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Muriel wasn’t aware of the trapdoor until they pulled up the old carpet.
“Oof!”
Falling through the hole was also a surprise. They had only come to Earth a week ago, and they hadn’t fallen through anything yet. They rubbed their head, marveling at the pain that radiated from it.
“Ow, that hurt.” They looked around the hole they were in. It appeared to be quite large, and deep. Muriel stood at their full height and was nowhere close to the top. “I should probably try to get out of here.” They mused.
They walked to the wall of the hole, running their hand over the smooth, wooden surface. Before they knew it they had walked far into what appeared to be a tunnel.
“It’s quite dark in here,” They chuckled nervously. “Quite dark.” Muriel didn’t think they had ever been anywhere this dark, not even when they closed their eyes! They turned and looked in every direction but were unable to see the light.
“I’m scared.” They whispered to themself, closing their eyes tight and covering their face with their hands. “I can’t just stand here. I have to be brave. I have to get back to the bookshop.” They nodded to themself, looking around again. There were only two directions that they could go, and one of them led to the bookshop. The other led to, well, Muriel didn’t know.
“I’ll go,” They spun around and picked a direction at random. “This way.” They began to walk, hoping that this was the right choice.
They walked.
And walked.
And walked.
“I don’t remember walking this far in.” They were getting an odd prickly feeling behind their eyes. “I wish Mr. Crowley was here, he would know how to get out. Or at least he would be someone to talk to!” They looked around once again, before seeing something. A light!
“Oh! A light!” They ran towards it, watching it get bigger and bigger as they got closer. They were soon right up to the source, a sewer grate they couldn’t get through. Looking through it, they saw that it was on a ledge with a steep dropoff.
Muriel burst into tears. They walked down the tunnel a bit more and slumped down on the ground. They felt the water on their face, swiping some off and looking at it with confusion.
“What’s this? Mr. Crowley would know.” The thought of their only friend made them start to sob again. “Is this…crying? I’ve heard of this from the books. I didn’t know angels could cry.” They looked at the tears on their hands with wonder, before wiping them on their trousers and standing up.
“Right! I know I went the wrong way the first time, so I just have to turn around and go back the other way. Easy as cake!” Muriel turned on their heel and marched the other way,
And they walked
And walked
And walked
Until they saw a light coming from above. The trapdoor! They stood under it looking up into the familiar comfort of the bookshop.
“Help!” They called, and hearing footsteps called louder, “Help! I’m down here.”
Mr. Crowley’s face came into view, squinting down at Muriel over his sunglasses.
“‘Ello dove, how’d you get yourself stuck down there?”
“I fell when I was moving the rug! And I started crying! I didn’t know that angels could cry.” Muriel jumped up and down as they talked, hands flapping at their sides.
“Well, let’s get you out of there.” Mr. Crowley reached down and hauled Muriel up and onto the smooth bookshop floor. Muriel hugged him, and Crowley hugged back.