

The question sounded strange, childish almost.

You could say that.

Silence again.

-Your eyes are the color of the sky.
Yup.
-Why?
The sky sent me to remind you that the world isn't as bad as you think.

She could tell he was joking, but she couldn’t help but think he was telling the truth.
For the first time in two years, the girl looked up.
The same dark grey sky greeted her eyes.

However, she didn’t shake, like she usually would have.
The warmth radiating from the boy’s body reminded her that she was protected.

-I suppose you're right. The world isn't all that bad. Especially if the sky sent someone like you to me.