CHAPTERS 3 AND 4

Chapter 3

"Monica? It's time to wake up, Angel..." Andrew spoke, gently removing a few strands of hair from Monica's face. The Irish angel was wrapped up in the quilt he'd used to protect her from the night air - his quilt, and peacefully asleep, resting her head over his pillow. The sun was high up in the sky but the meteor shower and the expectation for it were such that Monica had barely slept on the previous night and now waking her up would be a difficult task.

Highly amused with his "lazy" friend, he caressed her arm and bent his head, so that he could whisper in her ear, "Wake up, sleepyhead angel girl..."

A few instants later, she stirred and frowned with some annoyance - which only made him even more amused. "No... it's early, Andrew..."

"Monica... It's almost 11 a.m.!" he replied, and a small laugh escaped him as she curled up like a ball and covered her head, "I'm using the angels' time zone..."

Chuckling, he shook his head and decided to leave her alone at least for some more time. They would leave the camping site by the end of the afternoon and head to the nearest town before it got dark, that was why he wanted to get her out of bed at that moment. Besides, she had mentioned there was another place he needed to see before they left, and he was worried about the time - walking around those beautiful valleys and deserted roads during the day, with the sun shining on their faces was one thing. Walking around them at night, was out of question to Andrew.

Nearly one hour later, she finally emerged from inside the tent with a pleased expression on her face now that she'd slept properly. "Good morning, Andrew!" she greeted him, with the usual cheerfulness that would always fill his heart with joy and tenderness.

"Hey, look who's up! Good morning... Or should I say 'good evening'?" he joked, placing a plate with her breakfast on the small table in front of her.

Blushing deeply, she sat down next to him and lowered her head, even if there was a shy smile on her face. "I'm sorry..."

Andrew gazed at her and smiled, reaching out to caress her cheek. "No apologising, baby. And thank you for the present you gave me last night. It'll be in my memory for the rest of my existence." He said, giving her a pretty bouquet of wild flowers picked a few minutes before, and which she grabbed with her two hands, immediately smelling their perfume.

"They're lovely..." she said, running her fingertips along the delicate petals, and then gazed back at him, with a wider smile, "...Thank you, Andrew."

He picked the flowers from her hands and put them inside a glass with water, so that she could eat the meal he had prepared her. "Now, c'mon, have your breakfast, Angel. We'll have a busy day and your day started almost in the afternoon!"

Blushing even more, she grabbed the sandwich he'd prepared her and ate it eagerly. "I'll help ya to tidy up our things, Andrew. But first you have to see the bridal veil!"

"The bridal veil?" he frowned with curiosity.

"Yes!" the fact that he was clearly confused only served to amuse the little angel even more.

X

"Isn't it beautiful, Andrew?" Monica wanted to know, she and the blond angel standing on the bottom of a hill, looking heavenwards and watching as a waterfall formed a white veil as it descended the tall stone wall. On the bottom of the ravine, where the two angels were standing, a small stream of water had been formed among the small rocks spread nearby. It's level could barely reach Monica's knees, and it slowly headed to the nearby forest, hiding itself in the middle of the vegetation. Andrew had also removed his shoes, due to Monica's insistence, and finding it extremely difficult to deny her something. They approached the waterfall, which was mixed with the clouds and with the air as it descended.

Chuckling, the blond angel nodded his head, impressed with the beauty of that place. "Bridal veil! Of course! Yes, it's beautiful, Angel, like everything else around here!"

"It's such a high waterfall that the tiny drops that are carried by the air, you can feel them gently landing on your face!" Saying that, she closed her eyes and let the small drops of water wet her face. "Can you feel it, Andrew?"

Amused, and without closing his eyes, he turned to look at her, "You know what I asked the Father last night?" he said, brushing a few wet strands of her auburn hair away from her cheek, and causing her to reopen her eyes. "What?"

"That I could feel you this happy all the days of my existence."

Without saying a word, she smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his waist, in a warm hug. "I guess He will have a double prayer to answer then, as I asked Him to keep your heart full of love and happiness, exactly as it is right now." she finally spoke, against his chest.

Overwhelmed with tenderness, he returned her embrace, kissing the top of her head repeatedly, "It's like this because your heart is full of happiness and love. If you're happy, then I'm happy too, Angel!"

"Well... I guess we don't have so many wishes then! It'll be easy to make them come true!"

Laughing, and never releasing each other's embrace, they remained there for some more time, contemplating the beautiful image before their eyes.

Half an hour later, though, the noise of a distant thunder reached their ears, even though most of the sky was still blue.

"We should go now, Monica, there seems to be a thunderstorm coming, and it's a long walk until the nearest town." Andrew spoke, immediately looking up at the sky with worried eyes.

"I suppose you're right. I'm glad we're carrying little luggage," she said, following him up to the spot where their shoes had been left.

"Yeah, but it's quite a good idea to get back at the camping site and get these wet clothes changed. I don't want anybody catching a cold around here!"

Despite his genuine concern, the stern expression on his face caused Monica to giggle, "I told you, I won't get a flu, we're in Ireland!"

Rolling his eyes, he stared at her still doing his best to keep a stern face, "Whether we're in Ireland or not, this time you'll put on your shoes and have a coat in hand!"

Biting her lips and trying in vain to stop smiling, she nodded her head like an obedient little girl, "You're right, Andrew."

But as he handed her her sandals, the Irish angel looked at him questioningly, "Erm... do I have to start to wear them right now? I thought... I could wait until we got back at the camping site..."

Andrew narrowed his eyes, not believing how many battles of will he would lose for her over and over again.

X

With their things packed, Monica and Andrew followed the road that crossed the hills and valleys heading to the nearest village. Each of them carried a backpack with clothes and small objects, and Andrew also included some food in his own backpack, as it was bigger. Hand in hand, they walked along the road appreciating the beautiful scenery and the fresh air of the countryside of Ireland. Andrew was worried, though. As they walked, dark thunderclouds heavy with rain were slowly covering the blue sky, announcing that a storm would soon hit the area. Besides, he had forgotten one small but very important detail: a map. Monica was the one guiding them to the nearest town and even though she was used to visiting those lands, he had his doubts about how well she knew their roads.

"These lands were visited by knights and even by kings, you know, Andrew?" Monica told him, and she was so happy to be there that she didn't really mind the dark clouds that were taking the horizon right behind them.

"Oh, really?" he said, with genuine interest in what she was telling him, but not less worried about the weather.

"They used this road to go from town to town and to their palaces because it was deserted and most of their enemies didn't know about it."

"Wow... I didn't know that! And... is this the only road to get to the village or are there others?"

"Hum... No, there are others but this one is the most beautiful!" she smiled at him, noticing the slightly worried expression on his face. "What is it, Andrew?"

The blond angel cleared his throat, searching for the best words to answer to her question. "Well... it's... it's a great choice, Monica. It's quite a beautiful scenery!"

"I'm happy you like it!" her smile grew wider, melting his heart and making it a lot more difficult for him to voice his worries.

"I... I do, Angel. Very much... But... you see... what worries me is that it'll start to rain soon and... well... we've been walking for half an hour and so far, I haven't seen any house or... person... or car..."

The smile on Monica's face faded away and she stopped walking, now looking at him reassuringly, "Oh, but I'm not going to get lost, Andrew. Not this time! I know where we're going, I promise you!"

She was looking deep inside his eyes and Andrew could see the truth reflected in those sweet brown pools - and he would always trust her, but he just wondered if she was right this time.

"I know that, Angel." he said, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just worry about the weather. Besides, it'll get dark soon, and we should find a shelter."

She looked at the sky and sighed: her dearest friend's worries made perfect sense, "You're right. But if we walk a wee bit faster, we'll get there, I'm sure we will!"

She held his hand in both of hers, and the two kept on walking. Having now other choice but to trust Monica's sense of direction, Andrew sighed resignedly, and took her hand to his lips, lifting a silent prayer for everything to go just fine.

X

Sometime later...

"I'm so sorry, Andrew..." Monica spoke, with crying voice, as the strong wind dishevelled her long auburn hair. It would start raining soon, and the thunders were already crashing up in the sky. They were still on the same deserted road, and there was no sign of the nearby village so far. "This read heads to the town, I know..."

"It's alright, Monica...Really... I know you're trying to do your best..." he said, trying to calm her down, as he could feel through their connection that she was not only upset by getting lost again, but also quite nervous as the thunderstorm was coming.

Chapter 4

"I know this road leads to a village, Andrew, I've been here before..." Monica spoke, with a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She and Andrew were lost in the country side of Ireland and in the middle of a deserted road, and it wouldn't be so long before the rain started: the storm was gaining force and the noise of the thunders was much louder now, scaring the gentle little angel even more.

Sighing deeply, Andrew lay both hands on each side of her face, tenderly brushing his thumbs against her cheeks - putting her heart at ease was a priority right now. "It doesn't really matter now, Angel. What we should do is find a shelter to protect us from the storm."

She looked around them, fearing the worst as all they could see was a green carpet formed by the grass and scarcely covered with a few wild flowers, "I don't know where we could find one..."

The blond angel also followed her eyes and realised that, indeed, there was no place to stay. Fearing for her safety more than his own, he looked up at the dark sky, praying for help.

And it didn't take them more than a few instants to realise that they were not alone anymore: the noise of a car engine, mixed with the crashing thunders, soon reached their ears and they saw a car coming along the road. Andrew was immediately signalling for it to stop and secretly praying that a good soul was behind the wheel; his protective instincts towards the little angel standing next to him were fierce and permanent.

Realising the driver had already seen them and was slowing down the speed, the blond angel stood right behind his beloved friend and lay both hands over her shoulders. The small car stopped in front of them and its driver finally opened the window pane. It was a man, probably in his mid thirties, with dark blond hair and green eyes.

"Good afternoon, sir..." Andrew spoke, studying the guy and wondering if he could be trusted.

"G'afternoon..." the man replied, with an accent that didn't resemble Monica's. Even though he seemed familiar with the place, it was quite evident he was not from there. Frowning with concern, he looked at the couple questioningly, "What are you two doing here? Are you lost or something?"

"Well... not exactly, but we need to find a shelter from the storm," Andrew spoke, "do you think you could give us a ride until the nearest town?"

"Oh, sure, but the nearest town is still far..." the man looked up at the sky, "I guess we should hurry then!"

As he opened the door, Andrew motioned for Monica to enter and get the back seat. The blond angel sat next to the driver and shook hands with him, "Thanks a lot, sir. My name is Andrew, this is my friend, Monica."

"Nice to meet you two!" he replied, smiling politely, "I'm John Dysart. You're not from here, are you?"

They started a friendly conversation along the way. They soon learned that John Dysart was an American History teacher at the only school at the center of the village, and that he was coming back from a conference in Dublin. They chatted for a few minutes but Andrew could feel Monica's heart was not at ease - the thunderstorm finally hit the region with full force, and the rain was so much that it prevented them to see what was ahead.

"Gosh... we won't be able to get at the nearest village... it's raining cats and dogs, it's not safe to drive along these roads like this!"

"I... wanted to show Andrew this part of the country and got so carried away that... well, I must have made a mistake or... or taken a wrong turn..." Monica spoke, feeling extremely guilty.

"Oh, but you didn't get a wrong turn, miss! The only problem is the weather today!"

The man's words somewhat brought some relief to the Irish angel's heart, "Really? I... I didn't make any mistake?"

"Oh, no, this is the right way..." He said, frowning with concern to see that the wind was throwing small twigs against the windowpane, and not noticing that his words only made her feel a bit worse than she already was.

Andrew reached for her hand and squeezed it, shooting her a reassuring smile. "See? And it was all worth it: the way along this road was really beautiful!"

She returned his loving gaze and then Andrew turned to the man standing next to him, "Isn't there any house or place where we could stay?"

"Well..." he thought about it for a while, and then a small smile appeared in his handsome face, "Yes, there is a place... An inn, to be honest..."

"An inn?"

"Yes... Miss Rose Dowell's inn. In fact, that is originally a small castle. Rose inherited it and turned it into an inn for the tourists who visit the area... And I'm afraid they're not many, as she's going through a difficult financial situation." John shook his head with a hint of sadness, "She and her little daughter have been through so much already... I just wish I could..." his voice trailed off for a few seconds of reflection. "In fact we should all go there. With a weather like this and the few tourists that visit this area, she and little Marie must be all alone and this is definitely not a good idea."

The two angels didn't miss the worry and protectiveness in his voice - feelings that were not strange to them.

"Little Marie?" Monica asked, with her usual curiosity.

John smiled at the mention of that name. "Rose's daughter! She's five and got a lot of energy!"

"They seem to be very special," the Irish angel replied, carefully studying the expression on his face.

"Well, I..." he suddenly didn't know what to say, but the image of a small fortress appeared in the horizon and interrupted the conversation. "Look, there it is!"

The inn described by John seemed to have been there for hundreds of years. It stood on the top of a hill, and was quite small for a castle. Made of sand coloured stones, it was formed by three small towers. On the lower floors, the oak-framed windows were small - difficult targets for anyone attacking the castle but ideal defensive positions for those inside. It is only on the third and fourth floors that there are large windows and the rooms here are much brighter and more pleasant inside. It was surrounded by flowers and had a lovely view to the green valleys ahead.

But the trio didn't have much time to admire the view: the heavy rain and the wind made it urgently to get at he old building, and Andrew was quick to remove his jacket and place it over Monica's shoulders, grabbing the two backpacks they were carrying.

"Let's get going!" he commanded, and after John closed the car, they rushed towards the old inn, quickly climbing the stone steps that led to the building.

The huge wooden door was closed and after a few knocks, the History teacher called out loud the owner's name. "Rose? Please, open it up! It's John here!"

Exposed to the rain and the cold wind, Andrew had his arms permanently wrapped around Monica's shoulders, and prayed that someone would come and open the door.

A minute later, the knob finally moved and a beautiful lady, with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes opened the door, "John!" she exclaimed, visibly relieved to see that gentleman there.

"Seems you got three new guests at your inn!" he joked, and after a quick look at the couple who was together with her friend, she opened the door completely, "Please, do com in!"

Andrew, Monica and John entered the inn and John helped Rose to close the door - a difficult task due t the wind that was blowing strong. They were in a cosy room with a warm fireplace lit up and a comfortable sofa in front of it.

"My goodness, I'd never expect someone would come here with a weather like this!" Rose spoke, looking at them with surprise. John and Andrew were completely soaked, and Monica, thanks to Andrew's protection, had just a few strands of hair wet.

"It was really unexpected, I was driving along the road going downtown, but the storm caught me sooner. But I still had time to find Monica and Andrew along the road and give them a ride!" the teacher said, and then turned to the two new-comers, "Monica, Andrew, this is my friend Rose Dowell, she's the owner of the inn."

The lady looked at the couple of angels again, and smiled friendly, "It's nice to meet you two!"

They shook hands with her, "Hullo, Ms Dowell, you have a lovely inn!" the Irish angel spoke, marvelled with the cosy place.

"Monica is right, it's really beautiful!" Andrew agreed.

"Thanks, you can call me Rose. Yes, I like it here very much..."

"We were blessed to be in John's way, otherwise, I don't know what Andrew and I would do." The Irish angel spoke, looking at her dearest friend, both exchanging silent words.

Rose frowned with concern and feeling sorry for the trio who'd just arrived.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long to answer the door! Marie was afraid of the thunders and I was with her," she looked at the angels, "Marie is my daughter."

"And where is she? How are you two doing here all alone?" John was quick to ask, scanning his surroundings.

"She's in her bedroom. I closed the entire inn as there hasn't been any guest lately."

"You two shouldn't be here all alone..." John spoke, relieved to be there by her side.

"And you all shouldn't stay here all wet!" the Irish woman replied, quickly taking three keys in the panel next to the stone counter.  "Here, I have bedrooms of you, please go and get changed, otherwise you can all catch a cold!"

Before anybody could say something else, they heard the sound of steps quickly climbing down the stairs. And a second later, a cute little girl, with curly brown hair and sparkling hazel eyes, and carrying a teddy bear, appeared in the room. "Mummy, I-"

She was going to say something but as she saw John her worried little face turned into a happy one, and her lips curved into a broad smile. "Uncle Johnny!"

The man returned her smile with visible happiness, "Hey, my little angel! How are you and Alice doing, huh?"

"We're fine. But you're all wet!"

"Yeah, I shouldn't be walking around with all this rain. Now I cannot give you a big hug!"

"You can gimme your hug later, uncle Johnny..." She smiled cheerfully and then looked at the two angels. "Hullo..."

They exchanged an amused glance and Monica was the first one to speak, "Hullo, sweetie. My name is Monica, and this is my friend, Andrew."

"My name is Marie, and this is Alice," the little girl replied, comfortable in the presence of the angels.

"It's nice to meet you, Marie. And you too, Alice!" Monica replied.

"You're both very beautiful ladies!" Andrew added, causing Marie to be twice happier.

"Thanks. Uncle Johnny gave Alice to me when I was little."

They couldn't help laughing at the girl's words, but her mother interrupted the conversation. "Sweetie, they need to get their clothes changed, later on you can chat more, ok?"

She nodded her head obediently. "K..."

"Please, come with me..." The new guests followed the owner of the inn and her curious little daughter upstairs, where each of them got a clean and cosy bedroom, where they could dry themselves and get their clothes changed. Fortunately, John had been in Dublin for a few days and carried a small suitcase with some clothes with him.

Now that they had found a shelter from the storm and in such an unexpected situation, the angels wondered if they would just leave once the storm was gone or if there was a reason to be there, at that very place, at that very time.