PROLOGUE & Chapter 1

Prologue

“... no! Please, help us! Help! Andrew! I can’t see you! I’m here... I... I can’t breathe... Please, help...”

Monica rolled in her bed, shouting words that were a result of a terrible nightmare. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she moved her head from one side to another, trying to free herself from the darkness and the agony that took control of her heart. She was also trembling and breathing hard, as if lost in an ocean of sorrow and despair.

“... please, somebody... help... help...”

Her pleading soon woke Andrew up and he rushed to her bedroom. Frowning with worry, he pushed the door open and walked over up to the bed, sitting on its edge, “Monica? Angel, you’re having a nightmare!”

She kept on begging for help and the blond angel had no other choice but to gently shake her shoulders as he cupped her face, “Monica, wake up! You’re dreaming!”

It broke his heart to see how badly she was trembling, terrified with the images in her nightmare. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly against his heart, “Angel... it’s just a dream... shh... it’s just a dream...”

Andrew continued to whisper loving words into her ear and to caress her auburn hair until her eyes finally flickered open. “Andrew?” she said, confusion all over her meek scared face.

“I’m here, angel. We’re at the beach house, remember?”

Panting heavily, she sat down on her bed and looked at her surroundings, which were now involved in a shadowy atmosphere as the bedside lamp was the only source of light in that room. “I-I had... I had a terrible dream...”

“I know... One of the things I don’t like about being in human form is to see you having these nightmares. Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her small shoulders and she gratefully held him tightly, her heart still pounding loudly in her chest.

“We were in the ocean and it was all dark... There was a storm and... and I couldn’t see you anymore... I was drowning and couldn’t breathe...”

“Shh... don’t think about it anymore, angel. You had this dream because we're about to set off to a new assignment and it involves being in the ocean.” He spoke, running his fingers through her hair and resting his cheek on the top of her head.

“It was so... terrifying, Andrew... it seemed that... that I was dying...”

He held her a bit tighter at those words, dreading even to hear something like that. “Come with me. I’ll make you some hot tea...”

Half hour later, they were both sitting at the kitchen table and the Irish angel grabbed the cup of hot tea with both hands, it was warm enough to bring her some comfort and help her forget the terrible dream.

“Thank you, Andrew.”

“Sorry it’s not coffee but well... I guess tea will make you feel better this time.” He said, taking a seat right next to her.

“Tea is perfect. And it does make me feel better.” She said, taking his hand and squeezing it. Then she frowned, confusion and worry still visible on her face.

“Don’t think about it anymore, angel. Remember that we have an assignment that starts tomorrow and you have to take care of your human form.”

“I know...” Monica drank some more of her tea and sighed, “Have you ever had a bad feeling about an assignment, Andrew?”

“Well, yes, but then I found out lately that this ‘bad feeling’ came from something that was in my mind before the assignment started... You see, a pre-judgement about something I didn’t know well.”

“Like me being afraid of water for many years?”

He brushed his thumb against the back of her hand, “Yes... I know you improved a lot on it, but maybe a memory from the past, combined with the fact that our new assignment will involve staying in the ocean for some time, has triggered the nightmare you just had.”

Monica turned her hand up and entangled her fingers with his, “I’m so glad you’re here...”

“And I am always grateful to be next to you...”

x

They returned to their bedrooms some time later and before the little angel entered her room, Andrew lay both hands against her cheeks and tenderly caressed her temples, “I’ll pray for you to have only sweet dreams.”

“You are such a wonderful friend... I love you very much, ya know?”

Smiling, he nodded his head, “Let’s say I suspected that!”

“And I’m glad I love you, otherwise I wouldn’t know what a great friend you are!”

Chuckling at her remark, he brushed a tender kiss on her forehead, “I love you very, very much too. Sleep well, angel.”

“You too, Andrew...” she spoke, as he stood there waiting for her to enter her bedroom. But when she stopped in front of the door she turned around and looked at him again. Suddenly, she gave two steps and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly, feeling an unexplained need to do so. A mix of fear and sadness she didn’t know exactly the reason for.

Sighing deeply, he held her for a long time, praying that by the morning all that fear and distress coming from her heart would go away.

x

That night at the beach house was the last memory that came to Monica’s mind at the moment of the tragedy: in a matter of seconds, the boat where she and Andrew were working at was parted into two and the angels, as well as the researchers in it, were thrown into the violent ocean. The tidal waves brought by the thunderstorm combined with the strong wind made it difficult to breathe. The water was terribly cold and the fact that it was a dark, terrifying night only made things worse. The little angel shouted for Andrew, trying hard not to be swallowed by the troubled waters and, much to his despair, the blond angel couldn’t manage to swim until where she was. Her cries were barely audible to him, as the thunders echoing throughout the dark skies almost made him deaf. The last thing Andrew remembered was to pray – for him, for the people on the boat (a group of scientists he and Monica were helping) and especially for his dearest friend, who he loved so much.

CHAPTER 1

When Andrew opened his green eyes the bright sun rays nearly hurt his iris, and he had to shut them quickly. It took him a while to get used to the intensity of the light and also to figure out what had happened in the previous hours. All that he could remember was that he was in a boat, with a group of four researchers and when they were miles away from the coast the weather changed abruptly. 

He could still hear the noise of the waves crashing and the sea smell brought by the wind. Drowsily, he moved his head and looked at his surroundings: a long path of white sand lay before him and then he felt the water of the ocean on his feet. That light contact was enough to trig a terrible flashback – all of a sudden, all the memories of the previous night came back to his mind: the giant waves, the thunders and lightning, the boat crashing and turning, all the passengers being thrown in the water and Monica’s desperate cries for help.

“Monica!” he spoke, now fully conscious and quickly sitting up straight on the sandy ground. The abrupt movement caused him to wince with pain, as probably he had collided with some rocks when the ocean stream brought him there. Quickly looking around, searching desperately for his dearest friend, the blond angel noticed that he was on a beach. Some dense vegetation grew not far from the sand and there wasn’t anybody around, the place seemed completely deserted.

“Monica! Monica!” he shouted, standing on his feet with some difficulties. His head was spinning and he was injured in the arm and on the head. Having no answer, he started to walk along the sand; his eyes scanning the surroundings in a desperate search for Monica, wondering if the ocean had brought her there, or if it'd put them apart.

"Monica! Angel! Please, answer to me!" he called, desperately. She was so fragile, so vulnerable the night before, and the violence of the waves stopped him from going to her. Her voice calling for him was echoing on his mind during the several minutes he spent walking along the beach; anguish filling his heart.

Finally, the blond angel could spot someone lying in the sand, close to the rocks to where waves collided; the white foam from breaking waves bathing her legs softly.

Andrew's heart was racing and his mind spinning at the vision of an unconscious Monica lying lifeless in the middle of nowhere. Her clothes - a pair of blue jeans and a white blouse, where a bit tore and soaked, and she had no shoes. He ran to her as fast as he could, ignoring his own pain, and knelt right beside, carefully holding her in his arms.

"Sweetie... it's alright... it's okay, now, the worst is gone... please, talk to me..." he spoke, caressing her hair and placing some wet strands behind her ear. Panic crept over him when he noticed there was blood in the side of her head, coming from a nasty gash on her temple. Her human form was badly hurt, and for a moment he thought he would throw up.

"Baby... angel, please, answer to me!" he called her, cradling her against his chest and placing his finger against her neck. Her human heart was beating, but weakly, as well as her breathing. Desperate, and without knowing what to do, Andrew raised Monica in his arms and carried her away from the sand.

Dense vegetation was growing not far from the beach and there were no other constructions or boats nearby. Andrew carefully lay his dearest friend down on the ground again, but now under the shadow of the tall trees, and gently patted her cheek; his own hand trembling with nervousness.

"Monica? Angel, please, talk to me... please..." having no reply, the blond angel turned his eyes up to the sky, and prayed, "Father... please, help her... help me! she's hurt and... I don't know what to do... She needs me..." With green pools filled with sadness, he looked at his surroundings, searching for any sign of the boat where they were or of the crew that was travelling with them.

All he could see, however, was the immense blue ocean ahead of him.

With tear-filled eyes, he turned to Monica and kissed her forehead lovingly, "Angel... I don't want to leave you but... I need to find help... Please, hold on a little, okay? I need you to hold on for me, baby..."

Andrew kissed her forehead and with infinite care, he lay her down on the ground. He rushed to the beach again, running along the sand and scanning the area, praying to find something or someone who could help them on that difficult moment. His prayers ceased some minutes later, when, climbing on the rocks ahead of him, he saw the remains of a boat brought by the waves - their boat. Some suitcases and objects were mixed with pieces of wood. There was no sign of life, though. If anyone had survived that tragedy, they had been sent somewhere else, and the blond angel was quick to go and pick up the few suitcases floating in the water and lay them in the sand.

He needed so many things! From dry clothes to food, from blankets to a knife and other kitchen utensils. But most importantly, he needed first aid material. And as a miracle happening in an hour of despair, Andrew found his suitcase. Right before he and Monica set off to the tragic trip, he had remembered to include a kit with first aid material inside his bag. He knew there would be another on board, but his protective instincts would always be greater once he had his dearest friend by his side.

And there it was. The hermetic way he had closed it prevented the water to spoil the bandages and medicines inside, and once he found it, the blond angel rushed back to where he had left Monica. Carefully, he knelt next to her and started to prepare gauze, alcohol and bandages to clean and protect her wounds, especially the one she had in her temple. With infinite care, he started to treat her, aware that she was hurting and that the alcohol was hurting her even more.

"I know... I know it hurts, baby... I'm so sorry... Please, forgive me..." he spoke, watching as the expression on her face turned into a painful one, and hearing her soft moaning every time he placed the cotton embedded in alcohol against her skin.

Once he was finished, Andrew cradled her in his arms again and rested his forehead against hers. "Monica... angel, please, answer to me... try to resist... wake up for me, angel..." he whispered, with tear filled eyes. To his despair, she had hit hear head stronger than he thought and the concussion on her temple made her unconscious. All he could do now was to wait and pray for his dear friend to heal.

"Father... I don't know what it happened to us... but I know You have a plan in Your mind... but, please, make her heal... She's suffering... she's deeply hurt, Father, and right now I cannot do anything to stop it... I wish I could take her pain away and feel it myself, but... all I can do is hold her..."