By 7:30 Celine had pulled into the Beachhouse driveway and heaved a sigh of relief as the gang of kids rolled out of the Escalade. If she thought the twins were already bad, she had now revised her opinion. Alexander and three girls was almost too much of a problem even for this Demon. While the girls dragged in their shopping spree, the young Antichrist had made his way to the beach. It was the first real sunset he had seen in this universe. He looked at the multitude of colors and the soft golden glow of the setting sun. It simultaneously made him happy to see this spectacle and sad that he had to miss the sunset on their own beach back home. He wished he could be in two places at once. Here in this universe, he found his origin and was now getting to know it. But also home, close to his home with his sister and his parents on the beach to admire the spectacle of colors, the place where he was absolutely safe, where he didn't have to worry, where it didn't feel like he had a lead-laden burden on his shoulders.
Inside the huge living room, the three girls were busy displaying the wares they had purchased. Celine had wisely retreated to the patio with a hefty glass of rum and was trying with all her might to shut out the overenthusiastic cries that echoed inside. Jophiel looked at her with a gentle smile and asked:
"Were they a little busy?"
The Demon looked at her sourly and replied:
"Those two hellions of mine are already a handful, then add two overenthusiastic other young girls who can kick ass with no limit on what they can spend? This would be a damn good way to torture someone in Hell!"
Casiel looked around for a moment and noticed that Alex was suspiciously absent. She didn't even have to tap into her powers to know where her twin might be. She knew this one would be on the beach watching the sunset. Something he had always done at home as well, as if it had a magical attraction for him. During their shopping trip, it had absolutely not escaped her notice that Trixie and Alex could almost always be found near each other. Never far away, chatting pleasantly, unobtrusive but still always looking to see where the other was. A smile appeared around her mouth. Suddenly she said:
"Bee, I think you should go down to the beach and fetch Alex right now. We haven't had a chance to thank him yet for this wonderful day. Look what we all shoveled together. I think this deserves a big thank you from the three of us."
Trixie immediately knew exactly why Cas sent her out and got some red ears. Nevertheless, she stood up and left in the direction of the beach. When she had disappeared from the house, Anna asked Cas:
"Did you also notice how those two looked at each other?"
Cas laughed:
"Yep, I think those two have it severe for each other. But knowing my little brother, if you don't push a little he's not going to say a word about it for another century. Say what you want about this Antichrist, but sometimes he's pretty shy."
Linda walked out onto the terrace with baby Lucas. This was the last night she would stay. The next morning she would return home and begin her new life as a new mother. Jophiel had already made it very clear to her not to worry. If she needed help in the slightest, she was only a prayer away and would show up. For all things medical, should she have any concerns, she could count on Raffa at all times. Although that would not really prove to be necessary since Luke, like Alexander, was a Nephilim and thus immune to all human diseases and discomforts. Slowly the terrace began to fill up. Alexander had asked all the adults of Lucifer's little club to stop by to get to know each other a little better. The first to make their entrance were Michael and Gabriel. The general looked around for a moment and asked Celine:
"No Alexander to be seen?"
A small smile appeared around the Demon's mouth as the stalwart general took a seat next to her and asked the question. She replied:
"He's off to the beach. The kid has had a thing for the sunset since he was a toddler. Just can't get enough of it. Beatrice went to get him."
Now a smile appeared around the general's mouth as he said softly:
"No, really..."
The next thing they heard was the roar of the Aston Martin announcing Ella's arrival. The latter stepped into the living room and saw Casiel and Anna amidst a mountain of new things. She shook her head for a moment and thought it might be wiser to leave those girls alone for a while before she had to listen to an hours-long description of the day's events, including an exhibition of each piece purchased. Something she normally had absolutely no problem with. Now, however, there was a feeling deep inside her that drew her to the terrace. She walked out into the garden, greeting those already present, and made her way to the super chicken run Alex had manifested to see how Margaret and her entourage of dodos were doing. The seven feathered bipeds seemed to be doing extremely well in their own little paradise. When she finally settled herself on a small couch on the terrace and was served a glass of white wine, she suddenly noticed the absence of Beatrice and Alexander.
"Hey, has anyone seen Trixie or Alex?"
In chorus she heard amused voices:
"They're on the beach..."
Chloe and Daniel were the last to arrive, so the gang was complete, including the two new members of Alexander's gang, Lewit and Ariel. Daniel plopped down on a couch, and Chloe looked around to see where her daughter was. Jophiel pointed in the direction of the beach, and the detective made her way. There she suddenly saw Trixie and Alex sitting close together, but again not too close to watch the beautiful sunset. The children had not noticed her, but she just heard Trixie ask:
"Why?"
The young Antichrist laughed softly for a moment, but one could recognize a sad emotion in the sound.
"At home I liked nothing better than to go watch the sunrise every morning and the sunset every evening. With us, too, it is a twin responsible for order in the chaos of the universe. It may seem infinite, and so many things are happening at the same time that it sometimes seems like a chaotic soup. But believe me when I say that even in that chaos there is order. An order that man does not see right now. Some things are already moving now so that they will take place a million or a billion years from now. It may seem like one big endless void with a star here and there, but it is not. The universe, one might say, is one big living being that we are all part of in our manner."
The girl asked:
"God's grand plan, as they so often say in the Church?"
This time Alex smiled sincerely, shook his head, and said:
"No, Bee..."
He looked at her, pointed at her, and said:
"Your big plan... She looked at him, not understanding, and asked:
"What do you mean, my big plan?"
He giggled:
"Well, not so much your big plan personally, but you are definitely part of it."
He pointed to the setting golden sun:
"Sol was put in that exact spot by Lucifer. Not too far from Earth and again not too close. You wanted to be president of Mars one day, don't you still dream of that?"
She turned a little red in the face and said softly:
"That was a few years ago, yes. But yes, I can't help it when I look out my window at night and see the stars; yes, I want to go there."
"Why do you think Lucifer and Michael placed the sun, Sol, and Earth so perfectly?"
She thought for a moment:
"I once heard Lucifer say that he did what his Father said. Is that's why?"
Alex nodded:
"Yes, partly... But it was mostly so that you, Beatrice Espinoza, could be born, go to school, join NASA, and walk around on Mars."
She looked at him wide-eyed and said aloud:
"Me?"
He laughed from deep in his belly:
"Yes, you, Bee, but not only you. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Einstein, Hawking... Why not add Beatrice Espinoza to that list of famous names? Look, if Sol had not been placed exactly in that one place in this infinite universe, the Earth would never have evolved as it is today. All those people, including you, about a hundred billion people who have lived and are living until now and have made the Earth what it is today, would never have existed. The Earth is you, humanity's first baby step; the second was the Moon. What's next? Mars? And after that?"
Trixie had to ponder his words for a moment as Alex turned his gaze back to the last colors before the sun would disappear below the horizon and it would begin to get really dark. Finally, Trixie asked:
"What you mean to say is that we humans owe our existence to Lucifer and his twin Michael?"
He nodded:
"Yes, light and dark, matter and antimatter... The twins got the building blocks from God and made it into this wonderful spectacle. If the distance between Sol and Earth was not exactly what it is now, life on Earth would look very different, and then the light that Sol sends out would not enter our atmosphere in exactly this way, with the result that the splashes of color that are sometimes seen morning and evening would be very different. I don't know who did a better job Lucifer and Michael, or at home Samuel and Michael, to me they are both just perfect!"
When the two children remained silent, and for the time being all that seemed to be said, Chloe approached them and said:
"Monkey, Alexander, are you coming? I think, as usual, Lucifer has ordered an abundance of food at one of those upscale restaurants where the owner owes him a favor."
Alex laughed. Stood up straight, wiped the sand off his jeans, and said:
"Well, Miss Chloe, what else did you expect from the Devil...?"
When Chloe came walking onto the terrace with the two kids, Trixie suddenly flew toward The Devil and practically jumped into his arms. The latter suddenly became hyper nervous and worried and asked:
"What is it, Urchin? What is going on?"
The girl practically hugged him flat, had tears in her eyes, and said almost inaudibly:
"Thank you, Lucifer..."
He looked at her with absolutely no understanding, but Alex watched the scene with a smile. Trixie said:
"Thank you for Sol, for being exactly where she is, and for all of us being able to be here thanks to you and Michael. Without you I wouldn't exist..."
She gave the Devil a catchy kiss on the cheek and then flew to Michael to thank him too for his part in that event. The others on the terrace had gone silent for a moment. Trixie's words penetrated them. Ella, who sat down next to a still perplexed Devil, gave him a peck on the cheek and said:
"She is right, big bad Devil. You are the Lightbringer. I don't know how many Angels and Archangels there are. By the way, this is one of the million questions I have for you, but that doesn't matter for the moment. To us humans, you, the Bringer of Light, are the most important of all."
Now the Devil looked at her, not understanding not only because of what she had said but also because of the kiss on his cheek, which he had simply noticed was so much more than a simple kiss. She said:
"Without Lightbringer, no sun; no sun means no life on Earth; no life on Earth means man would never have existed, which means I could never have sat here in this garden with friends I care about, enjoying the life I have. Michael and you are the reason we exist. So yes, thank you, thank you both..."
And again she gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek. Lucifer was clearly touched by the words and the genuine affection he had received from both Trixie and Ella. He felt uncomfortable and emotional. Alexander noticed and then said:
"So you see it yourself, Dad, you are so much more than that stupid personification you identified yourself with for so long...
He had to giggle for a moment and saw that the rest were looking at him in anticipation as to why he suddenly found something so funny. He declared:
"Imagine, at the next service in every Mosque, Church or Synagogue worldwide, that all priests, Imans or rabbis would call for a prayer of thanks for their lives addressed to the Devil.... Man I think I would pee my pants laughing my ass off..."
Everyone sat looking at him for a moment some imagined the scenario in their heads and started laughing out loud after which not much later the entire terrace was in a fit of laughter.