Chapter 9

Melancholic and rather confused eyes scanned the horizon searching for something that seemed far from reach. The hot and dry wind that blew constantly through the canyons and valleys of Utah, combined with the blinding sunrays that shone intensely at that time of the day, would make any living creature look for a shelter. That inhospitable region had no vegetation apart from the few cactus that spread here and there along the only road that crossed the area and the red rock formations made a contrast with the deep blue sky and with Monica's white dress, which swayed in synchrony with her auburn locks.

There Irish angel had been there for some long minutes, but differently from her other "dreams," Andrew was not there to greet her. Confusion clouded her lovely features as she had no memory of how she had gotten there in the first place, nor why her beloved friend was not with her.

This fact and also the strange sensation that there was something wrong filled her soul with anguish and fear, and as she realised that, Monica closed her eyes and asked the Creator for help.

"Please, Father... I don’t know why I'm here or the reason for the anguish that is consuming my spirit right now, but please soothe my heart..." She whispered, with her hands conjoined. The silence that followed was broken by a familiar voice coming from behind her and when she heard it, it seemed that her prayer had just been answered.

"Angel..."

Relieved, she turned around an instant later. "Andrew..."

His name came out of her lips at the same time she shortened the distance between them, soon falling in his tight, gentle embrace.

"Hey, baby..." He managed to say, trying to hide his great concern at what had just happened: for a few seconds, the little angel diverted from her initial destination and was no longer at his side.

"I'm so afraid..." Her next words caused a worried frown to appear on his handsome face. Had she finally remembered the fire at the school and how she got trapped in the building in order to save those three children?

The angel of death ran his hand over her hair, still not facing her back. "Why?"

"I don’t know... but I feel something is wrong. I feel... I feel... as if I needed to do something but I can't... And then you were not here..."

Andrew dared to tighten the hold around her small form just a little more, guilt tearing him inside for another mistake.

"I'm terribly sorry, angel. I... for a moment, I lost you... I looked around and you were not with me any longer." He finally pulled away to look at her in the eyes. "But it won't happen again, I promise you that."

"So this is another dream?"

"Yes, but you and I need to go somewhere else so that it can be called 'a dream'."

Her eyebrows knitted together with slight confusion. "I don’t understand..."

Andrew placed both hands on each side of her face, still holding her gaze. "I need you to close your eyes, baby." He said, caressing her temples with his thumbs. "Would you do that for me?"

Those green pools inspired her so much trust that the little angel started to feel her spirit calm down. Nodding her head, she obliged him, and in a matter of seconds the smell of the sand and the dry air of the desert were quickly replaced by a humid atmosphere, where one could smell the green leaves mixed with wooden logs.

Monica knew where she was even before she opened her eyes.

"The cabin..." She said, gazing back at him an instant later.

The small porch overlooking the forest had always been the perfect observation spot for the two angels to sit and admire mother Nature's beautiful scenario.

X

"Being in our 'Earthly shelter' always warms my heart and puts my soul at ease, you know, Andrew." Monica spoke, now feeling the comfort of his strong embrace around her small shoulders once they sat side by side on the porch steps, some time after they had arrived at that secluded spot in the mountains.

"I know what you mean, angel. I feel exactly the same."

"It is almost like being Home..."

Andrew could not miss a note of sadness in her words. "How are you feeling now, baby?"

"I feel... threatened..."

"Threatened?"

"By something that I cannot explain..." The angel spoke, still gazing at the greenery around them, eyes a bit lost as if she was working on an answer to everything she was feeling.

Andrew found himself measuring each of his words once again. He wondered until when he would be capable of omitting from her what was really going on.

"Did something happen back in the canyon before I found you?"

"No. But I felt incredibly alone in there, even aware of the fact that I'm never alone."

"I'm sorry again, angel." He was quick to reply, not accepting his losing her during their small journey from the hospital bedroom up to that cabin. Something he did not expect happened then: perhaps Monica's fear caused her spirit to wander somewhere else, perhaps her condition itself made her escape from his firm grip.

The little angel finally lifted her eyes to meet his, and even though Andrew tried to bottle his feelings in the depths of his soul, Monica was the only living creature besides God himself who had the ability to read them.

"There is no need to apologise for that, Andrew. You were not supposed to predict my detour to somewhere other than the one you intended."

"I feel like I endangered you. For a few moments, I was afraid."

"You did not know it could happen." Monica's steady look at his green pools had always left him in a state of wonder and filled his spirit with tenderness and much love. At that very moment, however, those beautiful brown eyes were disclosing some of his most hidden secret thoughts and leaving him vulnerable. The angel of death looked at the ground as a way to escape from her inquisitive gaze but it was too late.

With sadness, Monica kept on looking at him, feeling the presence of tears. "But what you do know is the reason for what I'm feeling."

Even if she did not want it, Monica could not avoid the accusatory look in her eyes, despite the stable tone in her voice. And her words had the impact she had predicted: unable to look back at her, Andrew rose to his feet and give a few steps away from her, as if trying to escape from the way that conversation was going.

Watching his reaction caused Monica to be equally nervous and she too stood up and followed him, determined to find out the reason for so much sorrow.

"Andrew, what is going on? Why can I see so much sadness when I look into your eyes?" She placed her hand on his arm, her delicate touch increasing his tension. "Please, tell me... Let me help you!"

That last statement broke his heart. She was thinking that he had a problem, that he was the one who needed to be helped.

On second thoughts, however, her worry was not a surprise because she had the most generous soul he had ever known. With effort, Andrew covered her hand with his own and finally turned around. The way she looked at him was moving, as she kept searching for an answer to his tribulations.

The blond angel took her hand to his lips and did the only decent thing he could do then. "You're right, angel. There is something I've been avoiding to tell you."

"But what is it?"

"Your dreams, Monica... There's a reason why I've been taking your spirit away during the last few days."

Her meek features tensed with confusion. "I don't understand..."

After a small pause, Andrew kept on speaking. "There's been an accident at the school where you work. A fire due to an electric problem put many children in danger and as it spread fast they had to be removed from the building as quickly as possible."

"A fire? But... did anyone get hurt? The children, did they-"

"Most of them managed to escape without any injuries, thanks to you and your colleagues. But you noticed that three children were missing and went after them. Many rooms were already on fire but you did not give up. And you found them, angel." He let go of her hand to stroke her face. "Jimmy, Nicholas and Sarah were rescued and are alive now because of you."

Hearing that, Monica heaved a sigh of relief and some of her tension even left, as she did not realise Andrew had not finished his report yet. "Oh, Father... Thank You so much!" She said, closing her eyes for a moment, to open them again and look at her friend. "These wee ones have been through so much already, Andrew! Especially Jimmy and Nick, they-"

Andrew moved his index finger to her lips, gently silencing her. "I know, baby. I know who they are and what they've been through."

"You do?"

"I've seen their parents and grandparents at the city hospital. They are fine now but needed special care due to some minor injuries."

"I understand. Did anyone else get hurt?"

The innocence with which she made that question nearly undid him, and the angel of death had to sum up all his courage to go on speaking. "Monica... the classroom where you found the children was almost completely on fire... You made Jimmy, Nick and Sarah pass through a door that was already partially blocked, but... when you were trying to escape... you got yourself hurt..."

It was possible to see a slight hint of surprise and apprehension in her eyes. "Hurt?"

"Yes. Your human form, actually. The firefighters took you to the city hospital and the doctors are watching over you now, monitoring you as you've been unconscious for some days..." He looked for the nicest way to tell her so, and could see that the impact of that piece of news caused her a strange sensation, as if she did not know how to react to it.

"I guess... that explains why I have no memory of what happened to me... And now I know where all this anguish in my spirit is coming from..." She spoke slowly, still processing the latest events. "These dreams..."

"What you saw at Susan's wedding was real. And so were all the moments we spent together, angel. I've been at your bedside day and night and could feel your suffering, so I took the liberty of carrying your soul to a place where you wouldn’t feel any pain or any fear." He confessed, stroking her face. "I know this might be against the rules, that I should at least receive a special permission to do this but I... just couldn’t bear to see you suffer. As much as I cannot bear the thought of losing you..."

He was right. If Monica's human form did not survive to all the injuries and the pain, Andrew would have one of the hardest assignments an angel could accomplish: taking someone he loved Home, where she would remain perhaps during all eternity due to the circumstances on which she was sent there. There would not be joyful meetings in which he would buy her some mocha and sit with her to watch the sunset or teach her little human things, such as playing bowling or pinball. There would never be a jointed assignment either, when they could share the joy of taking the Father's help and love to those who needed it. Monica and Andrew could actually not see each other for centuries to come.

"Are you there on assignment?" Monica wanted to know, now finally understanding why she could see so much pain in his own eyes.

The blond angel did not respond immediately, as once again he could not face her inquisitive gaze. "I... I was told to stay at your side and wait." He finally admitted.

"I understand..."

Andrew squeezed her hand and made her look at him. "And I promise you I won't leave you until your human form is completely healed, my sweet angel." He gently guided her back to the porch steps and sat down with her. "I believe that you are there on assignment too."

"I am?"

"Yes, angel. Jimmy asked his mother to go and check on you and it was right in the anteroom of the ICU that she and her ex-husband finally decided to put an end on a fight that was only causing suffering and pain to the three of them." He told her, glad that at least he could see her interest picking up again. "And it was also there at the hospital that I saw Nicholas' grandparents pray with gratitude for your saving their only and most precious treasure. Nick is their only family and their only reminder of their beloved daughter. Not to mention Elisa! You were actually the one who told me how you managed to touch her life and the life of her fiancé's family in order to make them accept their love."

Biting her lower lip and with a crying expression on her face, Monica nodded her head. "I... prayed so much for guidance, Andrew. You and Tess are usually around to back me up whenever I have a long term assignment to accomplish, but this time you were not there and I wondered if I'd be able to do it by myself."

The blond angel wrapped his arm around her small form and brought her closer to him in a warm and tender embrace, which she returned with the same intensity. "But the Father knew and trusted you would accomplish this mission beautifully; He knew there wouldn’t be a better angel to be there at that school when danger took place. Only someone with a selfless heart and a loving and brave soul would be able to reach so many through her act of kindness."

She blinked with confusion, not immediately realising the dimension of his words.

"There is a whole city praying for you and reflecting upon your courage and generosity. And even the hospital staff is impressed at all the good you brought  to all of those who had contact with you."

Andrew pulled away just a few inches, enough to look inside her sad brown eyes. "As a matter of fact you are still touching everyone's hearts. Your school co-workers, the doctors and nurses and the inhabitants of Bontiful - to them, 'Miss Monica' is teaching each one of them a precious lesson they will never forget."

He managed a slight yet bittersweet smile. "And if you ask me, this is what you do best: bring joy and hope to those around you."

Moved with emotion, the Irish angel reached out and rested the palm of her hand against his face, caressing it gently. "I confess I'm still afraid, but I know I'm not alone. And besides the Father's presence I also have you by my side." She caressed his face and returned his smile. "I couldn’t be more thankful, you see. It's not every day an angel is granted their own angel to help them go through a difficult hour."

"I'm not that perfect, baby. But I guess the Father knows I wouldn’t be able to fulfil any other mission until I saw you were alright again."

Holding his gaze, Monica moved closer and brushed a tender kiss against his cheek. "I'll never forget what you're doing." She said, her eyes filled with gratitude. "I'll fight, I promise you. It might not be today or tomorrow, but I promise I'll do everything within me to recover."