Finger of God - by Deyse

The two heavenly beings walked along that vast green field, now with a gentle breeze blowing on their faces and warm sun rays shining across the bright blue sky. That beautiful and peaceful scenery was a lot different from the one of destruction and chaos left by a terrible tornado only a few hours earlier.

“It’s amazing how nature can bring us so much peace and at the same time, cause so much damage and fear.” Monica spoke, admiring her surroundings but with the memories of the tornado she had faced a few hours earlier still fresh on her mind.

With a permanent arm wrapped around her small shoulders, Andrew nodded his head, “Yes, you’re right, angel. In fact, it was as frightening for you as it was for me...” Monica turned her eyes from the fields and looked at him, as he kept on talking, “Watching you facing the storm and the tornado, knowing that you were in human form and could get hurt made me feel... vulnerable too...”

Moved with the immense care and protectiveness she could see written in the spark of his emerald eyes, she encircled his waist with her left arm, “All the time I was there I could hear you praying to God and asking Him to keep everybody safe...”

The blond angel stopped walking and stood face to face with her, “And I’m grateful He did...”

Andrew looked deep inside her soft brown eyes and, slowly, traced a line across her jaw with his finger. Then, a smile appeared on his handsome face, “Once I’ve met you, I don’t think I’d bear to stay away from you or not looking at this pretty face of yours anymore...”

Blushing and smiling, she shook her head and held his hand, “That will never happen, Andrew. Even when we’re apart, it’s only temporary and... and you’re always in my thoughts wherever I go.”

Their eyes were lost in each other’s in a long silent gaze and it was when both angels felt something was different: there was a mix of nervousness, excitement, tenderness and affection penetrating their hearts, their soul, and it was something like they had never experienced before.

To Monica it was like having butterflies in the pitch of her stomach, and with tears of emotion filling her eyes, the little Irish angel felt surprise and happiness invading her heart. With Andrew it wasn’t different: the blond angel was suddenly aware that his feelings for that sweet creature were stronger than friendship, they were deeper than he had ever imagined. For a moment, all he wanted was to hold her tightly against his chest, selfishly thinking that she only belonged to him.

He moved his eyes from her brown pools and looked at her rosy lips, and at that very moment he came to understand what was going on: he was in love with Monica. It wasn’t friends’ love like he had imagined; it was something much deeper and more intense. The blond angel felt like kissing her lips and holding her in his arms for the rest of eternity, he felt like telling her about his love and how he wanted to call her ‘his angel’.

And watching Monica looking at him with such loving eyes only encouraged him to go on, as they both seemed hypnotised by the multitude of new feelings growing in their hearts. Slowly, the blond angel bent his head and inched his face closer to hers. Monica could feel his warm breath against her soft skin and, even if she wasn’t really sure of what was going on, her own heart was filled with expectation.

Their faces were only two inches apart when suddenly a stronger gust of wind blew her hat off her head and put an end to that magical moment.

“Oh, dear!” she exclaimed, reaching for the hat fallen on the ground.

Trying to regain control of his emotions, Andrew sighed deeply. Now he was aware of what had almost happened between them and wondered if that was really mean to be.

“Are you really sure there won’t be any tornadoes today, Andrew?” she spoke, holding her hat and with a trace of worry in her blushing face.

He soothed her long hair affectionately, wanting nothing more than to put her heart at ease, “Yes, angel, I can assure you. Maybe the wind was trying to play with this beautiful hat of yours!”

That statement brought a shy smile back to her face and happy to see it, Andrew reached for her hand, “Come with me. There’s something I want you to see...”

“What is it?” she raised her eyebrows with childlike curiosity.

“A little surprise I prepared you...” he replied, with a smile playing in the corner of his mouth – he found her enchanting in many ways. One of them was exactly when she shot him that curious look.

“What surprise?”

“I told you: a surprise!” Andrew didn’t resist and kissed her cheek before guiding her up to a tall green tree, where a table cloth was spread on the ground. On it, strawberry pie, tea, cookies, fruit juice and, of course, a flask full of mocha waited for them.

“A picnic!” she exclaimed, with so much excitement that made Andrew’s love for her grow a little bit more – like it always did every second of his existence.

“Yep! We have the rest of the afternoon off and I guess there’s no better way to spend it than here with you...”

Monica turned her eyes to him and smiled, “Thank you...”

“You’re more than welcome, angel...” gazing at her lovingly, he gently caressed her cheek, “... I hope you like it, I prepared everything myself. Including your mocha!”

The Irish angel leaned on his touch and covered his hand with hers, “I’m sure everything is perfect!” she spoke, deep in her heart thinking about the magical moment that had just happened between them a few minutes earlier.

x

The next following hours that the two angels spent together would certainly be part of those treasured moments kept in a special place deep inside their hearts. Monica and Andrew chatted about the weather, about their latest assignments, about their friends and anything else that would come up. Due to the great affinity they shared, conversation would always last for long hours and they could spend an entire day talking without getting bored.  The relationship that they shared was special, the Irish angel was convinced of that, and whenever they met, she was always anxious to provide him every little detail of her assignments as she knew he would listen each one of them with great interest and sharing the same joy.

That wonderful afternoon they had spent together, however, would be over soon as there were new assignments waiting for them. While the Irish angel cleaned the towel they had used to put the food on, her dearest friend had excused himself telling her in brief words that he would be back soon. But Monica didn’t remain curious for a long time: as soon as she had finished to gather all the objects used in the picnic, Andrew appeared again, carrying a bouquet with small and delicate wild flowers in his hands.

Always smiling, and glad to see the expression of surprise and enchantment in her doe-like eyes, he handed her the beautiful bouquet. “For you. To thank you for the wonderful afternoon.”

Also smiling, Monica took the flowers with her both hands and smelled their sweet perfume, “Oh, Andrew... They’re just lovely...”

“Hum... not as much as you are, but yes, now that you’re holding them, they look a lot more beautiful!”

He knew the effect of his words even before he had voiced them: a blush rose on his dearest friend’s cheeks, causing his heart to skip a beat at how adorable she looked to him at that moment.

“I... I don’t know about that...” she replied, shily, “... and you don’t have to thank me for the afternoon, you know I love spending my free time with you. In fact, I’m the one to thank you for preparing all this...”

Andrew reached out and caressed her cheek, the wind was blowing against her face, disarraying the strands of her long hair and now that she was hatless, her image was like a perfect picture to him, a picture that would always be etched on his mind and deep inside his heart.

“No, no thanks, angel. I just want one thing from you: that you never forget how much you mean to me. Never forget that you’re always in my thoughts, baby, and that being together with you is a present I’ll always treasure. You fill my world with happiness.”

Deeply moved with his words and with the tenderness she could see in his emerald eyes, she covered his hand with hers, leaning on his touch, “How could I ever forget you if you’re so part of my existence... if you’re so part of my heart?”

Once again feeling their emotions taking control of their souls, the two angels in human form looked at each other’s eyes, forgetting the world around them and frozen in a moment that belonged to them alone. Andrew cupped her chin and inched his face closer to hers, committing to memory every trace of her delicate features. Their eyes closed slwoly, right before he brushed his lips against hers. It was a light caress at first, as delicate as the angel who was now in his strong arms. They pulled away and shared a brief loving gaze, a confirmation that the love they felt deep inside their hearts was blooming like a wild flower following the course of its existence and that couldn’t wait any longer.

“Monica... angel... I love you...” he whispered, once again looking at her soft brown eyes, “I’ve always loved you...”

A tear of joy rolled down her cheek and a smile broke on her face to hear those words, “I know... I-I feel the same... I love you too, Andrew... with all my heart...”

Those affectionate words sealed the affection and deep love they had been carrying inside their hearts for years, maybe since the first time they met. The blond angel bent his head once again and their lips collided in a loving kiss. Andrew’s fingers were soon entangled in her long hair and his hand came to rest on the back of her head, so that he could deepen the kiss a little bit more.

At first, Monica felt like falling through the clouds with a mix of nervousness and anxiety. But that sensation changed a second later – yes, she was falling through the clouds but ended up in the safest place in the entire universe: in Andrew’s strong arms, which were holding her tightly and delicately. Marvelled at these feelings and lost in his caresses, she wrapped her arms around his neck, welcoming his loving kisses and keeping her accelerated heartbeats in the same rhythm as his.

When they parted, their faces still remained inches from each other as none of them would bear to keep a greater distance.

“I love you so much, Monica...” he spoke, in a low voice, running his fingers through her hair and brushing away the tears that had fallen from her eyes, and which he knew weren’t ones of sadness.

“It feels so perfectly right, Andrew... And so incredibly wonderful...” she whispered, with a shy smile playing on her lips, those lips he had kissed for the first time a minute earlier, “...looking back at my past, since the day we first met... I felt something was different at that exact moment, you know... I didn’t know what was it – I reacted to your presence because I couldn’t understand what I was feeling myself... I didn’t know it was love... I didn’t know that... that I’ve been loving you all these years...how could I not realise this before?”

“Because everything has its own time. God has His own timing... I didn’t realise that what I felt at the moment I saw you was more than friendship and tenderness... It took me some time to realise what was really going on too, baby... Maybe the Father wanted it to be like this... maybe all these years allowed our love to create its roots in our hearts... And in His plan we both were meant to be right here, right now...” he placed a few strands of hair behind her ears, “This kiss... it was meant to happen...”

She blushed a little and the smile on her face became broader, “Yes... you’re right... It was meant to happen and it was meant to be as wonderful as it was...”

Also smiling, the blond angel held her face with both hands and kissed the tip of her nose, “And I’m quite sure that the next one will be exactly the same...”

Monica raised her hand and her fingers touched his handsome face softly, as if she too was committing to memory every trace of his features. She traced a line along his jaw and soon her delicate fingers came to rest on his lips, and the blond angel didn’t miss the opportunity to hold her hand and kiss them.

“I have no doubt about it either...” was all that she said, before he bent his head and pressed his lips onto hers in one more of the many affectionate kisses he would give her until their afternoon off was over; one more of the many caresses he would offer her for the rest of the eternity.

The end