Prologue

It was a cold and dark night, with no moon and no stars in the sky, and a veil of fog now covered the desert city streets, where almost no human nor animal had dared to step on, for fear of what darkness and the disturbing silence could bring.

But a closer look revealed a scaring scene happening on an old stone bridge, over which the troubled water of a long river flowed: two man stood face to face and stared at each other in different ways. One of them, with ropes around his hands and some bruises on his forehead, had panic evident in his dark eyes; the other was firmly holding a gun at his interlocutor’s direction and anger was burning inside his heart:

“Pl-Please, don’t do it!... Don’t shoot me, please!...”, the man who was hurt pleaded, a frightened tone in his voice.

“Now you beg ‘please’?! What about when you killed my wife? Did you ever feel sorry for her when you aimed a gun at her?! Did you ever feel sorry for her when you shot her?! Answer to me!!!”

“I- I was hungry and cold, all I wanted was her money, I didn’t want to kill her... it was an accident...”

“You shot her and killed her almost immediately!!!”, the armed man shouted, even more furious.

“I’m sorry... She reacted when I tried to steal her purse and I let the gun fall and it shot by accident... the police confirmed it was an accident!... I never meant to kill another person!...”

“Have you got any idea of what you did?! I lost my wife! I lost the person that I loved most in this entire world! She’s never coming back!”, he started to cry, in a mix of despair and sadness, “And it’s all because of you!!!”

“Man I’m sorry now! If I could turn back time... I could’ve given my life to spare hers!... But...”

“But you can’t!!! You killed her and now you’re walking around the city as if nothing had happened! But you know what? You’re not gonna be around here for a long time! I’m gonna make you feel what my wife felt at that night when you shot her and let her die! Now it’s your time to bleed until you die!”

He pointed the gun at younger the man, but before he could pull the trigger, a soothing voice, with an Irish accent, stopped him:

“Dr Harris, please, don’t do it!”

The man looked to his left and saw a long haired woman, wearing black shirt and black pants and a beige overcoat, to protect herself from the cold night air, walking towards him, through the mist of the night:

“Monica, what are you doing here?!”, he asked, with a puzzled expression on his face, “I thought I had told you I wouldn’t be seeing any more patients tonight and you could go home!”

“I’m here to help you! Please don’t do something that you know you’re gonna regret for the rest of your life!”

“I’m gonna do something that will give me peace for the rest of my life!”

“How can you say that? How can you think that taking another person’s life will bring you peace?!”, she insisted, anguish also evident on her beautiful face. But the man came closer to the other, determined to finish what he had began:

“That doesn’t really matter anymore!...”, he said. It was then that Monica saw, not far away from where they were, another figure, a tall man, walking towards them. She would recognise that silhouette anywhere: if Andrew were there, it meant that the other man’s death was almost certain, and that conclusion only increased her own sorrow and despair. The blond angel’s steps breaking the silence of the night drew Dr Harris’ attention and he looked at the stranger that had just come closer to them:

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?!”

Andrew looked at him straight in the eyes:

“I’m Monica’s friend and I’m also here to help.”

“Well, I don’t need any help around here, I can handle this myself, so you two’d better get outta here! You’re not gonna be in my way, I came here with a purpose and nobody’s gonna stop me!”

The other man was paralysed with fear; he couldn’t run, as that would certainly make his aggressor shoot him. Besides, he had his hands tied up, was hurt and weak, and, under those circumstances, he wouldn’t go very far.

But the two angels continued to speak, in a desperate attempt to stop the impending tragedy:

“Revenge is not gonna bring your wife back, Dr Harris!”, Monica said, her voice trembling with nervousness.

“But it’ll certainly bring me some sense of justice!”

“There’s no justice in taking away the life of another human being!”

“Of course there is! The bastard took my wife’s life years ago and now he got out of prison as if nothing had happened! He doesn’t deserve freedom! I owe this to Helen!”

“What are you saying?! You cannot compensate Helen’s death by taking another person’s life!”, Monica pleaded.

“And that’s not what your wife would want from you, Dr Harris!”, Andrew intervened.

“Don’t you dare telling me what my wife would think, you didn’t even know her!”

Monica gave one more step into the man’s direction:

“But you did! And you know she was a decent woman, a woman who served God and whose faith in Him was complete and endless! And you know, in your heart, that if she could be here, Helen would be asking you to stop this revenge before you ruin your entire life!”

“I don’t wanna hear anymore! Stop it now, Monica!”, he shouted, the truth of her words penetrating his soul. But she never answered to that request:

“And you know how much sorrow that revenge of yours would bring to her own heart!”

Tears of sadness and despair formed in the corners of his eyes and were soon rolling down on his face:

“I miss her so much... It’s been so hard without her...”

“God knows that, Dr Harris. And He suffers together with you every time you cry because of her absence.”, Andrew said, also coming closer to him, “But hurting another human being is not gonna end up this suffering. Please put it down...”, he asked, placing his hand on Dr Harris’ arm, in order to dissuade him from carrying on his terrible plan. And, finally, the man lowered the gun he had been holding in the last few minutes:

“So, what should I do?”

“Ask the Father, the same loving Father that created you, to give you the strength you need to go on with your life.”, the blond angel responded.

“I don’t think He’ll ever be able to take away this pain, I’ve been feeling it for too long and He never did anything to heal it!”

Monica and Andrew looked at each other understandingly, and she gave one more step into the man’s direction:

“That’s where you’re wrong, Steven Harris. God did something to help you to get over the sorrow you’ve been in. He sent you some angels to help you...”

A splendid glow surrounded the couple who was trying to avoid that great tragedy, causing both Steven and the other man to stare at them in amazement:

“... angels?... Are you two?...”

“Yes, Steven Harris. We’re angels, sent by God. Sent by the One who has been walking with you along these difficult and painful years, trying to speak to your heart that He loves you!”, Monica said.

“How come He has been together with me if I’ve never felt His presence?...”

“Have you ever tried to?”

The man let go of the gun and fell down on his knees; tears of sorrow now freely falling from his sad eyes:

“Oh God... I’m so sorry... Please help me!”

Andrew kneeled in front of him placed his hand on his shoulder:

“He is helping you, Steven. God has the power to turn something ugly and sad into something good. And He knows exactly what’s in your heart and your soul and He wants to take it and to transform it into something else; into something that will fill your spirit with peace and with His own love.”

“But for that you have to give up this revenge. Only then, you’ll allow His love to enter your heart and heal the wounds that are still open...”, Monica concluded.

The man cried for some time, as if the words spoken by the two angels were already starting to ease his heart, and he truly accepted them:

“I will... I promise I will... Just tell me where to start...”

Monica smiled for the first time:

“You start by having faith!”

He nodded his head enthusiastically:

“I do... I do have it!...”

Hearing that, the two angels exchanged another look: now one of contentment. Then, Monica turned to the other man, who had watched the whole scene with haunted eyes, and who bowed his head in respect and fear:

“Don’t be afraid.”, the Irish angel said, coming closer to him.

“So God knows what I’ve done...”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Can He ever forgive me?...”

“You’re His child too; He made you and He knows exactly what you’re feeling, how sorry you are and, most importantly, He knows it was an accident. Besides, you’ve already paid your debt with the society. It’s time for you to start living your life again; now a different one.”

The man looked at himself and, to his amazement, the wounds in his body had been healed and the ropes around his wrists were no longer there. A smile of gratitude formed on his lips and he closed his eyes:

“Thank you...”

*

Two cabs had been called and arrived there minutes later, taking the two man into opposite directions:

“I hope you take care of yourself...”, Mr Harris said, to the one whose life he nearly took away. The man looked back at him:

“I hope you find the peace you’re looking for...”, he replied, both getting in the cars, which left the place afterwards.

Andrew and Monica watched as the vehicles moved away and looked at each other with happiness evident on their faces:

“It’s over now. And thanks to the Father, and to you, everything ended up well!”, the blond angel said, taking his dearest friend’s hand and squeezing it. She smiled back at him:

“Yes. But I have another person to thank: you. Without your help, Andrew, I don’t know if I would have been able to take care of this all alone...”

Smiling, he took her other hand:

“Those two man will remember what happened this night for the rest of their lives. I have no doubt that both of them have opened their hearts and souls to God and will certainly have their lives filled with His love. And, in some years, they’ll look behind and see that it all started because He sent one of His angels to speak to them the truth they needed to hear, turning a terrible revenge plan into the beginning of a brand new journey, for both of them.”, he let go of her hands and grabbed her face: “You’re the one who opened up the door, Monica. And, without this, there would be no other way God’s plan could have been accomplished.”

Smiling broadly, she looked straight into his bright green eyes:

“But, again, I’m still grateful that He sent me a wonderful friend to help me to stop this terrible revenge, as He has done in so many assignments in the past.”, now it was her who took his hands, “Thank you, my friend.”

“I’m honoured.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. She passed her arm around his waist and both angels left that dark place, disappearing into thin air.