CHAPTER 3

Monica walked slowly through the woods, retracing her steps taken earlier with Andrew to their picnic spot. The sun was just beginning its descent and the air was a bit cooler and she shivered slightly in the sleeveless sweater and skirt she wore, her bare feet crunching slightly over the leaves and brush on the ground.

She knew Andrew was going to question why she hadn’t told Tess about her dislike of Faith’s father and she wasn’t entirely sure of how she would answer. She was now certain that she had been wrong about him. The man had lost his wife and now his daughter was missing and she must have mistaken the look in his eyes that had chilled her. He had spent months searching for Faith, and that had to be taking a toll on him. Her mistrust just had to be residual baggage from her assignments over a year ago.

She neared the picnic area and she froze, standing stark still. The remainder of their lunch was being finished off hungrily by the sad little girl in the picture. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that the little creature answered to the name of Faith. She watched, mesmerized for a moment, before she could no longer help herself, "Faith." She called out softly, watching as big green eyes turned to her, wide with fear.

Faith was on her feet and racing away before Monica had a chance to say anything more and once again, the little angel found herself sprinting after her. Night would soon fall and she was not about to allow the little girl to face it alone. The trees and bushes rushed by her as her bare feet pounded on the ground, occasionally catching a glimpse of the child ahead of her, who was quickly putting distance between them. The angel’s heart pounded in her chest as she drew in air, forcing herself to keep running as the minutes ticked by.

"Faith!" she called out breathlessly, before her foot got caught in a fallen branch and she stumbled and fell, wincing as her palms connected with the dirt and rocks beneath her. Looking up, she saw that Faith was now out of sight and she could no longer even hear the sound of her running.

"Ow," She muttered softly as she sat up and rubbed at her foot with a stinging hand before brushing a stray piece of hair from her eyes. Monica sighed softly, feeling discouraged as she stood up shakily still trying to catch her breath as she limped a few more steps forward, looking in every direction for any sign of Faith, but there was none to be found.

Turning around, she hesitated, suddenly unsure of which way she had come from and which was the way back to the cottage. She had nearly gotten lost earlier today before Andrew had corrected her, but this time he was not present to steer her in the right direction. A chill passed through her as she looked at the sky and saw that the sun was quickly vanishing. It would be dark soon.

Clouds were gathering at the horizon and it looked like they would soon blanket the sky. Monica knew that God was with her, even in the dark, but that didn’t make her feel any better about the idea of wandering through the woods without even the light from the stars to guide her. She needed to find her way back to the picnic site.

Her eyes had grown wide and her heart beat faster as she searched the trees for something familiar looking. Finally she was forced to give up and begin walking in what she hoped was the right direction. There weren’t any clear paths, and each time she thought she saw a familiar tree or rock, she glanced around and saw another one leading off in a completely different direction. An assignment years earlier had told her the tale of Hansel and Gretel and she was beginning to think that she knew exactly how they had felt.

"I really think Angel Scouts is an idea whose time has come," she murmured as she moved slowly between the trees.

The words were said aloud in an attempt to ward off anxiety, but with the grey evening light quickly closing in around her, it became more and more difficult to keep calm. What she really wanted to do was just bolt on ahead but her foot was aching and she was afraid she would only end up even more lost. She clenched her hands into fists, wincing at the pain and blinking rapidly to keep her tears in check. She already knew that it wasn’t the darkness that bothered her, it was being alone. She couldn’t imagine how little Faith was managing all by herself.

"Please Father," she whispered, "stay close to me. I know I shouldn’t be afraid, but I am."

*****

The aroma of baked ham and mashed potatoes was beginning to fill the living room of the little cottage and still there was no sign of Monica. Andrew had tried to be low-key about it, not venturing into the kitchen to tell Tess, and only pacing to the window once every five minutes. However, as the waning light began to limit his vision he became increasingly worried.

"Everything’s just about ready. I hope you two still have some appetites after that picnic of yours," Tess said as she walked out of the kitchen, still wiping her hands on the front of her apron.

She looked around and spotted Andrew standing stiffly beside the window, Monica nowhere in sight.

"Monica upstairs taking a little nap?" she asked. "That angel does know how to overdo things," she continued, a motherly grin curling up the corners of her mouth.

"She went for a walk."

Tess’ eyebrows drew together and she joined Andrew at the window and looked outside. "When did she leave? It’s getting dark fast. What’s she doing walking around by herself anyway?"

"She just said she wanted to go for a little walk…"

"You do remember that this is the angel who managed to land in Florida instead of Illinois, right?"

Andrew shoved his hands in his pockets. "She wanted to be alone."

"And you’ve been pacing the floor ever since, not wanting to run off after her." Tess knew that the blond angel had been working on his overprotective streak, and she rested a hand lightly on his arm.

"Something like that."

"Well I am officially giving you permission to run off after her. Dinner’s almost ready and it isn’t getting any lighter out there."

Andrew was moving before she had even finished her sentence. He grabbed a flashlight from the bench in the hall and headed out. He looked back over his shoulder as his hand closed around the doorknob. "Thanks Tess," he said warmly.

"Just go get that Angel Girl and bring her on back in time for dinner."

"That’s just what I plan to do," he replied.

He quickly made his way back to their picnic site, figuring that Monica had probably planned on going there and picking up their basket and blanket. The blanket was considerably more rumpled than he remembered it being, and the basket was thrown wide open. He glanced inside and saw only the wrappings from their lunch.

"Monica? Are you here?" he called out, beginning to wonder who or what had made short work of the rest of their food.

He quickly closed the basket and did a haphazard job of folding the blanket. The only sounds that met his ears were the droning sounds of nighttime insects and the last songs from the birds as they settled down for the night. He heard nothing that sounded like a certain Irish lilt.

"Where are you?" he spoke under his breath as he placed basket and blanket beneath a tree and surveyed the clearing, trying to decide which way to look first.

It was a big mountain and she had been gone for nearly an hour. Even her short legs could get her plenty lost in that amount of time. As he stood there the last light faded until he could scarcely see from one side of the clearing to the other. The forest was even darker and he had a feeling that finding Monica was going to be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. He wouldn’t be able to do it alone.

"Father, I’m trusting you to guide me to her," he said, and then he clicked the flashlight on and headed through the tree-line.

*****

Monica felt as if she had been walking all day. The light had grown so faint that she had trouble seeing more than ten feet in front of her, and she had taken to moving from tree to tree just to make sure that she didn’t tumble over one of the steep hills that dropped down unexpectedly. She had fallen again, and now both feet were marked with scratches and her hands looked even worse. Andrew and Tess were going to go into mothering fits when they saw her. Thinking about that caused an unexpected tear to escape from beneath her dark lashes. She was actually looking forward to their attention, even if it was going to be peppered with scolding.

"Just a little further," she repeated to herself. "I must be nearly there…"

She had been telling herself that for at least the past half hour. Two more steps and she nearly stumbled over a large boulder. Her hip struck it hard and she let out a little cry as she pressed her hand against what was sure to be a very colorful bruise. She bit her lip and steadied herself before moving around the rock, but then as she went to step forward her foot caught on yet another root and she fell down to her knees in a heap.

Everything in her heart was crying out and she had to fight to keep tears from falling. She was not going to cry. She was strong and perfectly capable of spending the night in the woods if she had to. Maybe that was the plan all along. Maybe she would find Faith if she stayed out long enough. Maybe this was a good lesson in self-reliance.

Unfortunately the words rang hollow, even in her mind, and she pulled her knees to her chest and stared out into the near darkness, wondering how she was going to find her way out of the woods when she couldn’t even find her way around a stupid rock. She wiped at her eyes with grimy hands and sniffled. Maybe this was her lesson in not interfering with other angels’ assignments.

A flickering light in the distance suddenly caught her attention and she stood up, peering through the trees and trying to see what it was. A firefly? Or something else?

She took a few hesitant steps towards it. "Hello?"

"Monica?" the relief in Andrew’s voice was almost tangible. It was followed by sounds of him crashing through the underbrush.

"Andrew!"

"Don’t move. I’ll come to you," he called out, and a minute later he was standing in front of her, slightly sweaty and dirty but one of the most beautiful things Monica could remember seeing in recent memory.

"I got lost," she said, in a very small voice.

"But now you’re found." He wrapped her up in his arms and held her close. The feeling was like a balm to all her little aches and she allowed herself to close her eyes and just concentrate on the wonderful feeling of peace and security.

"I was beginning to think that the Father wanted me to stay out here all night," she mumbled. "I kept walking and walking and then this rock…"

Andrew shone his flashlight over the boulder she had stumbled into. "Monica, take a look," he said as he gently turned her around.

She followed the beam of light and swallowed a lump in her throat as she took in the sheer drop that was less than three feet past the rock.

"He kept me from falling."

"Yes He did," Andrew said gratefully as he kissed the top of her head. "Now let’s get you back to the house and fixed up. Tess is holding dinner for us, and then I think we need to talk."

She nodded her head as he took her hand and gently began leading her with the flashlight and God guiding him. He instantly noticed her limp, "You’re hurt."

A tiny grin formed on her lips, "He only kept me from falling this last time, but that fall would have gained me more than a slightly sprained ankle."

He elected not to comment on what would have happened if the Father had not stopped that fall. He could feel a roughness in her palm as she held tightly to his hand and he was certain she had some gravel embedded in her hands and would not enjoy the process of it being removed, "Where did you go?"

"Just back to get the picnic basket," She replied with a weary sigh. She was hoping that they weren’t far from the cottage as she felt exhausted after her little ordeal.

"And you didn’t even get that far?"

"No, I found it."

She was being elusive and he fought back impatience. He could sense that she was tired and even a little more shaken up than she was admitting. She hated the dark and to be lost in it was not something she would take lightly. Wordlessly, he released her hand to wrap his arm around her waist to provide her more support, "I hope you’re still hungry after your snack on our leftover picnic."

She bit her lip, but chose not to comment. She felt guilty about not telling him in the first place and she couldn’t very well go into the fact that it had been eaten by Faith without telling him why she had gone out to begin with. She was getting tangled in her own self made web and it was completely uncomfortable.

"Ouch," She muttered as she stumbled over something she could no longer see and she would have fallen had Andrew not been there to steady her. But he held her tightly and a moment later had swept her up in his strong arms.

"We’re not far," He assured her, sensing that she was about to argue, but with his words, she relented as she rested her head against his shoulder, thankful he couldn’t see the tears that had formed in her eyes.

Though it was a minor thing, she had not been honest and she needed to admit that and hope that her admission would not hurt the feelings of the dearest friend she had.

*****

"What on earth happened to you?" Tess exclaimed as she opened the front door to let the two angels into house, having seen Andrew carrying the younger angel up the walk.

Monica managed a slight smile as Andrew gently deposited her on the couch, "I took a bit of a wrong turn."

"A bit?" The older angel replied, giving the little angel the once over with her eyes, seeing every little scratch and bruise from her little adventure or rather misadventure, "Dinner is warming in the oven, so lets get you cleaned up and then into a hot bath. We can eat a little later."

Andrew was already returning from the bathroom with tweezers and an antiseptic wash and he saw her grimace as he took a seat next to her on the couch, "Let’s see those hands, angel." He noted how quiet she was as he worked on picking the tiny pieces of gravel from her palms with the tweezers, before he inspected her ankle, relieved that it was only slightly swollen, "That should be better by morning," He assured her, looking up and surprised to see tears in her eyes, "Monica? What is it? Does something else hurt?"

She shook her head, deciding against replying that the only other thing hurting right now was her heart, as she wasn’t sure yet if she wanted Tess to know that she had run her assignment off once again and that was how she had managed to get lost in the first place.

"Go and get a bath, baby, while we get dinner on the table," Tess advised gently, "That should make you feel better and then maybe it is best that you get to bed shortly thereafter. You look exhausted."

Andrew watched as his friend rose slowly to her feet and made her way up the steps, his mouth set in a frown. He already knew that she had withheld her feelings about Faith’s father to Tess, but something had driven her from the cottage tonight in the first place and he couldn’t help but to feel slightly hurt by the fact that she had insisted on going on alone. He should have been adamant about tagging along, especially with knowing how directionally challenged she was and he was more than thankful that God had led him to her before complete darkness had fallen. Despite her brave front, he knew her well. Darkness itself was one thing, being in it alone was completely another and he knew that the two things combined earlier had not been comforting thoughts to her.

But something more was troubling her, that much was obvious and he had every intention of finding out what it was before the night was over.