CHAPTERS 16 & 17

Chapter 16

Monica walked along the sand with her arms crossed in front of her and permanent tears falling from her eyes. Lost in thoughts, the little Irish angel was not paying attention to were her feet were taking her until she saw a series of rocky formations on the beach. They now replaced the soft sand and she immediately felt difficulties in walking around such a rough ground. But Monica didn't care. All she wanted was to stay away from Andrew and, thus, away from those feelings that had been haunting her heart.

But they kept on chasing her wherever she would go.

She insisted on crossing those rocky boundaries and realised she had never been to that part of the island before. Some weeks ago, she had crossed the island through the forest, and now it seemed she had walked around it along the beach. The waves there crashed into the rocks and horror filled her face when she realised that there were  remains of a boat stuck to the white sand, hidden by the constant crashing waves.

Initially, the little angel thought it was their boat, and flashbacks of that terrible night immediately started to play on her mind, causing her to tremble both with panic and deep sadness. Monica knelt on the ground and covered her face with both hands, sobbing miserably. All the latest events playing on her mind like a turmoil, leaving her to wonder when all that would end.

And then she had to admit to herself that right at that very moment, all she wanted was to be in Andrew's loving embrace. He was the one to soothe her soul and chase her fears away, he was the very friend that could bring joy and peace to her angelic heart, like a gift sent by God Himself.

With tear filled eyes, she looked up to the sky and spoke for the first time. "Father... Please, show me what to do... I'm so confused... So afraid to disappoint You... and I think I've already disappointed You enough..."

The loving kiss she and Andrew had shared a while ago was still so vivid in her mind and in her heart that she was afraid to close her eyes, as she knew she would relive it again and again. She was afraid of the surge of joy and tenderness that would fill in her heart at the moment she remembered that sweet caress. And Monica would never forget the look in Andrew's eyes when he confessed his love. There was so much affection, so much tenderness and fierce protectiveness, that she couldn't doubt what he felt.

For his feelings were exactly like hers. Love in its pure essence.

A silence she couldn't understand was the reply to her plea, and she thought the worst: what she and Andrew had done was terribly wrong. Her eyes fell slowly and were soon were facing the ground, as silent tears kept on rolling down her cheeks. She had never felt so lost.

X

Andrew stood by the pond for long minutes. Sitting on a fallen tree trunk, he held his head in both hands as the flashback of their conversation and of their loving kiss continued to play on his mind. The blond angel had never felt so happy. At least for a few moments. What would happen to them now? He didn't mind the consequences of those feelings as he was sure that the love he felt for her could never be wrong. But Andrew didn't know what being in love could mean for angels, and the last thing he wanted was to see Monica suffering.

And then he remembered the moments after the kiss. Monica ran away from him with a terrified expression on her face, as if what they had done was something terribly wrong. He had tried to reach her and make her stop walking and listen to him. He shouted her name out loud in the forest for many times, the wind carrying the echo of his anguished voice amongst the trees and bushes. But the Irish angel didn't stop; much on the contrary - she tried to escape from him and disappear from his view, and that fact alone hurt too much.

Sighing deeply, he raised his eyes up to the sky. "Father... Please, don't deny us both this feeling... I love her so much... So much more than I could ever imagine..." he prayed, with tears in the corner of his green eyes. "... I know she's Your angel, but I cannot help thinking and feeling as if she was a bit my angel too... the most beautiful little angel I've ever met... I would give up my own existence for her, Father. I could spend my whole existence loving her and it still wouldn't be enough..."

Like Monica, he too had silence as a reply to his prayers. Running a hand through his hair, Andrew rose to his feet and started a walk amongst the forest. There were so many things going on right now that he felt he too needed some time alone, to think about a way to deal with those feelings and specially to deal with Monica. He could easily feel the conflict in her little heart and longed to hold her in his arms and tell her everything would be alright, like he always did.

With strong steps, he walked for some time along the forest. When Monica ran away from him she followed a path amongst bushes and trees and once she didn't reply to his callings, he gave up chasing her. Due to this, the blond angel didn't know she had returned to the beach. His fear of her getting lost again was great and he decided it was time to go after her even if she didn't want to face him. Monica was too weak now and demanded all the protection he could give her.

"Monica! Monica, can you hear me?" he shouted, loud and clear, and there was much tension in his voice. "Monica, we have to go back to the beach! If you can listen to me say something!"

The blond angel was so determined to find his friend that he was pulling away the bushes and tree branches that would appear in his way with roughness and some impatience. He had to find Monica urgently before she managed to go too far. And it was exactly after he shoved away another tree branch from his way that he saw something that caused him to stop walking. His eyes in shock and surprise stared at a spot right in front of him, and before he had the chance to speak, a gun shot broke the silence of the island.

Andrew fell on the ground completely unconscious.

X

Monica remained on the beach for a long time, staring at the remains of the boat and wondering why she and Andrew had been sent to that deserted island. But some small details of the shipwreck that was right in front of her caught her eyes and she frowned.

The "Madeleine," where she and Andrew had initially started to fulfil their assignment was different from that one. It was completely white and had been recently painted. Besides, it was bigger and had modern equipment that did not bear any resemblance to the objects scattered around her.

Monica approached the remains and examined them further, and a minute later a disturbing thought crossed her mind: that was another boat. Some other boat had collided with the coast of that small island a while ago, before she and Andrew arrived there.

Worry and confusion clouded her face and her first impulse was to go and tell Andrew.

Andrew.

The sharp pain she suddenly felt inside her heart was so strong that she failed breathing. Her legs and hands started shaking and all she knew was that had to go to Andrew as fast as she could.

X

Monica rushed back to the beach, and then to the cave, but there was no sign of her dearest friend. With her heart racing, and the strange panic sensation taking over her soul, the little angel still looked for him around the cave surroundings, up to the place where he used to fish, but she didn't manage to find him. The food he had gathered early in the morning was still there, untouched, and she assumed he hadn't returned from the forest. And that fact alone only made her panic even more: hours had passed since the last time they had spoken, so what could keep him away from the cave?

"Andrew... please, come back..." she murmured, feeling the presence of tears in her eyes once again. Except that now those were tears of fear.

"Andrew! Andrew, are you there?" she shouted out loud, despair filling her voice. But no reply was heard, and the little angel ran to the forest, hoping to find him there.

"Andrew! Andrew, please, answer to me!"

Her desperate cries echoed through the forest while she stepped fast among the vegetation. Long minutes passed by and despite her insistent calling, silence was her only reply. Tired, the Irish angel stopped at a clearing and placed both hands on her knees, breathing hard for air. She was already very weak and the events of the day only contributed to increase her exhaustion.

"Oh, Father, please, have mercy on us... please, I beg you!" she prayed, but before she could make another movement, she heard the gun shot not far from where she was, and then her colour disappeared from her face.

With her heart in erratic beating, Monica looked around her, panic filling her eyes. "Andrew! Andrew, where are you? Please, say something! Andrew!"

Her desperate cries lasted for some terrifying moments while she walked along the forest, in a frantic search for her dearest friend. Her search didn't last for long, though. A small noise behind her made her turn around and, with terror-filled eyes, she saw Andrew's aggressor.

Chapter 17

Monica's body was trembling entirely as she faced the one who was probably the responsible for the terrifying gunshot that had echoed across the island. A tall woman, probably in her late forties, with scruffy torn clothes and dishevelled hair, was staring back at Monica. She was holding a small revolver and had an hostile expression on her face.

"W-who are you?" Monica finally asked, her heart beating erratically in her chest.

"I heard voices... I saw the tall man coming closer..." she said, her voice rough and unfriendly. It seemed that she hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time.

"Did you see Andrew? Where is he?" Monica was pleading, and even though the woman seemed a very unkind creature, somewhere deep inside she felt sorry for that young lady. "And who are you?" the Irish angel also wanted to know, afraid of that strange image standing before her eyes.

"I was under the impression that there was somebody in the island... The noises in the forest... the voices I could swear I heard... I saw you in the forest one day and I thought I was going crazy thinking that I'd seen some sort of ghost or even an angel!" she said, and Monica's memory immediately flew back some weeks before, when she had a strange sensation to be observed while she was picking berries.

"We never knew there was someone in here. You've never been to the beach... Why did you hide away from us?" she wanted to know, her eyes turning from the gun in the woman's hand and her unfriendly face.

"I didn't know about your existence since early this morning. As I said, when I saw you I thought the forest was playing tricks in my eyes... And I never come to the beach... Far too many sad memories..." her voice trailed off for a moment but then she stared back at Monica, the hostile expression back to her face. "But today I heard voices! And I saw you and that man arguing! I heard the way he spoke to you!"

"Andrew... but..." her voice trailed off as she remembered her running away from Andrew and his voice calling out her name and insisting that she should come back. His anguished voice due to the seriousness of what had happened minutes earlier could easily be interpreted as anger. But that one angel would never ever direct anger towards her.

"He entered the forest and was about to find me. I thought he would attack me and then I... I shot him!" the woman continued to speak.

Hearing that, Monica's heart skipped a beat and she covered her mouth to stifle a sob. "What?"

"I saw the angry way he talked to you! I started to imagine what kind of man he is and what he had already done to you while you were here!"

"Oh, no! No! Andrew is my friend! He would never hurt anybody!" she searched her surroundings desperately, looking for her dearest friend. The woman's face softened a little: definitely that blond man meant a lot to that young lady.

"Where is he? Where is Andrew?"

"He... He's over there, I'll take you to him." She said, starting to realise she had made a terrible mistake.

Both woman and angel ran in between the trees and bushes, and finally Monica saw her beloved Andrew's body lying unconscious on the ground. Her breath caught in her throat at that image, and she immediately knelt next to him and caressed his hair. There was blood in his shirt as he had been hit near the ribs.

"Andrew... Please, talk to me... Please! I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry for what I said..."

"I saw him walking towards me and I was... in panic," the woman said, feeling extremely guilty. "I thought he would attack me..."

"Andrew is... the most loving soul I've ever met..." the Irish angel spoke, tears falling from her eyes. Carefully, and with some difficulty, she lifted his shoulders and lay his head on her chest, gently caressing his face, "Oh, Andrew! I was so unfair... so terribly unfair with you... The truth is that I love you... I love you so much... Please, don't ever doubt of my feelings..."

"I'm so terribly sorry, young lady!" the woman begged, "I know there's nothing I can say that can make you feel better... I guess ghosts from the past were started to haunt me at the moment I saw him..."

"He needs help... please, help us..."

"Yes, but... how are we going to take him away from here? And do you have any first aid material?"

"No..." Monica shook her head in despair, as all the first aid material had been spent with her.

"How in the world did you two end up here?"

"There was an accident with our boat," she said, with trembling voice, "Andrew and I were brought here by the ocean... We've been here for over a month..."

"My God... The story repeats itself..." the woman exclaimed.

"What do you mean?"

"There was an accident with my boat... I've been here for... three months... I guess... I've lost track of the time..."

Surprised, Monica frowned and stared at her, "Who are you?"

"My name is Madeleine Peterson."

The look on Monica's face was one of shock, "Madeleine Peterson? You're... Captain Peterson's wife..."

"Yes... Do you know the story?"

"Yes... he lost his wife a while ago, in an accident like ours. You're a marine researcher and was on an expedition when a thunderstorm stroke... The boat Andrew and I were was named in honour to you..." Monica said, and now everything became clear to her. Their assignment was standing right before her eyes. But now her dear Andrew was hurt, and she had no way to treat him there.

Crying with emotion, the woman nodded her head, "Yes... I should have never left without him... I told Joseph he should stay home resting and that I'd take another boat..." she remembered, "I thought... I'd never get out of this island..."

"Captain Peterson has lost his hopes... Andrew and I met him briefly before we left... He refuses to step into a boat again and his soul is in much pain, I could say..."

All of a sudden, a noise was brought by the wind and as it reached their ears, and they stared at each other: a helicopter was flying close to the island.

"Oh, my God! It's a miracle!" Madeleine exclaimed, and rushed to the beach.