CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

On that morning, Monica had to walk alone to the church where she’d been working in the last weeks, as Tess’ presence was requested some other place. The first step of their assignment had already been accomplished: a young lady named Evelyn had finally agreed to leave the streets and go back to her parents’ house. But she still feared to be rejected by her mother and father, and now the two angels were also helping her to find the necessary strength to ask for forgiveness.

The Irish angel crossed the church gates and was heading to the interior of the building when she heard altered voices coming from the yard. Frowning a little, Monica followed the sounds walking along the green grass and saw that a young couple seemed to be having a serious argument. One of them was Evelyn and the other was a young man, probably in his late teens, wearing black clothes and carrying a heavy backpack. She had seen him before – the cold and threatening look in his eyes left no room for doubts: that was Roy, Andrew’s assignment.

“... go away, Roy, I told you I don’t have any money!”

“I don’t believe you! Look at these clothes, look at this place... they must be giving you some money to afford it!”

“These clothes and even what I eat here come from donations! If you decided to stop using drugs and left the streets you’d see that these people here help the ones who need!”

“I’m not here to hear a lecture, Evelyn, I’m here because I need money!”

When he gave a step closer and held the girl’s arm, Monica felt the need to intervene. “Hey, let go of her arm!” she spoke, in a loud voice, standing right beside Evelyn and shooting the boy a warning look.

Reluctantly, and also staring at her with the same cold look, he let go of the girl’s arm and stepped back. “I’ll come back later, Evelyn...”

Then, he moved away and left the church. Watching as her assignment started to cry and tremble nervously, Monica wrapped her arms around her shoulders, “Shh... it’s okay, Evelyn. Please, stay calm, he won’t bother you anymore.”

“My past will always follow me wherever I go, Monica...”

“Only if you allow this to happen...” she cupped the young lady’s chin and made her look at her, “... you’ve been working so hard to be a better person, to leave the kind of life you had in the streets... Don’t let the first sad memory ruin what you’ve conquered.”

“When I met Roy I used to live in the streets... stealing people and using the money to eat or worse. He’s still leading this kind of life, I know. He can be dangerous, Monica...”

“But you did what you had to do, you told him to go away and he won’t be bothering you, Evelyn. Remember that God will always be holding your hand in the most difficult moments... You’re His child and He loves you very much!”

Sniffling, Evelyn nodded, “I know... I’m... I’m so grateful that He sent you and Tess to help me out... so grateful...”

*

“... the money was stolen from several students, all in the same classroom, and all of them noticed it had been stolen yesterday after the break!” Andrew spoke, with a stern tone in his voice, inside his room at school, on the same day. And sitting in front of him was Roy.

The boy kept on staring at him, with his head raised and a defiant expression on his face. “And I don’t get it why you’re telling me this.” He replied, with some arrogance.

“Because a person saw you getting out of this same room, right before the break was over, and if I recall it well, you didn’t return to your class after that!” the blond angel faced him with the same stern expression.

“Yeah, I saw that woman looking at me as if I was a criminal!” Andrew knew immediately that he was talking about Monica and, for a split second, a shiver ran through his human body. “Maybe she was the one to steal the money!”

Trying to ignore the troubling feeling of hearing that guy talking about Monica, he pulled a chair and sat down right in front of Roy, “You know exactly what you did, Roy. Why don’t you confess it?”

“So that you can screw me up and take me to jail? Forget it, man! And you know what? I’m outta here!” he said, standing up on the following second.

“Don’t you see you’re ruining your life? Don’t you see that Someone wants to give you a chance?” the blond angel spoke, in a last attempt to convince him to stay. But Roy not only ignored his words but also turned around to make a last statement, “You tell that woman that she’d better shut up and forget that I exist or I’ll go back at that church and have a word with her myself!”

Then, he slammed the door behind him, leaving a very scared Andrew behind.

“... See? I told you you shouldn’t waste your time!” Gregory’s voice was heard a second later, causing Andrew to be twice afraid.

“Go away, Gregory. You’re not welcome...” the angel replied, trying hard to control his anger.

“Well, judging by that boy’s behaviour, I guess you’re wrong!” the demon gave a few steps and stopped right in front of Andrew. “His soul is mine already, Andrew. It’s just a matter of days... And if you don’t want any other soul to be sacrificed together with his, you’d better move away from him.”

“I’m not afraid of your threats nor of the one you represent...”

“He’s just an assignment, it’ll be easy to forget... But if anything bad happens to a friend then things get way more painful, don’t you think?”

The evil creature vanished a second later, and frowning with deep concern, Andrew stood by the window, looking at the sky and praying for protection. Roy’s words were still vivid in his mind – he knew Monica; he remembered seeing her a few days earlier, when she visited him at the school. And what was worse: he knew where she was working. With a turmoil of thoughts inside his mind, the blond angel grabbed his leather jacket and left the school building – he needed to check on something urgently.

*

Monica had been working at the church, preparing it for the Sunday mass while Tess and Evelyn were out collecting donations for charity. Barefoot, and with a few strands of hair disarrayed from her ponytail, the Irish angel was now in the garden, picking some flowers for the altar when she heard a familiar voice right behind her.

“Angel?”

Monica turned around with a surprised and pleased expression on her face, “Andrew!” the broad smile on her face made his heart ten times lighter. “I didn’t know you were coming...”

“Well... I just... I wanted to make a surprise...” he said, quickly searching for an excuse for his sudden visit. With a slight smile on his face, he wrapped her in his arms for a warm embrace, resting his cheek on the top of her head and closing his eyes for a moment, amazed with the incredible sensation of peace she was able to bring to his troubled heart.

“Is... is there something wrong?” she wanted to know, feeling an inch of distress coming from his soul – their connection didn’t leave room for doubt, if there was a problem, she could sense it.

Sighing deeply, he pulled away just a little and gently cupped her cheek, “Well... when you visited me a few days ago we only talked for a few minutes and now that I have some free time I thought it was fair enough to pay you a visit as well...”

The mix of innocence and curiosity on her meek face was such that it filled his heart with emotion and, for a split second, he felt like asking her to go away from that city because it wasn’t a safe place anymore.

With the usual kind smile back, she nodded her head, “I’m happy you’re here, ya know, I’m just sorry I’m not exactly prepared to receive a guest!” she cheerfully replied, looking at herself – her hair was disarrayed, she was barefoot and her hands and feet were dirty with mud for the time she’d been picking flowers.

“You’re prettier than ever!” he spoke, gently caressing her cheek, trying to disguise all the worry inside his troubled heart. “Let me help you with this...”

The two angels spent the rest of the afternoon talking about trivial matters and for some time, Andrew felt his worries diminish as Monica’s cheerful mood sent away some of his sadness and made him believe, even if for brief moments, that everything would be alright again. By 7 p.m. they finally finished to tidy up the church for the mass early on the following morning.

“Thank you, Andrew. I’d have taken more time if you weren’t here to help me!” she said, truly grateful.

“You’re always welcome, baby. But what about Tess and your assignment... shouldn’t they be back already?”

“Oh, they would spend the day out. Many people from this region help with the church donating clothes and food and with Tess’ car it’s easier to collect them.”

He listened to her words attentively and then nodded, “Alright... then I’ll walk with you until the apartment.”

“Andrew, I’d love to have your company but I know you have an assignment to take care of and I won’t mind if-”

“Please, Monica, let me do this,” he asked, and the urgent tone in his voice warned her that she should allow him to do so.

“It’s... it’s alright then... I’ll go and wash my hands and my feet then... I’ll be right back,” she replied, aware that there was something he wasn’t telling her.

Both angels returned to the apartment some time later and when she saw her “daddy,” little Joy practically jumped on his feet, wagging her tiny tail and pleading for some attention.

“Hey, little one! I’m happy to see you too!” Andrew knelt on the floor and caressed the puppy’s soft black fur, chuckling at the animal’s excitement.

“She missed her ‘daddy’ very much!” the Irish angel spoke, closing the entrance door behind her and smiling to see how the little dog took the opportunity to untie his shoe laces and try to rip them off his shoes – something that she would always do.

“I can see that!” he joked, with mock annoyance. Joy looked back at him and barked twice, enjoying it when he stroked her tiny head once again. Andrew’s expression softened and the smile returned to his face, “I’ve been missing this, you know... Staying with you all, like we always are most part of the time...”

“Me too... But there will be many assignments ahead, Andrew. And Tess will be here at any minute, you can stay with us for dinner; everything is ready and-”

“No, angel, I’m sorry.” He stood up and cupped her cheek with his hand, “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I... have to check on Roy and see if he didn’t get himself into more trouble than he already is.”

Sighing deeply, she nodded, noticing that his handsome smile was gone, “I understand... I saw him yesterday, you know. At the church.”

That piece of information wasn’t new to him. Yet, it brought a very unpleasant sensation to his heart. “What was he doing there?” he asked, electing not to tell her that he already knew about it – that would probably alarm her and reveal the reason for all his concern.

“He knows Evelyn, my assignment. It seems that they dated in the past, when she was in the streets. She was trying to send him away but he insisted on staying and asking for money. I had to interfere as he was holding her arm tightly...”

Even more scared to hear that, the blond angel nodded and took her hand in both of his, “Angel... I don’t understand what this means, although we both know it’s not a coincidence. But I’m gonna ask you something: please, be careful with him, ok?”

“I know. Don’t worry, Andrew, I’ll be alright.”

“Come here...” he pulled her for a tight embrace, “You take care of yourself, ok?”

“You take care of yourself too. I’ll say a special prayer for you, I’m sure things will be alright...”

“Thank you, angel...”

He lay a gentle kiss on her forehead and left the apartment afterwards. From the window, the little angel watched as her dearest friend went away and it was then that she heard Joy’s weeping next to her. Feeling sorry for the animal, she scooped her in her arms and kissed her tiny head, “I know, sweetheart. He’s sad and worried and I know this assignment isn’t an easy one... If he fails, he won’t forgive himself...”