CHAPTERS 4 AND 5

CHAPTER 4

The lake with crystalline waters that Monica and Andrew had accidentally discovered was about 20 minutes walk from the cabin and when the two angels arrived at their temporary home the thousands of birds that inhabited the nearby trees were already coming back to their homes. An hour later, the sun started to settle down the horizon, and, as Andrew had predicted, the night was a chilly, nearly cold one up in the mountains. They had just finished dinner and, this time, Andrew had been the one to do the washing. When he returned to the living room, the blond angel found a smiling Monica waiting for him, organising a domino game on the coffee table.

“Monica? May I ask?” he said, surprised to see the little game there.

“Well... I thought about chess but then I came to the conclusion that it’s a wee bit late for that so I chose domino... besides, I love linking the colours – it’s much more fun... Would you like to play a little?” she replied, “We never got the chance to play it while we were on vacations, then... I remember to include it in my wee bags...”

Once again, the blond angel felt grateful for having such a loving and wonderful friend right next to him – Monica wasn’t pushing him into talking to her about how he was feeling, about his fears and frustrations, even if she knew he was in great sadness. Much on the contrary, she was doing everything to cheer him up, to send his sadness away and at the same time, leaving him comfortable to open his heart to her whenever he felt like.

He walked over up to the coffee table and sat down in front of her. “Yes, you did well, angel. I’d love to play a little.”

The smile on her face turned into a mischievous one, “Really? So be prepared to face a tough match, ya know! I used to be very good at this game a couple of hundred years ago!”

That statement was enough to make let out a small laugh, “Ah so I have an expert angel here, right?” he said, with amusement and heard her giggling in reply. “So you be careful, little angel girl, I too happen to know lots of secret techniques, that won’t be as easy as you’re thinking!”

Happy that he had agreed to play – and happy to make him feel a bit better, she stood up holding a package of microwave oven popcorn, “I’ll make some popcorn, for us, you wait here!” before he could say anything else, she kept on talking, “And don’t worry, it’s instantaneous!”

He watched as the Irish angel disappeared through the door and shook his head. but then, a few seconds later, Andrew decided to follow her, “Instantaneous doesn’t mean it can’t burn...” he whispered.

*

With the popcorn properly cooked and a warm fireplace lightening the atmosphere, the two angels settled down on the big rug placed on the wooden floor and started to play the domino game Monica had brought with her. Little Joy was lying down right next to them and once in a while she begged for some popcorn and for some attention, happily wagging her tiny tail every time Monica or Andrew ruffled her soft fur and fed her.

And that loving atmosphere finally managed to send away the blond angel’s sorrow and worry for some time. Together with Monica, he chuckled at her witty remarks and at the stories about the time she was on search and rescue, on annunciations and even before that, when she used to be a little angel walking freely in the fields of Ireland, waiting the Father’s call to tell her she had work to do on Earth. The little domino game was just an excuse to make him talk or to make him leave his sad thoughts for a little while, that was far too clear, and it was working.

Andrew couldn’t help laughing at his dearest friend: she sometimes felt so enthusiastic about her narrative that her attention to the game was immediately gone, and for many times, he pretended he didn’t notice her distractions and let her win.

When one more match was over (with the score of 6 x 2 to Monica), the blond angel stood up to take more popcorn and 10 minutes later, as he came back to the living room, his heart nearly melted with what he saw: Monica was peacefully sleeping in the rug, resting her head over a small pillow and with little Joy snuggling close to her.

He placed the bawl with their popcorn on the coffee table and knelt in front of her, taking a few strands of hair off her face and stroking her delicate skin. “It seems you had quite a day, right angel?” he whispered. “And you won’t let me win!” Then, he carefully gathered the little Irish angel in his strong arms. Little Joy woke up and looked at him with a questioning face, “Do you want to help me to put you mom in bed, little one?”

Chuckling at the soft bark she let out, Andrew carried his dearest friend upstairs, with the little puppy right behind him, and finally placed her in her bed, being specially careful to straighten the pillows under her head and the blanket around her body. Little Joy’s special bed had been placed right beside Monica’s and realising that her ‘mom’ was already sleeping, the puppy snuggled against the soft berth and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The blond angel caressed Monica’s hair and whispered a small prayer to their loving Father, “I’m so grateful that You put her in my existence, Father, so infinitely grateful. This friendship is the most precious gift I could ever been granted. I know I’ve been asking You way too much lately, but, if You could only answer to one more of my prayers... if You could only grant only one of my wishes... then all I ask from You is that You can keep her safe and away from all evil. Please protect her while she’s down here on this Earth doing Your work, for in her heart I can only see love and compassion.”

He bent his head and brushed a loving and tender kiss on her forehead and then whispered some more loving words into her ear, “Sleep well, my angel. Dream if you can... And never forget how much I love you...”

Andrew stood up and was about to leave her bedroom when he saw the window open. Slowly, so as not to wake her up, he closed it and then left her room, closing the door behind him. But the blond angel didn’t go to his room soon afterwards – with a serious expression on his face, he climbed down the stairs and checked the front and the back door, to see if they were really locked. The windows came next, and only when he had locked all of them, did he go up to his bedroom.

*

It was past 2 AM. The night was silent and a bit chilly in that secluded part of the Earth. Monica was peacefully sleeping in her bedroom when a noise coming from the window woke her up. Still confuse about how she had actually arrived there and wondering where Andrew was, she opened her sleepy eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings, but the darkness around her caused her heartbeats to accelerate. “...Andrew?” she called, a bit scared. But there was no reply. She turned her eyes to the window and saw that it was wide open and the curtain was flowing lightly with the gentle but chilly night breeze that was blowing inside her room.

She felt cold too. And afraid. A dreadful sensation of panic started to take control over her heart, over her soul, and the Irish angel moved to sit on her bed, but before she could, someone hidden in the shadows quickly walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to lay back. “No!!!” she shouted, right before the man grabbed her throat, “No!!! Please... don’t!!!” she begged, her legs moving restlessly and her hands trying to pull him away – all of this in vain, as the stranger was twice her size. “Shut up!” the cold voice ordered her. “I want revenge!”

“Help... Andrew... help...” Monica cried, nearly suffocating with the strength with which the man strangled her.

“Shut up or I’ll beat you up until you die!” he spoke again, grabbing her throat with all his strength, willing to finish what he had began as soon as possible.

“...Andrew...” she whispered one last time.

“Monica!!!” Andrew shouted one more time, and this time the Irish angel woke up with his cries. Quickly, Monica stood up from her bed and left her bedroom, heading to his room. “Monica!!! No!!! Stop!!! Leave her alone!!!” he was debating in bed, trying to stop an invisible enemy from hurting his beloved friend. “Andrew?” Monica called him, her heart breaking to see the distress that that terrible nightmare was causing him. “Andrew, please, wake up, it’s only a bad dream!” she said, placing her hands on each side of his face, praying he would open his eyes.

“Andrew? Please, wake up, I’m here! It’s only a bad dream!”

Her soothing voice broke the barrier of fear in his soul and he finally started to wake up from that terrible nightmare.

“I’m here, Andrew. I’m here with you!” she spoke, gently stroking his face as he opened his eyes and saw her. “Monica?” he whispered, panting heavily and still with his heartbeats accelerated.

“It’s over now... I’m here!”

He quickly sat down in bed and pulled her closer to him, in a tight, nearly fierce embrace, “I tried to reach you... I tried to protect you from him, but I couldn’t...”

“Please, let it go, Andrew, it was just a dream, a terrible dream, but it’s over, try to forget it!”

“I can’t...” he said, some tears forming in the corner of his eyes. But at the same time he felt her tightening her embrace around him, “Yes, you can! I’m here to help you! Please, let me help you, Andrew! I know there’s something you’re not telling me... something that might have happened during this assignment... and that’s causing your heart to ache even more! I can feel it!”

“Angel... Please, let me hold you for a minute...” he didn’t want to let her go from his embrace.

“... Father, please, let me help him...” she prayed, in silence, gently stroking his short blond hair.

Only some long minutes later, did the Irish angel pull away from his embrace, just enough to look at his face. “Would you like to go downstairs? I’ll make you a cup of tea, it’ll help you to calm down.” A small smile appeared on her face as she concluded, “Let me take care of you a little?”

He looked deep inside her brown eyes and the peace and comfort he could see in them, along with her presence and soothing voice, were already putting his heart at ease. Slowly, he nodded his head and let her take his hand, both standing up and getting out of the room.

CHAPTER 5

“Tess always says that tea helps to calm and to bring comfort to the soul...” Monica said, placing two cups with hot tea on the kitchen table. As she sat down right beside him, Andrew placed his hand over hers and squeezed it, “It has much in common with you, angel.... I’m surprised you prefer coffee!” he spoke, trying to lighten the mood, but with the same serious and sad face. Monica looked at their conjoined hands and then at his face, “I won’t push you to speak, Andrew, but... but if you want to open your heart...”

“There’s something I didn’t tell you...” he interrupted her, averting his eyes from hers, “...something that greatly contributed to my walking out of the assignment...”

“You didn’t walk out of the assignment; the Father allowed you to leave for a while.” She quickly corrected him, “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Mrs Adams’ daughter, a young woman named Dana, was the last victim I took home... She was... brutally beaten up and he strangled her until she lost her conscience. Her wounds were so many that she ended up dying, like the others... I spoke to Mrs Adams after her funeral, I was the one to take care of the service so that I could approach her...” he frowned as he remembered that day, “We talked a little and... I revealed myself to her. I told her about God and that He was suffering together with her with that cruel act.”

“And what did she say?”

“She told me to go away and that God couldn’t help her then...”

“Did you insist?”

“Yes... I told her that terrible things happen in this world and that her daughter was in peace now, that Dana was together with the Father...”

“You told her what she needed to hear, Andrew. Those words were spoken by an angel, but sent by God Himself...”

Andrew finally raised his head and looked at her face with his green eyes filled with tears, “Do you know what she told me, Monica?” seeing that she was attentively looking at him, he continued, “She told me that, if there was anyone I love in this world, I should try to imagine her lying on the ground, beaten up and strangled, after being attacked by a stranger... and then repeat everything I had just said!”

Watching the shocked expression on her face, he concluded, “And do you know how I felt when she said those words? Like her! If something like that happened to you, angel, I guess my spirit would be buried seven feet under and, God forgive me, but I would never accept it... And I could hunt this man until the end of the world... Looking for revenge...”

Although she was a bit scared by those words, tears quickly fell from Monica’s eyes and, for a moment, she felt like holding him tightly until his sorrow was over, “Oh Andrew... Andrew... I’m so sorry...”

“That’s what’s been tearing my heart apart! Those feelings... anger, hate, revenge... I don’t want to have them, Monica, but I can’t help it! And now I’m afraid that, besides losing my faith in the human being, I may also lose my faith in God if I let those feelings take over my heart!”

“You won’t Andrew! I won’t let you!” Monica replied, squeezing his hand and gently laying her other hand over his face, “Andrew, you’re an angel of God and I know better than anyone else that you have a beautiful heart, full of love and compassion. As much as it’s hurt and filled with sadness right now, it’ll never be broken; you’ll never lose your faith in God!”

“But I can’t send away all these feelings whenever I think about what that woman said, when I imagine you...”

“Nothing is gonna happen to me, Andrew.”

“How can you be so sure about...”

“Because I know that the Father is watching over me! I trust Him with my very existence,” she interrupted him, and gently made him turn his head to face her, “And that’s what you should do too! Give Him your heart, Andrew. If you’re afraid of what’s gonna happen to me, trust Him to protect me. Hate, anger and revenge, all these terrible feelings are here because of your fear... Evil first attacks by using our fears and weaknesses as an open door. But if your faith in our Almighty Father is strong, and it should be, as you’ve witnessed His power, then there will be no fear, the door will be closed!”

“But anger will still remain... anger at what this man did...”

“I know and I understand it; I’m angry too, to be honest. But I know that God won’t allow this man to remain free for a long time; I have faith that, in His infinite wisdom, He has a plan. And Andrew... you and I know that His plan is perfect.”

He nodded his head humbly. “I know that... And I’ve been asking Him that, somewhere in His plan, He keeps you safe, my angel.”

A warm, reassuring smile appeared on her meek face as she looked deep inside his green pools, “I saw you sitting on the porch steps this afternoon... You were talking to Him, weren’t you?”

“Yes...”

“And did He answer to you?”

“Yes, I... I heard His loving words in my heart...”

With infinite tenderness, she stroked his cheek with the back of her hand, “So Andrew, it means that He is listening to your prayers; that He is watching over me, over Tess, over those people who happen to cross this man’s path. And He is also looking after you, He is protecting you and your kind heart from anger and hate and wanting to fill it only with love and joy... I mean, to increase this love and joy that are already there, which are so immense. I know that better than any other angel!”

He was deeply moved with her reassuring words and feeling a wave of emotion taking over his soul, as now it was clear why God had sent that kind angel to stay by his side; to tell him the truth he had to listen. “Angel... Come here...” he pulled her for a long, grateful embrace and finally a tiny smile broke the sad expression on his face and the tears he had shed. “God... I guess if I had to spend a thousand years only thanking for having you by my side, it wouldn’t be enough...” he spoke, burying his face in her shoulder, “You’re so precious to me, Monica... You light up my world, angel.”

“Hum... should I say that the same goes to you or should I stay quiet and let you go on flattering me?”

Chuckling, he pulled away and took her hands into both of his, “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for everything you told me, Monica, for the truth that you brought to my heart... to my soul...” he kissed one of her hands, “It still hurts, I confess, and I’ll only find myself completely relieved when this criminal is arrested, but it suddenly seems that you made my faith stronger...”

“That’s what I’m here for... Besides, preparing the tea!” she joked.

Andrew let go of her hands and gently grabbed her face, “You are my world, angel. Never forget I love you very much!” watching her smile, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose.

“Okay, I think I can keep that in mind!”

*

After drinking the tea that Monica had carefully prepared, they returned to their rooms. Right before they entered, Monica turned to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, in a warm embrace, “Sleep well, I’m sure the Father will watch over you so that you can have only good dreams!”

The blond angel smiled and tenderly stroked her hair, “I don’t even have to dream, once I have you here with me, angel girl!” he kissed the top of her head and gently pulled away, watching with amusement as she blushed a little with his loving words, “Now you go and sleep, angel, cause tomorrow the ‘lady of the lake’ will have new swimming lessons!”

Giggling, Monica stood on the tip of her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, “I bet I can beat you up!”

“That’s what you think!”

Andrew waited until Monica closed her bedroom door and only then did he enter his room. There was still sadness and fear lingering in his angelic heart, but the Irish angel’s words had definitely caused an impact, and renewed his hope. His healing had started and God, in His infinite wisdom, had chosen the right angel to do that job; the one and only angel who could touch his heart, his soul.

And for that, Andrew would be eternally grateful.