CHAPTER 7

The day passed with agonizing slowness for the Irish angel as she and Sarah huddled close together in front of the fire. The storm continued to rage as freezing cold winds picked up, occasionally blowing some of the falling snow into their small shelter. Bailey had been particularly restless during the afternoon, as if torn as to whether he should stay with his young master or race out to find help. Monica was glad he stayed as he provided Sarah with both additional warmth and with the comfort of knowing her best buddy was by her side.

The angel wished the same was true for her.

Sarah had eaten half a sandwich and an apple for lunch and though she had been sure the girl would have liked to have eaten more, Monica had a feeling that Sarah understood how dire their situation was and that food needed to be rationed. So to alleviate her hunger, the child slept often, curling her small body close to the dogs, who remained with her like loyal guardians.

Though she was grateful that Sarah was resting, it also left Monica alone with her thoughts and her deep worries. She knew her ankle was swollen as she could feel the uncomfortable tightness in her boot and though she longed to alleviate the pressure, she knew better than to remove her boot. The swelling could very well prohibit her from getting the shoe on again and that would leave her susceptible to frostbite. The pain in her head had at least subdued somewhat; either that her or exhaustion was keeping her from feeling much of the pain.

She had never felt so tired in her existence and it was getting more and more difficult to remain awake and the fact that her human body didn't have any fuel was not helping that situation. She figured it had been just over twenty-four hours since she'd had anything to eat or drink and she was beginning to feel the effects of it. There were moments that she felt light headed and almost dizzy, but she did her best to shake off the feeling. Besides, now she had a new concern.

Their supply of firewood was dwindling and Monica was praying that there would at least be enough left to make it through the night. The strong winds caused the fire to burn quicker as the flames ate up the wood at an almost alarming rate.

Staring at the small pile of wood that was left, the little angel's vision blurred with frightened tears. Maybe Andrew had been right all along; maybe she couldn't take care of Sarah. The storm didn't show any sign of stopping and if they ran out of food and wood, there wouldn't be anything more she could do to protect the little girl.

"Father, please, keep her safe," Monica whispered as tears made their way down her cold cheeks, "I can't do this without your help."

x

By morning's light, Monica felt worse than she had ever felt in her entire existence. Sarah was still sleeping, unaware of the angel's struggles, or the fact that she had somehow managed to stay awake a second night in order to feed the fire.

But none of that mattered now.

She watched the last two logs burn on the fire, with tears in her eyes. Monica had already tried to walk to go outside in the now deep snow to try to find more wood, but her ankle and her exhausted, food deprived body would not stand for it. The snow was too deep and her ankle too painful and her strength was waning. Besides, even if her body would cooperate, the snow covered any loose branches or logs and branches on trees were high and wet, with no guarantee to burn if they could even reach them.

There was simply nothing left to do but pray, and even that was becoming more difficult as she was having trouble making sense of her own thoughts as her body struggled to grow accustomed to going without things it was not used to going without, such as food, sleep and warmth. She kept blinking to try to clear her mind, but it was working less and less frequently.

Looking over at Sarah, a new fear seized her as she realized Bailey was gone. When had the dog left and why hadn't she noticed? He was part of Sarah's insurance of warmth and comfort and now he was nowhere to be seen. Their supply of resources was getting lower by the minute.

All that was left in her coat pocket was a frozen half sandwich, which would be Sarah's breakfast, and as the angel watched the last bits of wood burning to their completion, she lowered her head to her hands and softly cried.

x

Andrew awoke with a start, a terrible pain tearing through his chest that caused him to sit up from where he had fallen into a troubled sleep on the couch. At first, he was unsure of what was wrong with his human body, but then he realized the pain was not physical at all. No, it was coming from his heart…it was coming from Monica.

He pressed the palm of his hand against his heart, desperately trying to feel exactly what was happening, but it was more confusing than it had ever been before. A mixture of physical and emotional anguish was washing over him so quickly it was difficult for him to breathe. The emotions were wrapped up tightly, spinning incoherently like a tornado; fear, pain, exhaustion, hopelessness, confusion and others he couldn't quite work out as they were coming at him rapid fire. But the sum of the pain brought him to his knees.

"Hold on, Angel," Andrew uttered, blinking back tears, "Hold on, baby. I'm coming…I promise I am. Oh Father, keep her safe; keep them both safe."

A heartbeat later, he was on his feet, throwing on warm clothing and grabbing the blankets and first aid pack he had assembled when he had first realized the little angel was missing. Bolting from his room, he ran two doors down and pounded loudly on the door. Amazingly, Paul opened the door before Andrew could knock again.

"It's stopped snowing." Andrew stated urgently.

"I know. I'm ready."

The angel had not even noticed until now that his friend was already dressed and ready despite the fact that it was not yet even six thirty in the morning and a wave of thanks and appreciation flowed through him. God had placed a good man in his path.

X

Andrew's grief only increased once he and Paul crossed the lodge doors and were exposed to the temperature outside. It was freezing and a thick lay of snow covered the ground until the horizon. His thoughts were all in Monica and Sarah: how could have they survived to such conditions? As a ski patroller for the last few weeks, and most importantly, as an angel of death for so many centuries, he knew that the chances of finding a human being alive after such a terrible storm were remote.

He clenched his jaw with anguish, and it was Paul's voice who drew his attention back to where they were. "Do you have any idea of where they might started their walk?"

Frowning with permanent concern, the blond angel pointed out to the ski station. "There. Monica told me she would take Sarah to the ski station..." A deep sigh escaped him as he remembered her last words to him in the lodge corridor, two days earlier.

"I don't always need you to protect me or my assignments, Andrew. I'm very capable of handling it alone, and I don't need your consent to take Sarah outside or any place else for that matter. God is watching over us, even when you can't."

"... this was the last time we spoke..." he concluded, with pain and woe written all over his face.

"Then let's not waste time, buddy!" Paul started their walk, followed by a desolated angel of God, who was striving to recover his faith, buried under the heavy snow; shattered by the possibility of being torn apart from his soul mate.

X

Striving to keep her eyes open, Monica watched as the daylight shone inside the small cave where she and Sarah had found a shelter. Two days had passed since they were caught by a terrible snow storm and now that it was finally over, the little angel kept on asking herself how long until the ski patrollers found them. Wee Sarah was hungry, and ended up eating the remains of the only food they'd saved. The little girl was her priority now and she had promised herself that no matter what happened, she would keep the innocent child alive.

Sighing deeply, she felt her eyelids growing heavier every minute, and wondered what time it was. Being trapped in that small place, with no food or water, made her feel confused and lost. The angel turned into human felt her organism wouldn't resist for long.

"Monica? You're awake?" Sarah's voice seemed to bring her to her senses once again and she looked at the little girl with compassion, secretly begging God not to take her away from her parents.

"Yes, sweetheart..." she replied, gently caressing the girl's blond hair.

Sarah frowned with deep concern noticing how terribly pale her friend was, and tears soon threatened to fall from her sad blue eyes. "You're not leaving me, are you?"

Monica let out another tired sigh and searched for her little hand, "Oh, wee Sarah... What could have happened if I hadn't found you at the ski station some days ago?"

"I dunno... Maybe my mom and dad would still be out looking for me..." she replied, a crying voice that would break anyone's heart.

"Probably... But then I found you and we became friends and I was the one chosen to be by your side at this difficult moment... This is my mission, Sarah..."

"But you told me about God... You said He's good and that He's taking care of us! God cannot let you die, Monica!"

"Sweetie, God brought me to you so that you stay alive... That's why I'm here, and I promise I'll..." Monica's voice trailed off as she suddenly felt she was losing her conscience.

"Monica?" the panic in the little girl's voice was heartbreaking.

Gathering her last forces, Monica looked at her assignment's eyes. "Sarah... I want you to wait for help, okay? It'll come... I know that the ski patrollers will be here soon... and... I want you to use my coat to protect you from the cold... now that Bailey is gone, you'll need it..."

"But..."

"Shh... just do as I tell you, sweetie..." she gently admonished, and then her beautiful doe-like eyes closed. Monica had lost her senses, leaving a desperate little girl crying for her. Carefully, Sarah placed Monica's head on her lap and removed the strands of hair from her face. "Please, Monica, please, don't die..."

With tears rolling down her face, the little girl closed her eyes and put in practice the precious teachings the Irish angel had taught her during the time they were there. "Please, God, bring Monica back... She's my friend... She took care of me..."

X

"An avalanche, Andrew... It happened exactly here and that's probably what made them go farther away from the ski station..." Paul concluded, once he and Andrew arrived at the exact spot where Monica and Sarah were caught by the snow, two days earlier. The blond angel's heart was beating erratically in his chest: the snow lay was thick and he dreaded to imagine what happened to them at that very moment.

"Who can someone survive something like this, Paul?" he asked, frowning and running his hand over his blond hair. The more he walked along those white fields, the more his anguish increased - his own soul was frozen inside.

"Look!" Paul was pointing at something not far from them: a snow man, which was now partially destroyed.

They rushed towards the sculpture and Andrew had no doubt of who had built it up.

"They have been here, Paul!"

"You sure?"

"Yes, it was Monica who made it..." now desperately scanning the surroundings with his alert green eyes, he started to shout for his beloved angel, as if she would come out from behind some tree and call his name back, in the way no one else pronounced. "Monica! Monica! Please, answer to me!"

Paul turned the walkie talkie on and informed the other ski patrollers where they were and what they had found. There was a group looking for two skiers who had disappeared a while before the avalanche stroke, and when Paul turned the radio off he looked at his friend with concern written all over his face.

"What?" Andrew wanted to know, on the verge of despair.

"They... they found a body..."

Andrew's head was suddenly spinning and he prayed for that to be a part of a terrible nightmare.

Feeling his trembling legs, the blond angel repeated his co-worker's words. "A body?"

"Calm down, Andrew, they don't know if it's a woman, they've just located it..."

"Monica..." he whispered, his heart aching with the sadness he once knew, not accepting that it was happening all over again.

Paul placed his hands firmly over Andrew's shoulders, "Calm down, Andrew! I'll... I'll keep permanent contact with Jeff and the guys, they're far from here, it can't be Monica..."

But a sudden noise interrupted him and both turned their faces to see Bailey barking loudly and incessantly, trying to call their attention no matter what.

"Bailey..." the blond angel spoke, his hopes renewed in the blink of an eye, "... it's Sarah's dog!"

The two ski patrollers started a desperate run following the animal, who kept on barking and guiding them to the small cave partially hidden in the snow. There they found a crying little girl and an unconscious angel, who had remained firmly by her assignment's side, watching over her until she no longer could stand it.

"Monica... angel..." Andrew quickly knelt on the cold stone ground and carefully gathered his beloved Monica in his arms; emotion written all over his face. "... it's okay now, angel... you'll be alright... I'll take you away from here, sweetie... I'll... I'll take care of you, I promise... I'll make it up to you, angel..." he spoke, caressing her hair and kissing her forehead repeatedly.

"Her pulse is weak..." Paul said, checking her wrist.

"Monica didn't eat anything... she told me I'd eat all the food to be strong..." the little girl informed, rubbing her eyes and trying to wipe the sad tears that never ceased. Andrew and Paul looked at each other with great worry: she needed urgent care and the two started to work immediately.

Paul reached inside their bags for the blankets and first aid pack they had brought. Andrew quickly involved Monica's small form with a heavy quilt, and that's when he noticed another scary detail.

"She's hurt, Paul..." Monica's ankle was extremely swollen, and they feared it might be broken.

"I'll take care of you, angel... I promise you'll be alright..." the blond angel whispered in her ear, while Paul prepared the first aid material.