CHAPTER 5

Monica wiped away her tears as she watched little Joy playing with a small ball on her bedroom floor. Lying on her bed, in the small apartment she was sharing with Tess, the Irish angel remembered the harsh and hurtful words Andrew had spoken to her three days earlier. And her sadness and disappointment only increased in the latest hours as he never spoke to her again, nor tried to apologise or at least explain the reason for his behaviour. Sighing deeply, Monica stifled a small sob as a few more tears rolled down her cheeks; she wondered if everything Andrew had told her was really true – wondered if she’d really been this silly little angel who was nothing but a burden to her friends.

Feeling terribly lonely, she considered going back Home, but there was something else to ponder: her duties as an angel would only be finished once she knew about Evelyn and if the girl had finally found peace together with her family. Knowing that she’d managed to fulfil that assignment would at least bring her some comfort.

She was caressing Joy’s soft fur when the noise of keys opening the front door took her out of her reverie and made her jump from the bed. Monica came along the corridor and when she reached the living room a flood of relief invaded her heart as she saw Tess coming through the door.

“Hey baby! Oh, I’m so glad I finally got here!” the old angel exclaimed, closing the door behind her and receiving little Joy’s greetings.

“Oh, Tess...” with a tearful smile, Monica gave a few steps towards her dear friend and held her tightly, “... I missed you so much... So terribly...” she spoke, and the supervisor immediately noticed the deep sadness that emanated from her soul, “Oh, I missed you too, baby... I missed you a lot...”

“I wish I had gone with you...” she said, reluctant to pull away.

“Angel girl... did something happen?”

That question was enough to make Monica break down and cry on her shoulder, and frowning with great worry, Tess caressed her hair like a mother would do with her daughter, “Shh... Calm down, baby... Calm down... I can feel there’s something troubling your little heart, but remember that whatever it is, we’ll find a way to work things out...”

“Are you still my friend, Tess?” she asked, with a trembling voice. The older angel pulled away a little to look at her dear friend, “Of course I am, angel girl! Why are you asking me this? The Father knows how much I thank Him for sending me you!”

“Thank you, Tess... I love you so much... so much...”

Tess wiped away the tears from her red face and took her by the hand, guiding her up to the sofa, “Come here, let’s sit down and you’ll tell me what happened while I was away, okay?”

“How... how is Evelyn? Please, tell me, did her parents accept her back? Did we manage to fulfil our assignment?” the Irish angel wanted to know.

Despite the tense situation, a slight smile appeared on the supervisor’s face and she nodded her head, “Yes, they did, baby! Evelyn’s parents received her with open arms and we can say we have a happy family together again!”

“Oh... thank God...” relief filled Monica’s soul to hear that – besides the fact that she was very fond of the girl, like she would always feel about most of her assignments, that little piece of news meant that she wasn’t that terrible, clumsy angel that Andrew had spoken.

Once they were seated, Tess squeezed her hand and made her look at her, “Now tell me, what happened while I was out? Why can I see all this sadness in your eyes?”

*

Monica and Tess talked for about an hour and in this meantime, the Irish angel told her supervisor the latest events and Andrew’s strange and aggressive behaviour. Tess listened to everything quietly, with a surprised and pensive expression on her face. When Monica finally concluded her narrative, the older angel sighed deeply, searching for the right words to sum up what was on her mind.

“If it wasn’t you telling me about Andrew’s attitude I swear I wouldn’t believe a word of what I’ve just heard.”

“I... I knew he was having trouble with this assignment but I couldn’t imagine how bad it was affecting him... I... I wish I had been a better friend not a burden to him, Tess...” her tears were rolling down her face and there was so much anguish in the look in her eyes that it moved the supervisor.

“It’s not your fault, baby. You have been the best friend angel boy has ever had in his whole existence!”

“I don’t believe this is true anymore... Not after all the terrible things he told me...”

“That’s something I find really strange. It’s not like Andrew to talk to someone like this, either. Especially if this someone is you!”

“I don’t understand...”

“What I mean is that there’s something else behind his hostile behaviour, angel girl, something so terrible that made him treat you the way he did, maybe to keep you away.”

Wiping away her tears and frowning with concern, the little angel searched for an explanation inside the supervisor’s eyes, “You mean that Andrew might have done it on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“But why?”

“To protect you...”

Monica’s head was spinning with a turmoil of different thoughts. Suddenly Tess’ words began to make sense, now that she could see things more clearly. And then she remembered the day in the park before Andrew started his assignment, over a month earlier, and his words to her.

[i]”And I want you to always remember that. No matter what happens, you’ll always be in my thoughts and in my heart.”[/i]

“Oh, my goodness, Tess... What if he is in danger? He’s in human form and could even get hurt...”

“Calm down, baby! What we must do find out is what’s causing this strange behaviour,” Monica nodded her head in agreement as the supervisor continued to speak, “And since he doesn’t want to tell us what’s going on, since he doesn’t want his friends around, we must find some other way to help him.”

“You’re right, Tess. I’ll see what I can find out and... I’ll stay away from him. I... don’t think I’d be able to talk to him for a while...” she said, still deeply hurt by her friend’s harsh words. The truth was that she wouldn’t bear to hear all that all over again, nor to be offended by someone she loved so dearly like Andrew. If he was trying to protect her, then she would surely forgive him for what had been said earlier, knowing that he didn’t mean it by heart. But it still hurt a lot now.

*

Thinking about the one who had probably been causing all Andrew’s distress, the Irish angel returned to the church where she and Tess had been helping Evelyn in the last few months. Roy had been there, looking for his former girlfriend and something was telling her that it was the right place to start. She didn’t have much success in her first attempts, though, as no one out of the usual people had appeared there.

But on the following week, things changed.

She arrived at the church by the end of the afternoon. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains, spreading a golden glow that bore some resemblance to the light that surrounded God’s angels once they were on Earth transmitting His message. Monica was walking around the church garden with a pensive expression on her face, but also aware of the beauty in her surroundings. Flowers and trees had now a special hue and made a gorgeous contrast with the golden sky above them. For a few instants, the angel sat on a bench and lifted a silent prayer, both thanking God for that scenery and also asking for Andrew’s safety. The last time they had spoken like the true good friends that they used to be had been there, at that same garden.

[i]“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...”[/i]

A bittersweet smile appeared on her meek face as she remembered that moment and a single unnoticed tear rolled down her cheek. It seemed like a hundred years ago. How she missed her dearest friend! They’d been apart other times, working on different assignments in distant places around the world but always with the certainty that they would meet again and then tell each other all that had happened in this meantime, enjoying each other’s company. But this time the awful way he’d treated her was constantly on her mind and it even made her be afraid of him. Afraid of his reaction once they’d met again.

A small noise took her out of her reverie and the angel turned around. Staring at her with cold, troubled eyes was Roy. Monica stood up from the bench and gave a few steps towards him. It was possible to notice that he’d been losing weight and his scruffy appearance was an evidence that he’d been in the streets for many days.

“Where is Evelyn?” the young man asked, and just the sound of his voice was enough to cause fear.

“She’s not here anymore,” her reply, however, came in a tranquil soothing way.

“You’re lying!” he spoke, coming closer to her.

“I’m not. Evelyn returned to her parents’ house a few days ago. They’ve accepted her back, she’ll start a new life from now on.”

“Don’t you lie to me, you hear me?”

“I’m not lying, Roy. And you should follow Evelyn’s example, let Andrew help you, you’ll see that there are so many good people in this world who just want to help...”

“That Andrew guy is an idiot!” after taking a look at his surroundings, the boy stared at her again, “I need money!”

“I don’t have any money. And even if I had, I wouldn’t give it to you; I’d never allow you to go on drugs and hurt yourself so badly as you’ve been doing.” The tone of her voice was firm and she looked at him with compassion but with no fear, which annoyed him deeply, “What are you talking about, woman?”

“Look at what you’ve been doing to yourself, Roy! How many days haven’t you eaten or had a shower? How long have you been wandering around in the streets?”

“That’s none of your business! I want money and I want it now!”

“I told you, I don’t have any money and you won’t find it at the church either. Let Andrew help you, Roy. Trust him and I promise you that you won’t regret it!”

“I don’t need anybody’s help...” he spoke.

“Evelyn was so worried about you. She told me how much she would like you to have the same opportunity she had in here...” she saw his eyes flickered, maybe remembering the girl had had some impact deep inside his troubled heart.

“How could she leave like this?” he said, more to himself than to her.

“She came back to her family... For the ones that love her...”

“I never had anyone who loved me...”

“That’s not true...” she gave a few steps closer, “... I know your life has never been easy but there are people who want to help you, if you just let them.”

Roy narrowed his eyes, “You know what? I guess this Andrew guy has been talking about me way too much! I’m so tired of it!”

Those words scared the little angel a little, “I don’t need anybody to tell me about you, Roy! I can see that you need help just by looking at you! Please, let him help you!”

But the guy didn’t reply; he turned his back on her and left the church garden afterwards.

But his words remained echoing in her mind – what was he going to do now that he didn’t manage to find ant money? Where would he go? For a moment she thought about the school where Andrew worked, but the young man had taken a totally different way. Maybe he would return to the place where he’d been living for, whatever it was. The conflict inside the little angel’s mind took place and she pondered between going up to the school and talking to Andrew or returning home and telling Tess about what had happened.

With her mind spinning, she entered the church and walked up to the altar, where she knelt and prayed for about an hour, asking for guidance and pleading for Andrew’s safety. Then, Monica took her way back to the apartment that she’d been sharing with her friend and supervisor, but suddenly a terrible, frightening sensation invaded her heart. It was a mix of anguish, pain, despair and utmost fear and it caused her to change her plans – she immediately headed to the school where Andrew was working. It was night already and at each step she gave, the more her panic increased.