chapters 7 and 8

CHAPTER 7

One hour later, at the local police station:

“Mary!”

Mary/Melissa was sitting on a chair, inside the sheriff’s office. Her tired and tearful face lit up when she heard her ‘name’ and turned her head to face Rose, Tom and Mr Schmidt, who, together with Tess, had just arrived.

“Oh children...”, she held both of them, trying to keep her emotions under control.

“Gee Mary! What was that? I was scared... I mean, we were scared to death when we heard that you had taken away!”, Mr Schmidt said, trying to hide some embarrassment through the worried expression on his face.

“They are saying that a man tried to kidnap you! Is it true?”, Rose asked. Mary nodded, confirming the information:

“That man is... was my late husband’s associate...”

“So your memory returned?! You can remember everything now?!”

“Yes, everything, Rose.”

“Are you ok? Did he hurt you?”

“Yes sweetheart, I’m fine now, he didn’t hurt any of us...”, she said, also looking at Monica and Andrew, who were standing in the next room, talking to the sheriff.

“And we are fine thanks to this boy here, who saved my life for the second time!”, she stroked Tom’s hair, and the boy blushed deeply, “Tom saw when Edgar took me as a hostage, together with Monica and Andrew. And if he hadn’t called for help immediately, I don’t know what would have happened to us... to me...”

She faced him with gratitude and affection:

“They say that everything you do ends up coming back to you... I hope this is true. I hope God takes all the good actions you’ve already done, which are so many for such a young boy, and sends them right back to you, in the form of happiness.”

Mary’s words caused Rose and Mr Schmidt to smile, both of them equally grateful to Tom, who blushed even more, extremely embarrassed:

“Well I... I... Oh, c’mon, please Mary, can’t we talk about some other thing?!”

The 3 started laughing at the boy’s embarrassment. A police officer made a signal to Mr Schmidt and he turned to his daughter:

“Rose, why don’t you take our hero to the car and wait for us there?”

“Ok dad. C’mon, Tom, I can’t wait to tell everyone at school! You’re gonna be popular until we finish university!”

“Why do you girls have that compulsion to talk?!”, he asked, still blushing deeply. They left the office and, a second later, the policemen transferred Edgar, with his hands in a handcuff, to his cell. He was placed face to face with Mary/Melissa, and the look in the man’s eyes was full of anger. She stood up and faced him back, no words were spoken between them. One of the guards opened the door at the end of the corridor and the criminal was taken away. Only then, tears rolled down the woman’s face. But, practically immediately, she felt Mr Schmidt’s gentle hand on her shoulder:

“You’re not alone, Mary, remember.”, he said. She nodded:

“I know that Mr Schmidt. I knew that at the moment I came to this town and met all of you.”, she took his hand and squeezed it, “Oh, and, by the way, although I really enjoy Mary, the real name is Melissa!”

Mr Schmidt smiled:

“Well, Melissa, the real name is Robert...”

A tearful smile appeared on her face:

“Thank you, Robert.”

“You’re more than welcome.”

*

Monica went outside the police station after she and Andrew had talked with the sheriff, making a brief report of what had happened. Looking at the starry sky with her hands conjoined and a grateful expression on her face, the Irish angel whispered:

“Thank you Father...”

And it didn’t take too long for her dearest friend to find her:

“Talking to Someone, Miss Wings?”, Andrew asked, placing a gentle kiss on her left shoulder and holding her hand in both of his. She nodded her head and looked at him, but, try as she might, Monica couldn’t return his loving smile. Instead, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest:

“Whenever I come to reflect about the things I’ve already seen, I am always shocked by the evilness that exists in this world, you know...”

The blond angel sighed and held her back, placing tiny kisses on the top of her head:

“I understand that perfectly, Monica. I feel that too. But that’s why we are here, that’s why the Father sends his servants; to face it wherever it is.”

“I know. I was thanking the Father for this and for keeping all of us safe.”

They heard a familiar voice coming from behind them:

“As a matter of fact, the Father knew exactly what He was doing when He put you two in that lady’s way this night!”

The two angels looked at Tess, and the supervisor came closer to them:

“But I’m glad that He returned my two babies intact after that!”, she completed, joining their embrace.

“Oh Tess, we love you, you know...”, Monica murmured.

“I know that, baby. And I also love you two very much!”

After a brief moment, the Irish angel spoke again:

“Tess... if you are here, who is taking care of the children?!”

“Who do you think? Father Rosenberg, of course!”

The younger angels couldn’t help but smiling, and the supervisor kept on talking:

“And he’d better have finished reading their bedtime story I told him to read or we’ll have another conversation!”

*

Mr Schmidt, Rose and Mary, now officially Melissa, had been waiting in the corridors of a big hospital, in the nearby city, to where Mrs Schmidt had been taken. Her surgery had started 3 hours ago and, until that moment, none of them had had any news from the doctors. Mr Schmidt walked impatiently from one side to another, while Rose and Melissa remained sitting near him, silently praying that everything would be fine.

More minutes, which seemed like hours, had passed when one of the doors was opened and Andrew came to talk to them:

“So Andrew, what’s going on, why is it taking so long?”

“How is grandma?”

“The surgery has just finished...”, the blond angel announced. With her heart pounding loudly in her chest, Rose asked:

“Is grandma gonna be ok?”

A brief instant later, Andrew smiled at them:

“Yes, Rose. Doctor Davis, who commanded the surgery, has just confirmed that it was a success, and your grandma will soon be with you again!”

A flood of relief and happiness filled their souls and father and daughter held each other tightly, while Melissa bowed her head:

“Oh God... thank you!”, she whispered, sharing their embrace afterwards.

*

While the family was away, Monica had offered herself to take care of the ranch. And 90% of her attention had been directed to the little female dog, which still fought to be alive. Sitting in front of her, propping her chin in her hand, she sighed and watched as the puppy remained practically lifeless:

“Oh wee one... You don’t know how much I wish you became better! Are you sure you don’t feel hungry at all?”, she murmured, rubbing her finger on the animal’s little head, its black fur starting to cover its small body.

On the following minutes, the puppy stood still, showing no response to her touch.

But, all of a sudden, the unexpected happened: the small dog moved, causing Monica’s eyes to widen in amazement:

“Oh my Goodness!...”, the angel exclaimed, and, some seconds later, the puppy moved again, slowly opening her eyes. And Monica’s shocked face was the first thing the little creature saw:

“You’re... you’re awake! You made it, wee one!”

Quickly, she put some milk in dog’s mouth, watching marvelled when the animal started drinking it eagerly:

“You’ve made it! You’re really a brave little one! You’re drinking your milk, that’s it! My brave little baby!”, she said, her broad smile mixed with some tears that rolled down her cheeks. She took the little dog in her hand and continued to feed it, showing the animal to Luka, who, for herself, was feeding the other babies:

“See Luka? Our wee baby is reacting! She’s going to survive!”, Monica said, sharing her happiness with the other dog. She raised her head and looked at the blue sky, through the window:

“Oh Father, thank you for this little extra miracle!”

*

One month later:

“Look, she’s coming!”, Tom announced, in a loud and anxious voice, looking through the window of the orphanage. The other orphans, together with Tess, Monica and Andrew, waited in silence until Mr Schmidt opened the door for his mother to come in. And, when the lady first stepped inside the big house, all the children greeted her in a loud and content voice:

“Welcome!!!”

The 3 angels watched as a broad smile appeared on Mrs Schmidt’s face, which was a mix of surprise and emotion:

“Oh dear God!... Children, that’s... that’s... oh, that’s so beautiful...”, the woman had tears in the corner of her eyes and looked astonished at her surroundings. The curtains and the tapestry had had been replaced by new ones, there were flowers all around them and, in the living room, there was a big banner where she could read ‘welcome back’ written on.

“I just don’t know what to say!...”

“I guess that was the intention, Mrs Schmidt!”, Tess stated, as she, together with her two charges and also with Melissa, had been responsible for a good part of that work. One of the orphans, a young little girl, gave Mrs Schmidt a bouquet of flowers:

“We are all very happy, Mrs Schmidt, that you came back.”, she said, “We like Miss Tess a lot. We like Father Rosenberg too, he even read us bedtime stories and made the voices...”

Everybody laughed at that ‘revelation’, while Father Rosenberg’s face became red and very upset at the same time.

“... But we were all missing you terribly. And you know why? ‘Cause we love you very very much!”

She held Mrs Schmidt tightly. Tears rolled down her cheeks and the happy smile never abandoned her face:

“Thank you dear. Thank all of you: children, Tess, Monica, Andrew, Melissa... Robert and Rose, I love you two so much! And I know that God was with me all this time”, she said, giving a special look at Andrew. Then she turned her head and faced Father Rosenberg: ”But I want to thank someone else. Father Rosenberg, if it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be here today, to share this moment with the people that I love so much. I’m sure that God saw the beautiful present you gave me.”

The priest was even more embarrassed, and didn’t know what do say or where to look:

“Mrs Schmidt... I- I did nothing more than my obligation here! I don’t know why you all keep on staring at me like this!”, he replied, in a grouchy tone. Tess frowned at looked at him with a stern face:

“Oh c’mon! Can’t you be more polite just once in your life?! She’s trying to thank you and you could at least say something about the beautiful action you practised a few weeks ago; but no! You keep on being grouchier and grouchier...”

“Miss Tess I’m not the kind of person who likes talking about the things I’ve done or who likes complaining about everything and anything that happens around me!”

“I beg your pardon, are you saying that I am an authoritative person that complains whenever things don’t work out my way?!”

Andrew and Monica exchanged a look of amusement, as well as all the others in the living room:

“Father Rosenberg, Miss Tess, I’m sure that everyone here did the best they could and meant every single action from the bottom of their hearts!...”, Mrs Schmidt intervened, trying to put an end on that argument. Tess crossed her arms in front of her chest, with a bit of dissatisfaction, while Father Rosenberg nodded his head:

“Mrs Schmidt has just said the exact words I was going to say!”

Now a unanimous look of disbelief came into his direction:

“And... and... there’s nothing else to be said about it... Oh, c’mon everyone, can you just stop looking at me?! You are embarrassing a religious person and that’s not nice!”

No one could keep serious at his totally fake upset tone; children, adults and angels gave a happy and loud laugh.

CHAPTER 8

Monica placed the female puppy dog that had been born almost one month ago in front of Luka, her ‘biological mother’:

“Very well, wee one. You’ll stay right here with your mommy, while I go to the Mass, ok?”, she said, and turned away, heading towards the door. But as soon as the small animal saw her moving away, it began to chase the Irish angel. Monica looked behind her and shook her head:

“No, little one! You have to stay here, with your mommy! You can’t go with me!”

But the dog remained in the same place, switching her tail back and forth and staring at her with pleading eyes. Sighing deeply, she reached down and scooped the animal:

“Didn’t you hear a word of what I said? You can’t stay with me all the time!” she said, keeping the dog close to her chest, “And you have to get used to this ‘cause, pretty soon, as much as it breaks my heart, we’ll have to say goodbye to each other...”

Indifferent to her words, the dog started to place tiny ‘dog kisses’ on her face, what made her expression soften even more:

“Oh wee one, I love you too...”

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from behind her:

“Looks like Tess and I have a little rival for your love!”, Andrew joked, smiling lovely at the scene in front of him. Monica looked at him with a worried and yet marvelled face:

“Oh Andrew, what am I going to do?”

“Don’t ask me, Angel Girl. You know that our assignment her is almost finished and it won’t be long before we go Home...”

“But... look at her!”, she showed him the little dog, and the blond angel smiled and stroked her soft black fur:

“Hey little one! Looks like you’ve won a certain angel’s heart, haven’t you?!”

“How am I supposed to leave her, Andrew? She’s so small and defenceless...”

“Yeah, but she’s also a tough little girl!”

“She can’t seem to stay away from me anymore. She chases me wherever I go and whenever she has an opportunity, she covers my face with tiny kisses!”

Andrew looked into the Irish angel’s brown eyes, with all the love in his heart evident on his face:

“I don’t blame her...”

Blushing deeply, Monica smiled back at him, and lowered her eyes for a brief second.

“Monica, Andrew, we’re already going to the Mass. Don’t you wanna come with us?”, Rose said. She was together with her father and Melissa.

“We’d love to.”, Monica placed the little female dog on the floor. But the animal never moved away from her; on the contrary, it started to cry, as if begging for the angel’s lap. Everybody, except Monica, laughed at that scene.

“She really loves you, Monica!”, Melissa exclaimed. Mr Schmidt agreed:

“I guess she’s adopted you as a mother!”

“I-I guess so...”, the Irish angel replied, with some embarrassment. Andrew placed his hand on her shoulder, as she could feel the sadness that flowed from her heart in leaving the little puppy.

“And she’s right, ‘cause it was Monica who took care of her all this time!”, Rose remembered, and a sudden idea came to her mind, “Hey, we’re forgetting something! She doesn’t have a name yet!”

“Yes that’s true!...”, the Irish angel reached down and patted the puppy’s head: “How could we leave this cute lady without a name for so long?”

“Monica, I’d like you to give her a name!”, the girl asked, also reaching down to play with the little dog.

“Me?...”

“Yes, it’s enough fair. You’re practically responsible for her being alive, so...”

Monica smiled and happily scooped the small animal once again:

“Well... When she opened her eyes and showed the first signs that she would survive, it came together with Mrs Schmidt’s news that she would survive too. And it was a moment of great happiness to everyone. And, since that day, things started going better and better.”

Monica looked at the puppy’s face and smiled:

“So I’ll call her Joy, ‘cause that was what she brought together with her. And that’s what she transmits to everyone that is near her, to me in particular...”

They smiled at her words, which were really true:

“Joy... It’s cool; I loved it!”, the girl exclaimed.

“Yes! This wee baby will be, from now on, Joy!”, the Irish angel stated, holding the small animal.

*

Father Rosenberg was in the sacristy, preparing himself for the Mass, which was going to be held to give thanks for Mrs Schmidt’s recuperation. The good news about the lady’s health was quickly spread and the townspeople, who had prayed for her all this time, were now immensely happy. The Mass was a way to thank  God  for answering their prayers, and Father Rosenberg was one of the great responsible for her recuperation. He was placing his stole, when a sudden voice came from behind him:

“It seems that finally this town has recovered itself from the great lack of faith in which it was drowned.”

The religious man looked at Tess, who was standing near the door, with her hands conjoined, “The church is crowded!”

“Miss Tess don’t you know this is a private area?!”, he said, already displeased with her sudden appearance.

“There’s no private area in God’s house!”, she retorted, also with a stern face. The man rolled his eyes:

“Yes, I know that, but there are some areas where a little privacy would be greatly appreciated! And, by the way, the room for the Sunday classes has already been reformed and you can use it instead of the church pews!

“Well, thank you, it’s high time it was reformed!”

After a brief pause, she kept on talking:

“But the one holding classes there won’t be me, as I’m leaving the town pretty soon...”

Father Rosenberg stopped fixing his gown and starred at her with a puzzled expression:

“You said you’re leaving?!”

“Yes, I am.”

“But... The children are already used to you, I thought you would keep on with the classes...”

“There will be another person to replace me, Father Rosenberg, my assignment here is almost fulfilled.”

“Your assignment? Miss Tess, I can’t understand a word of what you’re saying!”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me at all...”, Tess muttered, under her breath, but, before he could say something, she continued to talk, “I was sent here with a mission: to make the people in this town find the faith and hope they had lost a long time ago. And when I say that, I mean EVERYONE in this town, including the one responsible for keeping faith and hope alive!”, she stated, somewhat accusingly. But this time the man didn’t protest. On the contrary: he lowered his eyes and nodded:

“... and it took me Mrs Schmidt’s disease to make me realise that.”, he said, disappointedly.

“Yes, it did. But you were not the only one.”

“For years, Miss Tess, I kept my duties as a religious man, a servant of God. But, inside my heart, I carried all the sorrow and pain for the terrible things that happened to me a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t blamed God for a single moment; much on the contrary, He is the great responsible for me being here today. But the sadness, or better, the emptiness inside my heart for having lost everything I had all of a sudden, my family, my home and friends, is a wound which, I think, will never heal... No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I’ve been praying all these years.”

“I know that, Father Rosenberg, and, believe me, there’s Someone who knows that too. God saw your tears; the tears of a little Polish boy who couldn’t even speak for fear of being hurt or killed by men’s insanity.”

She came closer to him and looked at his face:

“And that’s why He sent you some angels to help you during that difficult time, together with good hearted people too. And now He sent you and angel to help you to heal all these wounds, opened a long time ago...”

By saying that, a beautiful glowing involved Tess’ figure, and the religious man’s eyes grew wide, filled with shock and amazement:

“...Oh Jesus!...”, he whispered, completely astonished.

“God loves you, Father Rosenberg. He loves you very  much and very deeply. He cried together with you all these years and He felt the same pain and sorrow you carried in your heart. And He loved you even more when you didn’t blame Him for all the horror you witnessed. Much on the contrary; you transformed the tragedy that happened to you into love for the ones in need.”

Father Rosenberg had some tears forming in the corner of his eyes:

“I was never able to forget the horror of a war, but I want God to know that, in my heart, I tried to honour Him every single day of my life...”

“Oh but He knows that! Because He knows your heart and He saw your actions. But, right now, He has 2 messages for you: the first one is that you should let go of all the sadness that still remains inside you, and welcome the joy for being His servant. Only with this blessed feeling inside your heart you’ll be able to take comfort and hope to the ones who need it.”

He conjoined his hands and prayed:

“Oh Father, I promise I will... And I ask for your forgiveness, as I haven’t tried hard enough to do so  in all these years...”

He looked at the angel’s smiling face, with a mix of gratitude and wonderment:

“Thank you, Miss Tess!”

All of a sudden, Tom opened the door of the sacristy:

“Father Rosenberg, we’re already late for the...”

The boy stopped talking when he saw that scene before his eyes:

“Father Rosenberg... Miss Tess... you’re- you’re an angel too?!...”

“Yes, baby, I am. And I came here with 2 messages for this mister. The first one has already been delivered.”, she faced the religious man: “And the second one, Father Rosenberg, has just entered through that door!”

A puzzled expression came over both of the humans’ faces:

“Miss Tess, please, explain yourself...”

“You said that you had a brother; a young baby who you believe was killed during the war. But I’ve got news for your: he didn’t die in that concentration camp, all those years ago. On the contrary: he survived... and came to this country...”

“...My brother survived?...”

The angel smiled:

“Yes.”

“But that’s impossible!... Years ago I myself looked for any relatives I could have alive, but I got a confirmation that all of them had died. I even have a document, with his name on it...”

“That confirmation is partially true. Your brother escaped from that camp because his last name was changed. That’s why his death was included in this document, as the authorities considered that he had died together with the rest of the family. But he continued to live in Poland and came to this country when he already was an adult, searching for a job opportunity. Here, he got married, and had a son. Unfortunately, he and his wife died in an accident, 11 years ago. As they were very poor and didn’t have any known relative, their little boy was sent to an orphanage, in a small town not far away from here. But the boy was very weak, and needed proper treatment, so Mrs Schmidt, who was visiting the city, knew about it and offered herself to take care of the baby and brought him to the hospital of this city, where he was treated.”

Tom’s heart, as well as Father Rosenberg's, were pounding loudly in their chests, as they could hardly believe in the story she was telling them. With tears in his eyes, the religious man looked at the boy:

“You’re saying that... that...”

“The baby recovered from his illness and grew up in the orphanage, together with the other children. And nowadays he is a smart boy who helps at the church, delivers newspapers in order to pay for  his school material and who knows everybody in this town. And everyone likes him very much, especially Rose Schmidt, Mrs Schmidt’s granddaughter!”

“Miss Tess, you mean that Father Rosenberg... That we... we are...”

“Your blood analysis is in the hospital’s files, Tom. And Father Rosenberg’s blood was tested a few weeks ago. Andrew took the two genetic material and compared them. You two have so many similarities that only two close relatives could have. And, to be sure about it, Andrew made another test, which confirmed everything I told you. The family you both have always longed for really exists: Tom is your nephew, Father Rosenberg!”

“Oh, my God!... Is that really happening?...”

“Yes, it is, Father Rosenberg! And I’m afraid that you, Tom, is not an orphan anymore!”

Still amazed, the boy smiled nervously:

“So... Father Rosenberg is my... uncle?!”

“Exactly!”

For some instants, the two stood still, shocked by that totally unexpected news:

“Oh, c’mon you two! I didn’t come all the way Home to here to see you starring at each other like statues! I wanna see a big hug, and I wanna see it right now!”, Tess exclaimed, with mock seriousness, and they wasted no time in holding each other:

“So, I have a nephew, hum?! Well, I can be surprised about it, but I’m definitely not surprised that it’s you, because only someone smart like you could be my relative! Intelligence is a common quality in our family!”

Hearing that comment, the angel shook her head and rolled her eyes, while uncle an nephew laughed at those words:

“And I always liked you, Father Rosenberg, though, sometimes, you’re kinda...”, a little embarrassed, the boy didn’t know how to finish that sentence:

“Grumpy, you want to say!”

“Miss Tess don’t go on putting words in my nephew’s mouth!”

But Tom avoided another forthcoming argument:

“Well, what I really mean is that you’ve always been my friend, and, in your way, you taught me how to pray and to have faith; and I’ll never forget the words you said to me, when Mrs Schmidt was ill.”

The religious man patted on the boy’s shoulder:

“And I’m proud of you, son!”

Tom remembered something else:

“Oh, and by the way, should I call you ‘Father Uncle’ or ‘Uncle Father’?!”

The 3 laughed even more.