CHAPTER 9

[i]Differently from Tess and little Joy, who were sound asleep inside the tent, Monica and Andrew were sharing a sleeping bag and the Irish angel was comfortably resting her head on his upper arm; both observing the starry sky.

“... and that is  Cygnus, it has 61 stars and it shines so brightly in the summer it’s possible to see its main stars in a night like this one.” Andrew explained, softly running his fingers through her hair.

“It’s so beautiful... What about that one?”

“That is Cassiopeia. The familiar 'W' shape of Cassiopeia is made up from five stars: Segin, Ksora, Cih, Schedir and Caph. The central star, Cih, is the brightest of these.”

“You know something?” she turned her head up so that her eyes could meet his.

“What, Angel Girl?”

“You’re such a good teacher! I could spend hours here with you observing the sky!”

Chucking, he bent his head and kissed her forehead. “I could stay here teaching you until there were no stars left in the galaxy for us to study!”

“That’s a lovely idea! Of course we can’t do it non stop, but... We could gather around once in a while to do it!”

“Yes, I guess we have a deal on that!” he had hardly said that when his dearest friend turned to the side and gave him a tight hug and a loving kiss on the cheek. “Thank you...”

“You’re more than welcome,” he replied, placing some strands of hair behind her ear and not missing her sleepy eyes, “But right now, let’s have this class finished, as I can see there are some sleepyhead pupils around here!”

“Ok...” giggling, she looked at the sky one more time, “I guess the stars will be there so that we can continue this class later!”

At that moment, they saw as a bright star crossed the space. “Look, there goes another one!” Monica exclaimed.

“Aren’t you going to make a wish, Angel Girl?” Andrew joked. The Irish angel snuggled close together with him, in a warm embrace, and rested her head on his chest, almost sleeping. “What for?... I have all I wish right here with me already...”[/i]

The blond angel woke up whispering Monica’s name, as that had become a habit for him over the last five weeks. Two days had passed since he’d escaped from prison and having no place to go, he ended up heading to the woods. The hard wet ground became his bed and the stars in the sky his only friends. The other angels never appeared to him and he himself didn’t feel like seeing them. Andrew was too ashamed to talk to them or to God. He’d not only hurt the one friend who he loved the most but was also guilty for what had happened to her. Besides, he had walked out of his assignment due to his anger towards the one who shot the Irish angel. Now all he had were the stars – the same stars that his dear Monica loved to watch, the same ones he’d taught her about so many times. With tears in his eyes he remembered as the little angel would listen to his words intently and then make lots of questions about the galaxies and the universe.

Andrew sighed deeply, trying to stifle a sob: maybe his dearest friend was watching the stars too; or maybe she had become one of them – he specifically remembered that once he’d named a star “Monica” and would never forget the broad smile on her beautiful face when he said that.

With some difficulty, as he hadn’t eaten for nearly two days, the blond angel stood up from the ground and looked around him. It was still dark and it took him a while to check the time in his pocket watch. It was 5 AM and the sun would soon come out. He reached out and took a shining object from his pocket – it was Monica’s necklace and it was enough to bring tears to his eyes. The chilly night wind blew against his face, now covered with a blond beard, and after keeping the watch and necklace back in his pocket, he started to walk. Andrew was in his human form and therefore exposed to all sorts of dangers and weaknesses a normal human being was. He felt terribly cold and hungry and desperately needed a shelter and some food.

But he wouldn’t dare to pray for those. No. He felt the most undeserving creature in all universe and was sure of how disappointed his Father was in him. Nevertheless, after a 30 minutes walk in the woods, he saw a cabin – [i]the[/i] cabin where he, Monica and Tess used to spend their free time. Their cabin.

He was soon climbing the porch steps and opening the front door. It was all dark inside and it hurt terribly having to come back there now that his sweet friend was not in this world any longer. Her laughter, as well as Tess’ singing and even little Joy’s barks were permanently echoing in his mind as he walked along the empty rooms. Gathering extra courage, he climbed up the stairs heading to the upper corridor, where there were three doors. One was his old bedroom. The other, Tess’ room. And the one in front of his was Monica’s.

Shedding a few tears, he stopped right in front of that door, a turmoil of feelings and images in his mind. How he missed her! It seemed that part of his soul had died now that she wasn’t there with him anymore. With a trembling hand, he slowly opened the door but what he saw nearly made his heart stop beating. The lamp on the bedside table was on, some soft light breaking the darkness inside the room, and making it possible to see the small form fast asleep on the bed.

Andrew gave a few steps ahead, not believing the image right in front of him: Monica was lying on her bed, with a thick blanket covering her body and soft pillows spread around her. Her meek face was pale as she seemed to be still recovering from the surgeries she’d been through. Tears pricked his eyes as he knelt right beside her bed and finally touched her cheek. Overwhelmed with emotion, visible on his face and even in his trembling hands, he sobbed.

Suddenly, as if feeling another presence inside her bedroom, Monica stirred her head and her eyes flung open. Panic took over her soul as she saw the man hidden in the shadows standing right in front of her. Quickly, and with her heart pounding erratically in her chest, she sat down in bed and desperately moved away from him.

“Who are you? What do you want?” she spoke, with weak and deeply scared voice. Once again, guilt tore Andrew’s heart as he realised how terribly he’d scared her.

“Angel, it’s me...” he quickly spoke, in an attempt to put her heart at ease. And, in shock, she covered her mouth, stifling a sob. Monica could recognise that voice anywhere, as well as that term of endearment. “It’s me, angel... I’m sorry I scared you...” he spoke again, now approaching the light so that she could see his face. But it wasn’t necessary: instant tears of emotion were already falling form her doe like eyes.

“Andrew...” she whispered, her choked voice filled Andrew’s own heart with happiness, joy and other loving feelings that were now taking over his soul. Tentatively, and surprised at his exhaustion and at his miserable appearance, she reached out and touched his face; her hand also trembling. “Andrew... Oh, Andrew...”

“Angel... I thought... I thought I had lost you, baby... I thought you had left...” he said, taking her hand in both of his and kissing its back.

“And I was so afraid... Afraid that you’d never know that I recovered... Afraid of what could happen to you all alone in this world...”

“Oh, Monica... Sweetie, all I could think of was you... I love you so much, baby...” he let go of her hand and wrapped her in a warm hug, but an immediate cry of pain made him pull away quickly, “What is it, angel?” he desperately wanted to know.

“I’m still sore because of the surgery...”

Andrew couldn’t feel more terrible – at that moment all he could think of was to kneel in front of her and ask for her forgiveness.

“Oh, God, I’m sorry, Monica! I’m sorry, please, forgive me, I didn’t know...”

“It’s alright, Andrew...” she gently interrupted him, and then tilted her head, tears permanently rolling down her cheeks, “... Please, let me hold you?” As he leaned forward and let her wrap her small arms around his neck, Andrew raised his hand and caressed her auburn hair with tenderness. “The Father sent you back to me... He answered to my prayers...” he heard her saying.

Feeling twice guilty for all that had happened to her, he shook his head, “I guess if I spent the rest of my existence asking for your forgiveness it still wouldn’t be enough to erase all the pain I’ve inflicted in you...” his  voice had so much bitterness and sorrow that Monica pulled away just a few inches to look at him, “No... Please, Andrew, don’t do it to yourself, you’ve been through so much pain already...”

“Not even half of the pain I caused you...” he tenderly caressed her face, “When did you leave hospital? How are you recovering, angel? I went to the hospital... I looked for you but you were not there anymore...”

“I... I was unconscious for days and when I woke up Tess was together with me, standing by my bed, and she told me what happened, that you had been arrested because of me... I was so desperate, Andrew, I felt so terrible! I insisted on telling the police what had really happened but I guess they gave me more medication because I was nervous and I ended up falling asleep again. When I could finally recover my consciousness, a police officer came to the hospital and I spoke to him, I told him you were innocent. He said you’d be set free on the following days, but... since then, we didn’t hear anything from you and we didn’t know what to think...”

Andrew frowned with concern, “You talked to the police? When?”

“Two weeks ago...”

He let out a tired sigh, “I never heard anything from you... And my guess is that you didn’t talk to the police... that the person you spoke with wasn’t a real officer...”

He watched as her eyes grew open in shock, “Oh, Father...” the Irish angel exclaimed, as she immediately understood what he meant: she’d spoken to one of Gregory’s counterparts. “We found it strange that you weren’t set free, but we could never have imagined...”

“The person you spoke to was probably one of Gregory’s partners and then you left hospital before I escaped from jail.” He concluded, not believing that series of misunderstandings had managed to put them apart for over a month.

“I’m terribly sorry, Andrew...”

“No. I’m the one who is sorry... I spent all these days wanting nothing but to ask for your forgiveness...” As she reluctantly shook her head in disagreement, he took her hand and kissed it again, “I never meant those things I told you, Monica. All I wanted was that you had gone away from that school because it was dangerous, baby, I-”

“I know... I knew it at the moment I spoke to Roy at the church, a few hours before...” she tentatively caressed his face, biting her lips and trying in vain to hold back the tears, “I love you so much, Andrew... So much I... I don’t even know how to put it into words...”

“You’ve put it into actions, Monica... What you did for me... Giving up yourself because of me was... The greatest proof of love and friendship one could ever have...” he said, placing her hand against his heart, “And I’ll spend the rest of my existence thanking you...”

“No... please, just promise you’ll never be away... Please, promise, Andrew...”

“I promise, angel.”

She touched his face, his beard and dishevelled hair added an extra inch of sadness to her little heart, “What happened to you?”

“I... I’ve been around, with no destination... But that doesn’t matter now, angel. What really matters is that you’re recovering and that we’re here together again.”

He gently lay both hands on each side of her face and brushed a loving tearful kiss on her forehead, pulling her for another hug, now carefully not to hurt her. How she cried! So much he gently rubbed her back, trying to soothe her heart, “Shh... Please, calm down, baby...”

Yet, who was he to tell her to be calm if his tears fell freely from his green pools? His soul mate was back and he felt like the most grateful creature in the whole universe. Still holding Monica, Andrew lay in her bed and let her snuggle against him, resting her head on his chest. The little angel cried until exhaustion and, lulled by the light movements of his fingers soothing her hair, she finally fell asleep. He never knew how long he spent lost in the loving embrace before he too fell in deep sleep. But unlike the previous nights, now their hearts were lighter and filled with joy for that unexpected but happy meeting. A soft glow slowly involved the two heavenly creatures as if God Himself was blessing them both.