Heaven's portal - by Deyse

Tess took the keys of her Cadillac and showed them to Gloria, who was sitting right beside her, in the driver’s seat. “Have you ever heard the expression ‘keys to the Kingdom’? These are the keys to my Kingdom! This car right here is my baby!”

“I know, I know, I know!” Gloria eagerly exclaimed, taking the keys from the supervisor’s hands.

Andrew and Monica were sitting close together, on the back seat, and noticing that the two angels were so absorbed in their conversation, he took the opportunity to take Monica’s hand and inch a bit closer to her. “I'd say you have the keys to my heart, angel.”

She heard him speaking to her heart, using the mental connection they shared and which had become even stronger as the years passed.

And that statement caused a pleasant sensation of joy invading her heart. Quietly, the Irish angel smiled softly and squeezed his hand.

It was then that Gloria turned her head and looked at them. “What are you guys doing up there? You’re so quiet!”

That question took Monica off guard and she tried to say something, “Oh... we’re just sort of...”

“Praying!” Andrew spoke, lacing his fingers with hers.

The young angel accepted his simple explanation and then turned her attention back to the car, starting the motor a second later. But when she accelerated, the vehicle moved backwards and Andrew and Monica had to hold the front seats not to be thrown forward. The car hit a big dustbin and stopped. Then, Gloria accelerated again and now Monica and Andrew were thrown backwards and had to hold onto wherever they could not to get hurt.

Gloria finally managed to put the vehicle into movement and drove in high speed along the streets of that quiet neighbourhood, making dangerous turns here and there. When she turned the radio on the loud techno music visibly irritated Tess, along with the fact that her “baby” was in great danger in the hands of the inexperienced angel.

At a certain point, Gloria made another turn and, this time, Monica was thrown against Andrew and, very scared, she took a firm hold onto his strong arm.

“Andrew...” he heard her frightened voice talking straight to his heart.

“Keep a firm hold on me, Monica! And don’t let go!” he spoke back, immediately feeling extremely protective about her and wanting nothing more than taking her out of that car and holding her tightly.

“Ok...”

“I’m right here, angel, I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise!”

Monica closed her eyes at another turn, without letting go of his arm. “I know... but this time I can't help wishing you and I were in another place...”

Their little trip finally came to an end when Tess turned the radio off and made Gloria stop the car. Andrew and Monica heaved a sigh of relief and could sit up straight again. The Irish angel noticed that her dearest friend was straightening his blond hair and quickly helped him, gently arranging some strands dishevelled by the wind, and not missing the opportunity to stroke his handsome face with tenderness.

“Does she act like that up in Heaven?” Tess asked, visibly annoyed by the youngest angel’s behaviour.

“Like what?” Andrew asked, without exactly knowing what the supervisor was talking about and, like his beloved Monica, still trying to recover from the last three terrifying minutes.

“Like a teenager who needs an attitude adjustment!”

Monica an Andrew looked at each other and after to Tess, “Well... we...” the blond angel started.

“We can’t tell you exactly, Tess...”

But before the couple of angels answered to that question (or at least, tried to), Gloria spoke again. “It’s not fair to ask them, Tess! Monica and Andrew spend more time with each other and it’s not fair to steal the few chances they have to be together!”

Not the two angels nor Tess seemed to appreciate that comment: Monica and Andrew shared a rather embarrassed look, while the supervisor rolled her eyes to the sky. But unaware of the discomfort she was causing, Gloria kept on talking, “I’m sorry but it’s a lot easier being an angel up there that it is down here. Looking into God’s eyes is a lot more comfortable than looking into...” she made a brief pause when she stared at Tess’ angry face, “... anyone or else’s...”

“Gloria, if Tess is hard on you it’s because she loves you!” Monica gently admonished, feeling Andrew rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand.

“Tess, I only get to spend a little bit of time in Heaven between the assignments! I really want more! I’m homesick!”

“I know that but you got a job to do here.”

The youngest angel rolled her eyes with some impatience, “Ok...”

Monica, Tess and Andrew watched as Gloria got off the car and headed to the house where her assignment lived. As she entered the house, they exchanged an amused glance, not missing Tess worried and still upset face.

“Don’t worry, Tess, I’m sure she can handle this!” the Irish angel said, placing a supportive hand over her shoulder.

Andrew nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, Monica’s right! She’ll be ok!”

“I hope so, babies, for her own sake!” the supervisor replied, now a bit resignedly. Andrew and Monica exchanged another glance and she nodded her head with an encouraging face.

The blond angel took a deep breath and cleared his throat, “Hum... Tess... we were wondering if there is anything for us to in the next few hours...”

“Not now, angel boy. We’ll have to wait for the right time to act.”

“So... you mean that, for a while, we’ll be sort of... free?”

“Well... yes. Why?”

“Well... because... we would like to ask you if we could... borrow you car for some hours...”

Tess turned around to stare at him with a face that was everything but happy.

“It’s just for a couple of hours, Tess, I promise! Beside, you know I’ll be careful!”

“I don’t know anything other than the fact that you already killed my baby once, mister!”

“Tess... we won’t go very far, I promise.” Monica intervened. And, as much as  the oldest angel was upset, she couldn’t resist to such a kind expression on her dear friend’s face.

“Fine...” she said, rolling her eyes and causing the other two angels to smile broadly.

Andrew leaned forward and, from the back seat, he wrapped his arms around her neck, kissing her cheek afterwards, “We love you, Tess!”

“You’d better take care of my baby otherwise you’ll see it with me!!!” she warned, still a bit crankily.

“I’ll take care of your two babies, Tess!” Andrew shot loving gaze at the beautiful Irish angel sitting right beside him and kissed her hand once again, receiving a warm smile in return.

But Tess’ mood had definitely been ruined on that morning and, with some impatience, she rolled her eyes. “Oh please, this is getting too sugary!”

x

With his beloved friend sitting by his side, Andrew drove Tess’ Cadillac along the road that crossed the mountains and stopped it in at a point from where it was possible to have a beautiful view of the whole range of mountains and of the golden sun.

“Oh, look at this... It’s beautiful!” Monica exclaimed, fascinated with the lovely scenario.

“Yes, it really is...” Andrew nodded and then looked at her, with his eyes sparkling with love, “... But there’s something here that is even more beautiful, you know...”

She turned her head to face him, also with her eyes filled with affection for the blond angel. No words needed to be spoken between them, as their feelings were evident in the way they looked at each other. Tenderly, he stroked her cheek and leaned to his right side. She inched her face closer to his and closed her eyes and their lips touched a second later.

“Have I told you how much I love you, angel?” Andrew spoke, caressing her cheek when they finally pulled away.

“Yes... you just have... once again.” She replied, smiling at him in a lovely way.

Equally happy, the blond angel took her hand into his and kissed it, “Come with me...”

They got off the car and, hand in hand, gave a few steps towards the ravine, deeply enjoying and admiring the view. Andrew wrapped his arms around her small shoulders, bringing her closer to him. Monica immediately relaxed in his embrace and, with their hearts filled with love, they stood there, contemplating the view in a pleasant silence.

“We should do it more often, you know...” the Irish angel spoke, some minutes later, tenderly stroking his arm.

“Yes, you’re right. We have to recover the time we spent far from each other...” he said, placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder and inhaling her sweet perfume.

Monica lowered her head feeling a bit guilty, “It was my fault... I shouldn’t have run away when I found out I was... in love with you, I should-”

Andrew quickly pulled away so that he could face her, “Shh... of course it’s not your fault, baby! I should have been the one with courage to tell you that. And it doesn’t really matter right now because we’re together! Maybe it was the right time for us. Remember that God’s timing is perfect!”

His encouraging words had an immediate effect, as she smiled again, “When I think that the Father has blessed our love, when I think that He really wants us together... this is so wonderful, Andrew, that I feel I should spend the rest of my eternity thanking Him... And it still wouldn't be enough!”

“Yes, I know exactly what you mean, baby...” he spoke, contemplating her meek features and committing every detail to his heart.

“Can we come back here tomorrow, to see the sunrise?”

“Yes...” he was practically hypnotised by her look, “You know something, Monica? This view may be beautiful and all but... There’s something else I need to do...”

Knowing exactly what he meant, and with a broad smile upon her face, she nodded, “Ok!”

Then she happily closed her eyes and felt his lips touching hers a second later, his kiss always sweet and slow, an evidence of all the love the two angels had for each other and which would last for the entire eternity.

X

But on the following day, on that same ravine, the atmosphere was very different and the scenario, a scaring one. Gloria's assignment had taken a very dangerous path into drugs and dangerous driving, and the young angel herself had experienced some of these, learning a hard lesson she would never forget. And now she and her assignment, a confused young man, were inside his car, at a high speed, and as much as she tried to convince him to stop and listen to her, he wouldn't listen.

And at a certain moment, Monica, Andrew and Tess watched with great worry as a small car got out of the road and fell from the cliff, landing many feet away down on the sandy ground. The Irish angel held her beloved friend's hand and squeezed it tightly, her heart filled with anguish to think about their friend Gloria, who they knew was inside the vehicle. Andrew gave her a reassuring look and it was with relief that, a few seconds later, they saw the young angel getting out of the car.

"Oh, thank You, Father!" Monica murmured, relief filling her soul. In a heartbeat, Andrew was down there in the valley, ready to help their youngest friend out of the car. He was very sorry to see how scared and confused Gloria was. Once she was standing before him, he caressed her head and tried to calm her down until his dearest friends joined them.

And even though she didn't want to show it, Tess was deeply affected by that awful image of the car falling down the ravine. Gloria was in human form and therefore exposed to all sort of dangers a human being was. Fortunately she was also in the hands of a loving Father all the time.

"Gloria, are you alright? Do you feel any kind of pain?" Monica wanted to know, holding her friend's hand and gently placing a supportive hand on her shoulder while Andrew guided her away from the car.

"I... I'm fine... I guess... Just a little shaken..." she said, her entire body trembling. She looked at them with grateful eyes, "Thank you... And... I'm  so sorry..."

"Hey, you don't have to apologise... Please, come with us, let's get out of here..." he said, "Nobody got hurt, Gloria, that's the most important. Try to be calm."

"Andrew is right, Gloria, the Father was with you all the time. Everything will be alright, trust me..." The couple of angels tried to put her heart at ease, as they could feel how amazingly scared and guilty she was at that very moment. And when the young angel met Tess' eyes she lowered her head, ashamed of her latest actions, certain that the supervisor wouldn't forgive her.

But the words that came out of the old angel's mouth surprised her. "And I'm eternally grateful that nothing bad happened to you, baby." She stepped closer and took Gloria's hand, "The most important is that you're here now."

"Oh, Tess... Please... please, forgive me... I'm so terribly sorry... you were right about me..." Gloria's crying voice and the way her anguished tears fell from her reddened face caused the three angels to be deeply moved. Andrew looked at Monica, and frowned a bit now that he could notice his beloved Monica would start crying at any moment.

The old supervisor's eyes were, however, filled with nothing but compassion. She cupped the young angel's chin up and made Gloria look at her, frowning with more worry when she saw so much misery in them.

"I'm sorry too, baby. I guess I was harsh on you so many times because I was eager to see you grow... to see that you learned God's teachings. But I didn't realise what you needed was a kind, comforting word, at the right time, with the right intensity..." she said, moved with emotion. "Sometimes I need to be reminded that things like offering a friendly shoulder so that a friend can cry, or listening to her worries and questionings without judging are also what an angel should do."

"But I disappointed you so bad, Tess... All of you... And God Himself..."

"You are an angel, not God, baby. Angels, as well as human beings, aren't perfect. And I'm not better than you. I've already disappointed someone too."

Tess held Gloria's both hands, "And you know what? The fact that I learned from my mistakes made all the ones I love be very proud of me. I thank the Father I got the chance to prove I had changed, that something inside me made me see the truth I couldn't or didn't want to see." A smile appeared on the supervisor's face, "And I have no doubt, little angel, that you'll still make me very proud. And most importantly, that you'll make Him very proud!"

The young angel's lips curved into a shy smile. "Do you really think so, Tess?"

"Yes, baby. As a matter of fact, you are already making us proud to recognise your mistakes and ask for forgiveness... Come here, give me a hug!"

As the two angels held each other, Monica finally shed the tears that had been threatening to fall from her eyes at any moment. Chuckling, Andrew pulled his dear angel girl into his arms and, as she rested her head against his chest, he kissed the top of her head repeatedly, loving the sensitive little angel that she was.

"I'm just so happy!" Gloria exclaimed, as she and Tess pulled away, and despite the tears that were falling from her own dark eyes.

Returning her smile, and also crying openly, Monica nodded her head. "I'm happy too, Gloria. All of us are!"

"Yes, we are very happy for you, Gloria!" Andrew added, gently touching her shoulder, never releasing the hold around Monica.

"I know... I guess I always knew that but, somehow, I forgot it... I forgot how much you guys love me and the dear friends you are to me..." she looked at the three angels and smiled. "You're all like a present... One of the first presents that God gave me when he created me... And I love you all very, very much!"

It was at that moment that the sunrays burst from behind the green mountains that covered the horizon. They were like a feather light and warm caress on their faces, as if their creator was gently greeting them for a new beginning.

The end.