Oh, you found me!

 A great temple shone atop a hill in a pure white glow. Its size and magnificence made it tempting to explore, so Enoch ventured toward it.

Passing through its doorway, Enoch could see the whole structure was built entirely from pearls—an uncountable number of tiny orbs.

Their iridescent splendor, stacked one on top of the other in swirling patterns, were held together firmly through careful arrangement of their sizes and imperfections. The walls twisted and bent in grand arches that extended to dizzying heights above his head. He craned his neck back, squinting into the brilliance of a vaulted dome that hung above him.

“It’s crafted without a single drop of mortar.” Raziel’s polished tones were easy to recognize. Since arriving in the Angelarium, only two beings had spoken to him, and surprise visits from this Angel had become commonplace.

“I built this place as a tribute to the secrets people keep from each other.” Raziel gestured upward, shifting its weight. As it did so, the floor clicked softly as the blanket of pearls slid out of their perfect order. “It’s tempting to pull it apart, no?”

From a nearby pillar, Enoch held a pearl between his fingers, tugging at it gently. The urge to see these tiny marbles crashing apart pulled at him. It would be an amazing sight, but to destroy something so beautiful was childish.

“Is there a lesson in it?” he asked, knowing not to expect a satisfying answer.

“I suppose if you find some wisdom in it, that would be a fine thing.” Raziel paused to admire its work. The task would have taken any mortal countless lifetimes to complete. Perhaps the same was true for this Angel. It had never exhibited any extraordinary abilities in Enoch’s presence, just a peculiar sense of humanity that the other Angels lacked.

Raziel turned the polished mask of its face toward Enoch in a slow, intense gesture. “My intent here is simply to reflect what is in front of me.”

Looking past the mirrored surface of the Angel’s face, Enoch could see his own compressed visage floating amid a sea of finely stacked pearls. One dark body surrounded by a vast world of light. Millions upon millions of tiny secrets stacked together into a monument of beautiful truths left untold.

Thoughts kept private.

Words never spoken.

Enoch had built a palace like this in his own heart, stacking away his truths in careful order. When was the last time he’d told Idna he loved her?