Since the first group arrived, only a little time has passed—though “time” is hardly the right word for the world of guardians.

There are no days or nights here, no weeks or months.

Space and time are barely perceived — events simply follow one another, naturally, quietly, inevitably.

 

A simple logic governs everything:

from the simple — to the complex.

Every change happens only when it is justified.

Nothing excessive — only the necessary.

 

If someone from the human world could glance at this life, they would surely say:

“Like the army — not a step to the side, no freedom, no choice…”

Perhaps.

But the choice here was made long ago, and no one needs to be persuaded, encouraged, or forced.

There are no evaluations here — nothing to evaluate.

Knowledge is received for future missions, and every cadet absorbs it down to the very last detail.

The responsibility is immense — human souls are priceless; their faith is the greatest source of strength for the Heavenly Host.

 

Two figures sit at the edge of a cloud, looking at the world they came from.

 

One lived a long life — full of shades, events, emotions; rises and falls; gains and losses; understandings and acceptances.

An Angel guided him from the moment of birth, carefully noting every milestone of his earthly path — from the cradle to a plastic chair on the terrace of a nursing home on a rainy day.

His path, his ability to face his mistakes, to accept and let go, to resist earthly temptations and choose the true way impressed the Angels so deeply that they accepted him as a Guardian — the first ever from the world of ordinary people.

 

The second came from the world of earthly warriors, having mastered the craft of battle to perfection. Loyal to duty and oath.

He lost many, looked death in the eye more than once. He crossed boundaries, taking lives — accepting this heavy burden as part of earthly fate.

In his final moments, he revealed to his comrades his deepest fear — the fear of losing loved ones and learning to live with that grief — and thus he earned his place among the Eternal Guardians, together with his fallen brothers.

 

Tavis and Nevian.

Two men who were so different in their earthly lives.

Now both of them — Eternal Guardians.

 

— Tell me, Tavis… do you ever recall your earthly life?

— I do. Very often. I can feel the aroma of tea, the crunch of freshly baked bread. I hear the rustle of falling grass stems during a morning hay-cut, and the chirping of birds in a summer forest. I see a motionless float on a mirror-still pond wrapped in pre-dawn mist. My mother’s smile… my father’s tears…

Quite a lot, really. But all of it — good.

— And I sometimes feel the sharp, spicy smell of hot gunpowder against my face. I hear the last crack of a breaking branch. At times I feel as if I’m looking at evil through the crosshairs of a sight.

Not only that, of course… — he paused.

— But also the crackle of a campfire on a march. The bottomless starry sky during a silent night watch. The roar of applause and joyous shouts when I tear the finish line with my chest after a long marathon. A quiet song played on a guitar. And… the firm streams of wind tugging at my sleeves during a long parachute jump.

Why do you think we remember all this?

— To remember?

— To understand what it feels like. To shield from trouble and support in joy. To know for certain how an earthly soul can cope, how to resist temptation or offence — and how to recognize true worth.

— But the Created Guardians do the same.

— Yes. But only we know how a soul lives through all of it.

We — and they — never act directly. We stand beside. We do not command — we advise.

And our earthly experience helps us find the quickest and truest path — the one a human heart will understand. That is why the Heavenly Powers called us.

— Yes… I know for certain how to face fear, how to bear the departure of loved ones, how to release the pain. I did it many times — laying to rest the bodies of fallen soldiers, ours and theirs. One day I will share this with someone who needs it.

— Exactly, my friend. We do not long for that world, but we remember it — so that one day our memories might strengthen someone’s faith in Heaven and bring it closer to ordinary people.

 

They sat there for a long time, sharing their memories and considering how they might one day serve others.

And below, life continued its slow, eternal motion — one event replacing another, carrying infinity forward…