chapters 9 and epilogue

CHAPTER  9

Three days after:

“So, we two can still be friends, can’t we?”

“Of course we can, Brian. To be honest, you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had!”

Annie and Brian were sitting on the grass, under a tree, in the yard of Cathedral High School. The blond teenager blushed in hearing those words:

“Oh, c’mon!”

“I’m serious! We became friends because you saw qualities in me that even I had forgotten that I had.”

“You’re very intelligent, Annie. More intelligent than I’ll never be...”

“Don’t say that. You have a great talent too, and if you can use you talent so well, it means you’re as smart as I am. What happens is that our interests in life are different, that’s all. I never thought a guy like you would want to befriend somebody like me...”

“Why not? Besides being the most intelligent person that I’ve ever met, you’ve got a great heart too, Annie. You’ve never tried to point out how much you know and how much I don’t. You’ve never made me feel like a stupid near you.”

“It means a lot to me hearing you say those things, Brian, as I myself never thought I would be able to make somebody pay attention to me... especially somebody so popular like you. You gave me confidence, and I’m really thankful for that.”

The two teenagers smiled at each other:

“Well, I have a philosophy class in five minutes.”

“And I have a training that has probably started, so I think we’d better hurry!”

He helped her to her feet and they hurried back into the school building.

*

In another part of Cathedral High School...

“... so mom decided we’ll stay here for good, and you can’t imagine how happy I am with that, Eddie! Finally she and grandma stopped being so silly and finished with that grudge that lasted for so much time.”

“I’m happy for you, Kate. I really am. You know, I don’t have a mother, but I have a great dad, and, listening to what you’ve just told me, I realised that  I don’t think I’d be able to stop talking with him for one single day.”

“Isolation is a terrible thing. I think it’s one of the saddest things in the world. Your heart grows bitter and lonely because you don’t have anybody there for you, to be your friend...”

The boy nodded:

“I couldn’t agree more, as I was one of these people who think that life sucks and kinda chased everybody away.”, he said, and smiled as if he had just found out something that had been evident for a long time: “In other words: I was a jerk!”

Kate also smiled, but in a kind way:

“You don’t look or sound like a jerk to me! Actually, you’re the kind of person that I’d like to have as a friend for life!”

Edward took her hand:

“So are you, Kate. You may not know how much you’ve helped me to chase this loneliness away, but I’m sure I’ll never forget that.”

“Well, that means a lot, as you resisted so bravely to the marathon of shops and basketball matches and horror movie sessions I put you through! Believe me, you were the first one who did it!”

They laughed loudly:

“I have to confess that I was almost beaten! One more shop and I wouldn’t have resisted!”

The boy turned serious:

“But I guess that was exactly what I needed. Somebody to literally shake me so that I could wake up and see that, although life has been hard sometimes, it still has many good things to offer, and we should try to be happy with them.”

“I’m glad I could help you so much. And... just once in a while, would you mind going around in the city with me? I don’t know it very well and...”

“Anytime you want, Kate, we have a deal!”

“Deal!”

*

At the end of the day, the classes were over and the students started leaving the school building. Before going away, Annie decided to take a walk in the school garden, as she always used to do after the classes finished. The place was desert, as the last thing a student thought about in the end of the afternoon was going in there. It was when the teenager heard a female voice:

“Annie?”

“Hi Monica! I was just going to look for you!”

“It seems that you have a lot of work to do...”, the Irish angel said, seeing how many books the girl was carrying with her.

“Yes, it’s going to be a busy week!”

“So I assume you won’t have much time to watch so many basketball matches...”

“Well, Brian and I have come to an agreement: one or two matches a month will do! He became a good friend.”

“I’m sorry. I know that you wanted him to be more than your friend.”

“To be honest, I did, in the beginning. But I’ve found out that it’s better to have him as a friend than anything else, and he agreed with me. And don’t be sorry, Monica, I was just looking for you and for Andrew to say thanks to both of you.”

“Really?”, Monica asked, in surprise.

“Yes! After you two found me in the street at that night, crying in an empty bus station and feeling miserable, things started changing in my life. You became such good friends, encouraged me and you even found a way to put Brian and I together in the library, remember?”

“Well... I ... I...”

“And I was telling Brian this morning how important he was in bringing my self confidence back. I would say that he finished what you and Andrew started to do at the very first moment we’ve met.”. The girl smiled: “I know it may sound crazy, but... I would even say that you’re two angels that crossed my way when I most needed... And I even thanked God for sending you.”

Monica turned her eyes to the sky for a brief moment, as if now she could understand many things.

“Thank you Father...”, she whispered, and turned back to the girl, taking her hand with a kind smile:

“It doesn’t sound crazy to say that messengers of God were sent to help you, because they are as real as you are, Annie...”

By saying so, a splendid glow surrounded her, and the teenager opened her mouth and eyes in amazement:

“So... you’re... you’re...”

“Yes, I am an angel. And so is Andrew. You know, Annie, when we first met you, not even we knew that God was making us instruments of His endless love for all His children, for you in special.”

“For me?! Are you serious?!”

“Oh yes, and I must say that He is very proud of you, Annie. You had lost your faith in humans and in yourself, but was able not only to get back the hope, courage and happiness you had lost, but also to be generous with another human being, helping him as well. And He wants you to continue like this. In the moments of anguish and pain, lay your troubles in His hands and trust Him, instead of sitting alone, in the dark and feeling that the world has turned its back on you. Remember He will always be at your side, ready to listen to your worries as well as to your thanks.”

“I promise I will, Monica. Every single day of my life, I’ll never forget that anymore...”, replied the teenager, with tears of happiness rolling down from her eyes.

*

Edward packed his material and was ready to leave the already empty classroom:

“Hey Andrew, it’s a pity you’re leaving the school, you’re such a good teacher.”

“Thanks Edward. I was substituting Margaret during her days off, but now that she’s back my assignment here is finally over and I really have to go.”

“What about your girlfriend?”

A slight blush appeared on Andrew’s face:

“Umm... you mean Monica, right? Well, she’s also leaving the school, as she too was substituting the librarian, Mrs Brown. What about you? I’ve heard your project has been chosen to be presented tomorrow, at the local college...”

“Yeah, the teachers really liked the scenarios I created on the computer to show the human evolution throughout centuries. I’ll present it tomorrow and... if they choose it as the best one amongst the other 19 projects, I’ll get a scholarship to study at one of the best computer schools in the city!”

The blond angel smiled, happy to hear that.

“I don’t know how to thank you, Andrew. You asked the class to do this project and chose mine to be exposed in the entrance hall of the school. And then Kate and her grandma saw it and it didn’t take too long to the headmaster to see it too. Kate’s grandma must have talked to him, much on Kate’s enthusiasm itself!”

“Kate, umm?”

Edward didn’t miss Andrew’s inquisitive look.

“Yes, she’s a great friend...”

“A friend?...”, asked him, with raised eyebrows. The boy smiled:

“Yes. We’ve talked and decided that we’re best of friends, nothing more than that. You know, Kate is a lot of fun; to be honest, more fun than I could be ready for. I think I’ve been to almost all shopping malls that can exist in the city! And she and I have some problems in balancing our likes and dislikes. As we’re friends, these problems aren’t too big, and we can handle them.”

The blond angel nodded his head, understandingly. Edward turned serious and kept on speaking:

“You two helped me out very much. Thanks again.”

Andrew looked through the window, observing the clouded sky for some moments, and a sudden thought crossed his mind:

“Yes, Father...”, he murmured, looking at Edward: “I’m happy for you, Edward. And so is God.”

“God?”, asked the boy, with a confused tone in his voice.

“Yes. And He sent me here to help you to see that there’s more to life than sorrow and loneliness.”

A sudden glow involved Andrew’s figure, and the teenager took off his cap completely astonished:

“Oh, Jesus...”

“I’m an angel, Edward. A messenger of hope and faith. And I have to confess to you that even I didn’t know about God’s plan when I first came here, in this school, when I asked you to do that research work or when I introduced Kate to you.”

“I... I don’t get it... God knows me?”

“Oh yes, he does know you. More than this: He loves you very much, as you’ve always been a good son, and has a message for you. Trusting in another human being, hoping the best of other people and being ready to help the others. All these actions were presented to you so that you could learn to trust in yourself, hope the best of your attitudes and be ready to let the others come to you. You’re His child, and so are the people that surround you; nobody is an island of isolation and pain. You’ve given the first steps towards His lesson and He wants you listen and learn it very well so that you can pass it on, as other people did to you in the first place.”

Edward bowed his head in respect, and smiled with emotion:

“I’ll be paying attention to Him and to His signals every step of the way, Andrew, you can be sure about this.”, he said, with a grateful look.

*

The last students were leaving the school, among them there was Edward, who soon spotted Annie coming from behind the school building, where the garden was:

“Hey Annie!”, he called. Hearing his voice and seeing him, she smiled:

“Hi Edward!”, replied the girl, joining him. “I’ve heard your project was chosen to represent the school...”

“Yes, I’ll present it tomorrow...”

Near there, but unseen to the human eye, Monica was watching the two teenagers with a broad smile on her face. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice coming from behind her:

“Here you are, Angel Girl!”

The little auburn angel turned around and faced her best friend, who had an expression of joy and excitement, proper of those who have just finished a well done job. He walked towards her:

“And finally I can do something that I longed for since the beginning of this assignment...”

Saying this, he grabbed Monica by her waist, lifted her up off the ground and twirled her around in circles. Laughing loudly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, deeply enjoying the feeling of being in his strong arms. Some minutes later, Andrew put her back on the ground, although she continued wrapped in his neck, and placed a big kiss on her cheek.

“Do you mind if I ask why all this sudden happiness?”, she asked.

“I guess it’s just a little celebration, as our ‘free time assignment’ went on so well!”

Gently, she pulled away and looked at his face:

“I feel that way too. It’s so good!”

“Yes, it is...”, he put some strands of her hair, disarrayed during the twirling, behind her ear, “...Monica, do you wanna go to the movies?!”

Both laughed loudly as it wasn’t necessary to answer to that question.

EPILOGUE

Some months later...

When the last movie session finished, Monica and Andrew were sitting on the top of the movie theatre’s building, together with Tess, who was standing beside them, watching the audience leaving the place. Among these people, there were Annie and Edward, walking hand in hand.

“Oh, I’m so happy with the work we did with these two!”, said Monica, watching the kids.

“We wouldn’t have imagined that what we really had to do is to give them hope and courage when we decided to help them. And remember that the idea of a ‘free time assignment’ was yours, Angel Girl!”

She looked at him affectionately:

“That’s not true! We two made a very good job! And, besides this, if it wasn’t for you inviting me to go to the movies in the first place, we wouldn’t have found Annie...”

“An act of kindness that was passed on and on...”, Andrew simplified.

“Yeah... I must admit that I was pleased of the way you used your free time...”, Tess confessed, which made them happier than before. But she kept a stern face: “But I hope the next time you two angels decide to fly solo, let me know it first, so that I won’t have to go out in the middle of the night to take you home and send you straight to bed with no coffee and no pizza!”

They couldn’t help chuckling at those words. The Irish angel remembered something:

“The only thing I’m sorry for is Brian and Kate, you know Andy...”

“Well, I wouldn’t be sorry if I were you, Angel Girl...”, he replied, with a mysterious look.

“I don’t understand...”

“Take a look over there...”

She looked in the direction pointed by the blond angel and smiled with contentment at the scene she saw: Kate and Brian were entertained in a conversation, walking hand in hand, leaving the movie theatre across the street, which was showing a horror film.

The three angels watched the teenagers for a few more minutes, and didn’t miss the small kiss Annie and Edward shared right before entering in the nearest cyber café.

“Well... a pretty end for a pretty story, isn’t it?”, said Andrew.

“Oh yes... I wish all stories finished with kisses, hugs and all sorts of acts of affection!”, said Monica. Andrew wrapped both of his arms around her shoulder:

“Unfortunately not all stories end up like this. But the ones that do can be inspiring, can’t they?!”, he said, with his eyes full of love for the little Irish angel. She looked at him affectionately and with a kind smile, and held him back. The blond angel pushed her closer, leaning to brush a loving kiss on her forehead and, after, to place a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. The auburn angel didn’t miss the opportunity to brush a gentle kiss on his cheek and rested her head in the nape of his neck, sighing contentedly.

Watching that scene, Tess rolled her eyes to the sky with a mock upset and bored expression on her face, and mumbled:

“I think I’d better check out my glucose as I’ve been exposed to too much sugar lately!...”

They exchanged a quick look and laughed, amused by the fake grouchy tone in her voice. The oldest angel turned her eyes to the 4 teenagers walking down in the street, and kept on talking:

“And whenever you decide to open a match making agency, let me know it first, so that I don’t have to watch these kind of things...”

Hearing to that, the two looked at each other with a mischievous smile and, an instant after, stood up:

“Tess, have I mentioned how beautiful you look like when you’re pretending to be angry with us?!”, joked Andrew, going towards the supervisor and with a suspicious expression on his face.

“And the more you scold us, the more we feel like doing something...”, completed the auburn angel, also walking in her direction. And before Tess could say something, they grabbed her at the same time, both kissing her cheeks and tickling her.

“Hey, what the heck you’re doing?!...”, she screamed, even more distressed than before: “...I’m not in the mood for these plays of yours, did you hear me?!”

But her two charges completely ignored her complaints and continued to tickle her:

“Oh Tess we love you so much!!!”, Monica said, between laughter, and, together with her best friend, gave the supervisor a final big hug.

“Oh, look how much mess you two can do in just a blink of an eye!”, grumbled the oldest angel, fixing her coat and her hat, which had fallen during the sudden ‘attack’. She looked to both Andrew and Monica and finally let out a loud laughter:

“C’mere you two!”, she urged and hugged them tightly: “You know I too love you very very much babies!!!”

Near them, a white dove cooed and flew nearby the old building, crossing the starry night.

THE END