WHEN DARKNESS FALLS

BY DEYSE M.

PROLOGUE

It was a cold and dark night, with no moon and no stars in the sky, and a veil of fog now covered the desert city streets, where almost no human nor animal had dared to step on, for fear of what darkness and the disturbing silence could bring.

But a closer look revealed a scaring scene happening on an old stone bridge, over which the troubled water of a long river flowed: two man stood face to face and stared at each other in different ways. One of them, with ropes around his hands and some bruises on his forehead, had panic evident in his dark eyes; the other was firmly holding a gun at his interlocutor’s direction and anger was burning inside his heart:

"Pl-Please, don’t do it!... Don’t shoot me, please!...", the man who was hurt pleaded, a frightened tone in his voice.

"Now you beg ‘please’?! What about when you killed my wife? Did you ever feel sorry for her when you aimed a gun at her?! Did you ever feel sorry for her when you shot her?! Answer to me!!!"

"I- I was hungry and cold, all I wanted was her money, I didn’t want to kill her... it was an accident..."

"You shot her and killed her almost immediately!!!", the armed man shouted, even more furious.

"I’m sorry... She reacted when I tried to steal her purse and I let the gun fall and it shot by accident... the police confirmed it was an accident!... I never meant to kill another person!..."

"Have you got any idea of what you did?! I lost my wife! I lost the person that I loved most in this entire world! She’s never coming back!", he started to cry, in a mix of despair and sadness, "And it’s all because of you!!!"

"Man I’m sorry now! If I could turn back time... I could’ve given my life to spare hers!... But..."

"But you can’t!!! You killed her and now you’re walking around the city as if nothing had happened! But you know what? You’re not gonna be around here for a long time! I’m gonna make you feel what my wife felt at that night when you shot her and let her die! Now it’s your time to bleed until you die!"

He pointed the gun at younger the man, but before he could pull the trigger, a soothing voice, with an Irish accent, stopped him:

"Dr Harris, please, don’t do it!"

The man looked to his left and saw a long haired woman, wearing black shirt and black pants and a beige overcoat, to protect herself from the cold night air, walking towards him, through the mist of the night:

"Monica, what are you doing here?!", he asked, with a puzzled expression on his face, "I thought I had told you I wouldn’t be seeing any more patients tonight and you could go home!"

"I’m here to help you! Please don’t do something that you know you’re gonna regret for the rest of your life!"

"I’m gonna do something that will give me peace for the rest of my life!"

"How can you say that? How can you think that taking another person’s life will bring you peace?!", she insisted, anguish also evident on her beautiful face. But the man came closer to the other, determined to finish what he had began:

"That doesn’t really matter anymore!...", he said. It was then that Monica saw, not far away from where they were, another figure, a tall man, walking towards them. She would recognise that silhouette anywhere: if Andrew were there, it meant that the other man’s death was almost certain, and that conclusion only increased her own sorrow and despair. The blond angel’s steps breaking the silence of the night drew Dr Harris’ attention and he looked at the stranger that had just come closer to them:

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"

Andrew looked at him straight in the eyes:

"I’m Monica’s friend and I’m also here to help."

"Well, I don’t need any help around here, I can handle this myself, so you two’d better get outta here! You’re not gonna be in my way, I came here with a purpose and nobody’s gonna stop me!"

The other man was paralysed with fear; he couldn’t run, as that would certainly make his aggressor shoot him. Besides, he had his hands tied up, was hurt and weak, and, under those circumstances, he wouldn’t go very far.

But the two angels continued to speak, in a desperate attempt to stop the impending tragedy:

"Revenge is not gonna bring your wife back, Dr Harris!", Monica said, her voice trembling with nervousness.

"But it’ll certainly bring me some sense of justice!"

"There’s no justice in taking away the life of another human being!"

"Of course there is! The bastard took my wife’s life years ago and now he got out of prison as if nothing had happened! He doesn’t deserve freedom! I owe this to Helen!"

"What are you saying?! You cannot compensate Helen’s death by taking another person’s life!", Monica pleaded.

"And that’s not what your wife would want from you, Dr Harris!", Andrew intervened.

"Don’t you dare telling me what my wife would think, you didn’t even know her!"

Monica gave one more step into the man’s direction:

"But you did! And you know she was a decent woman, a woman who served God and whose faith in Him was complete and endless! And you know, in your heart, that if she could be here, Helen would be asking you to stop this revenge before you ruin your entire life!"

"I don’t wanna hear anymore! Stop it now, Monica!", he shouted, the truth of her words penetrating his soul. But she never answered to that request:

"And you know how much sorrow that revenge of yours would bring to her own heart!"

Tears of sadness and despair formed in the corners of his eyes and were soon rolling down on his face:

"I miss her so much... It’s been so hard without her..."

"God knows that, Dr Harris. And He suffers together with you every time you cry because of her absence.", Andrew said, also coming closer to him, "But hurting another human being is not gonna end up this suffering. Please put it down...", he asked, placing his hand on Dr Harris’ arm, in order to dissuade him from carrying on his terrible plan. And, finally, the man lowered the gun he had been holding in the last few minutes:

"So, what should I do?"

"Ask the Father, the same loving Father that created you, to give you the strength you need to go on with your life.", the blond angel responded.

"I don’t think He’ll ever be able to take away this pain, I’ve been feeling it for too long and He never did anything to heal it!"

Monica and Andrew looked at each other understandingly, and she gave one more step into the man’s direction:

"That’s where you’re wrong, Steven Harris. God did something to help you to get over the sorrow you’ve been in. He sent you some angels to help you..."

A splendid glow surrounded the couple who was trying to avoid that great tragedy, causing both Steven and the other man to stare at them in amazement:

"... angels?... Are you two?..."

"Yes, Steven Harris. We’re angels, sent by God. Sent by the One who has been walking with you along these difficult and painful years, trying to speak to your heart that He loves you!", Monica said.

"How come He has been together with me if I’ve never felt His presence?..."

"Have you ever tried to?"

The man let go of the gun and fell down on his knees; tears of sorrow now freely falling from his sad eyes:

"Oh God... I’m so sorry... Please help me!"

Andrew kneeled in front of him placed his hand on his shoulder:

"He is helping you, Steven. God has the power to turn something ugly and sad into something good. And He knows exactly what’s in your heart and your soul and He wants to take it and to transform it into something else; into something that will fill your spirit with peace and with His own love."

"But for that you have to give up this revenge. Only then, you’ll allow His love to enter your heart and heal the wounds that are still open...", Monica concluded.

The man cried for some time, as if the words spoken by the two angels were already starting to ease his heart, and he truly accepted them:

"I will... I promise I will... Just tell me where to start..."

Monica smiled for the first time:

"You start by having faith!"

He nodded his head enthusiastically:

"I do... I do have it!..."

Hearing that, the two angels exchanged another look: now one of contentment. Then, Monica turned to the other man, who had watched the whole scene with haunted eyes, and who bowed his head in respect and fear:

"Don’t be afraid.", the Irish angel said, coming closer to him.

"So God knows what I’ve done..."

"Yes, that’s true."

"Can He ever forgive me?..."

"You’re His child too; He made you and He knows exactly what you’re feeling, how sorry you are and, most importantly, He knows it was an accident. Besides, you’ve already paid your debt with the society. It’s time for you to start living your life again; now a different one."

The man looked at himself and, to his amazement, the wounds in his body had been healed and the ropes around his wrists were no longer there. A smile of gratitude formed on his lips and he closed his eyes:

"Thank you..."

*

Two cabs had been called and arrived there minutes later, taking the two man into opposite directions:

"I hope you take care of yourself...", Mr Harris said, to the one whose life he nearly took away. The man looked back at him:

"I hope you find the peace you’re looking for...", he replied, both getting in the cars, which left the place afterwards.

Andrew and Monica watched as the vehicles moved away and looked at each other with happiness evident on their faces:

"It’s over now. And thanks to the Father, and to you, everything ended up well!", the blond angel said, taking his dearest friend’s hand and squeezing it. She smiled back at him:

"Yes. But I have another person to thank: you. Without your help, Andrew, I don’t know if I would have been able to take care of this all alone..."

Smiling, he took her other hand:

"Those two man will remember what happened this night for the rest of their lives. I have no doubt that both of them have opened their hearts and souls to God and will certainly have their lives filled with His love. And, in some years, they’ll look behind and see that it all started because He sent one of His angels to speak to them the truth they needed to hear, turning a terrible revenge plan into the beginning of a brand new journey, for both of them.", he let go of her hands and grabbed her face: "You’re the one who opened up the door, Monica. And, without this, there would be no other way God’s plan could have been accomplished."

Smiling broadly, she looked straight into his bright green eyes:

"But, again, I’m still grateful that He sent me a wonderful friend to help me to stop this terrible revenge, as He has done in so many assignments in the past.", now it was her who took his hands, "Thank you, my friend."

"I’m honoured."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. She passed her arm around his waist and both angels left that dark place, disappearing into thin air.

CHAPTER 1

One week later...

"...and she’s really smart, Sam, I can assure you. If you talk to her once, she’ll respond to you immediately!", Monica said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. Sam was standing right in front of her, with his arms crossed in front of his chest and eyebrows raised, and Andrew was next to Monica, with his hands tugged in his pockets and in absolute silence.

"I promise our wee Joy won’t be a bother!", she concluded. The oldest angel looked at the ground, where a chubby black cocker spaniel puppy trotted around, playing with Andrew’s shoelaces:

"I believe she has some work to do on her behaviour, though!", he said, not too convinced by the Irish angel’s words.

"Oh, no! She... She only does that with Andrew, because... because he likes it, don’t you, Andrew?", she replied, but didn’t give any opportunity for him to answer to that question, "She’s a very polite wee lady and would never do such thing to other angel’s shoes, I can assure you! Take me, for example: she’s never done it to me!"

Hearing that, Andrew secretly rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling like hiding his face from Sam. And she kept on talking:

"Besides, she’s very sweet and affectionate with everybody, and always cheers me up when she’s around! And... oh, just look at her! She’s a wee baby and won’t need much space, you know."

"Well, she can be small, but she seems rather heavy to me!", Sam replied, still studying the animal. Monica smiled warmly:

"Yes, our Joy is a wee bit chubby, I admit it. But isn’t she cute?"

"Well...", Sam looked at the blond angel, who remained strangely quiet during that conversation:

"What about you, Andrew? Aren’t you going to say something?"

Without really knowing what to say, Andrew raised his head and smiled nervously:

"Well I... I guess Monica has... has explained everything already... I mean... What else could I possibly say?..."

The oldest angel was thoughtful for some instants and finally spoke again:

"It’s just for a few days, right?"

"Oh, yes! We wouldn’t dream of taking advantage from your generosity more than that, Sam! We know how busy you are!", Monica replied, exchanging a quick look with her dearest friend. Sam sighed deeply:

"It’s alright, then. I can take care of Joy for you."

A smile of relief appeared on the two angels’ faces:

"Oh thank you! Thank you very much, Sam! These days will go by very fast, you’ll see!"

"Yes, Monica is right. Joy will keep you entertained all the way!", Andrew said, scooping the little animal, who immediately covered his face with lots of tiny ‘kisses’, "And you’re going to behave yourself while we’re away, aren’t you, little one?"

A puppy bark was a reply to that question.

"You see, Sam? She’s really a lovely creature, isn’t she?", the Irish angel proudly asked.

"Yes... On second thoughts, I think she seems to be a good company...", he stroked the animal’s black fur and was greeted with some more ‘kisses’:

"Why do you think I named her ‘Joy’?", Monica smiled wider than before. She and Andrew tickled her roundish belly:

"So, I guess it’s time to say goodbye for a little while!", he said. But, at that moment, the expression on the little puppy’s face seemed to change, and she started to weep:

"I guess she’s crying...", the Irish angel said, as surprised and worried as her dearest friend.

"Yes, you’re right...", Andrew also frowned with some concern, as they had never seen the small animal do something like that before.

"Maybe it’s because she’ll be away from you all...", Sam presumed. The Irish angel agreed:

"Yes. Tess and Adam will be together with us too and we wouldn’t be able to take care of Joy during our assignments..."

"There’s no problem, Monica, Andrew. I’ll keep a good eye on her for you! I bet we’ll get along quite well!"

Monica reached out and took the weeping little dog in her arms and held her tightly:

"Hey, what’s the matter with you, wee one? It’ll be just a few days, we won’t take long!"

She kissed the puppy’s head and gave her to Sam. Though also worried about the animal, Andrew glanced at his pocket watch:

"Monica, we have to go."

"Alright...", the two angels stroked the dog’s fur for the last time:

"G’bye little one!"

"We’ll see you soon, sweetheart!"

They bid Sam farewell and both angel and dog disappeared from the park they were in. Monica sighed deeply and somewhat sad:

"She’ll be ok, it’ll be just a couple of days!", Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulder:

"I know. I guess that’s how parents feel when they are away from their from their children, isn’t it?", she half joked, trying to smile.

"In fact, that’s exactly how I feel, Angel Girl!", he replied, also smiling, and they left the place afterwards.

*

Some days later...

A brilliant purple bowling ball rolled on the lane and the noise of many pins collapsing at the same time could be heard through all the bowling alley:

"It looks like some angels around here will need some extra bowling classes!", Adam joked, looking at Andrew and Monica’s faces, and Tess joined him after having done the well succeeded play:

"I’ve already told them that there’s bowling and there’s Tess’ bowling!", celebrated the dark skinned angel. Adam checked the score:

"I’m afraid there’s 99% of chances that we win this game, Andrew, unless you guys hit all the pins this time!", he said, teasing the other 2 angels, "And I must say that this is a great way to celebrate the success of the many assignments we had in this city!"

But Andrew decided to ignore that comment: he grabbed a black ball and faced his co-worker:

"You know Adam, humans have a quotation that suits you perfectly well: don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, which means that, if I were you, I wouldn’t celebrate so soon!"

Tess faced her ‘Angel Boy’ with some disregard:

"He’s right, Adam. Let’s wait for just, let’s say... 10 seconds after he throws that ball and then we can celebrate it properly!"

"But the game isn’t finished yet...", Monica intervened, with confidence evident in her soothing (but rather hoarse) voice. Holding a handkerchief in her hand (it was possible to notice that she had a slight cold), she turned to her dear friend:

"...I know you will do your best.", she said, reassuringly, and shooting him a loving look. He smiled and winked at her; his green eyes showing all the love and care he felt for the little Irish angel. Then, he took his position and threw the ball. All the 4 angels watched suspensefully as the object rolled on the lane and, seconds later, hit all the pins except one, which insisted to be standing on the left side of the pit:

"It’s a pity, Andrew. I don’t think you’ll be able to hit that one!", Adam said, his amusement shared by his other partner.

"Well, there’s still one more chance...", the blond angel remarked, analysing the best angle to throw the next ball. But, suddenly, an idea crossed his mind and, smiling, he looked at his partner:

"Hey, Monica, come on over here!"

Confused, she came closer to her dearest friend:

"Can I help you?"

"In fact, you can..."

Andrew picked the blue bowling ball and put it in her hands:

"You’re gonna help me to win this game, Angel Girl!"

The other angels exchanged a look of amusement, as if, at that moment, their victory was certain. And all that confidence her friend deposited on her scared the Irish angel:

"Oh no, Andrew, really, I... I couldn’t! You’re much better player than me. I’ve... I’ve only played it once and it was you who taught me..."

"And you’ve learned very well!"

Standing behind her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face the alley before them:

"It needs an extra talent to hit the pins that are on the side of the pit...", he whispered into her ear, "... and I don’t know anyone who could do that job better than you!"

His kind words made her a little more confident:

"Do you really think that I could possibly?..."

"I trust you’ll do your best, as always!"

"C’mon you two, this is not time for a conference!", Tess grumbled, impatiently, "You’d better move on ‘cause it’s getting late and I think there’s a thunderstorm coming!"

Andrew and Monica exchanged another look; smiling the blond angel rubbed her shoulders and moved away to give her space so that she could play.

Monica took a deep breath, gave 3 steps and finally threw the heavy bowling ball. Slowly, the object rolled on the alley, with an uncertain destination at the beginning. Tess and Adam watched it with ironic faces and doing an extra effort not to laugh at that poor play. They were practically ready to celebrate their victory when the ball started to change the course of its direction and, 3 seconds later, hit the only pin that remained on the pit.

"She really made it!", Adam exclaimed, as amazed as the others.

Monica’s eyes widened in surprise and shock, and Andrew wasted no time in grabbing his dearest friend by the waist, lifting her up off the ground and twirling her around in circles. Laughing loudly, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I never thought I would say that, but I’m starting to believe that luck really exists!...", Tess mumbled, with her hands in her hips and still not believing in what had just happened.

"Great play, Monica!", Adam greeted her, after Andrew had placed the angel on the floor, "The next time you’ll be playing in my team! And that wasn’t fair! Andrew kept a secret up his sleeve all the time!", he concluded, extremely surprised, "You didn’t tell me you were that good!"

The Irish angel smiled sheepishly and with modesty:

"I really don’t think that I am that good, but I think that I’ve got a wee bit of ability with the pins that stand on the sides of the pit..."

Andrew wrapped his arms around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him:

"See? I told you you would help me to win this game, as I’ve always known you’re a very talented angel.", he said, placing a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. She smiled at him even more content and Tess grumbled even more distressed:

"Oh, please!... Let’s get outta here, ‘cause the weather forecast said it’ll rain tonight and I wanna be in a safe, cosy and dry place, away from all these pins, balls and specially away from all that sugar!"

All the other angels exchanged an amused look, noticing how that unexpected defeat had upset the supervisor and trying hard not to laugh at her bad humour.

As they were leaving the bowling house, the receptionist gave them 2 little trophies:

"You’ve managed to make the highest scores of the day", she explained, "And as you were the winners, here is a special prize!"

Monica smiled at her:

"Thank you, that is very kind!"

"Oh, and I have to warn you, there’s a thunderstorm coming, so, if you plan to leave the city, don’t follow the main road, there was an accident on it and it’s partially blocked. Try the other road, the old one, that goes through the countryside."

"Well, thank you for your suggestion baby.", Tess replied, and the angels left the place.

When they went outside, however, they had an unpleasant surprise: the heavy rain the radio had been announcing hours before had arrived at the town earlier than what was expected:

"Should we go now or let’s wait until it’s over?"

"I think we don’t have much choice, Angel Boy. We should get to the neighbour city by tomorrow morning!", Tess replied. Adam looked at the sky, covered with heavy thunderclouds, with concern:

"So we’d better move on before the weather gets worse!"

"I’ll go and get your car, Tess. You all wait here.", Andrew said, and, facing the heavy rain, the blond angel ran towards the parking area.

Minutes later, the red Cadillac stopped in front of the bowling alley, and the angels got inside the car: Tess and Adam took the front seats, while Andrew and Monica sat in the back.

And, one hour later, what had began as just a heavy rain turned into a terrible thunderstorm: lightening, followed by loud thunders, crossed the dark skies. It was 6 PM but it looked like midnight, as darkness had quickly fallen upon the Earth and nobody dared to be out in the streets in such a dreadful scenario, and even the animals had found a shelter to hide themselves.

By that time, the angels had already reached the old road and left the city. Tess turned the radio on but it was very difficult to connect to a station due to the interference the storm caused on the radio waves.

"The storm is blocking all the transmissions.", Adam said, frowning at the fury of the rain hitting the window pane of the car, "But, at least we know we have to follow this road."

"Yeah, I just hope we can arrive at the next city as fast as possible!", Tess stated, as another sequence of scary thunders echoed throughout the sky, causing Monica to cover her ears, visibly upset. Feeling the uneasiness flowing from her heart to his, Andrew wrapped his arms around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. Thankfully, but still rather scared, she snuggled close to his chest and held him tightly. It was then that he noticed something:

"Monica, you’re hot...", the blond angel said, gently placing his hand on her forehead.

"I think it is just a low fever...", she replied, not wanting to make that another problem. But that was too late, as Tess and the others immediately turned their attention to her:

"Is it true, Angel Boy?", the supervisor asked.

"Yes, it is, Tess. I’d say Monica is running a low fever.", he confirmed, after double checking it. The oldest angel shook her head, concern evident in her eyes:

"I don’t like that at all. We have to get outta here and find a place to stay as fast as we can!"

"You’re right, Tess. I hope we can get rid of this storm pretty soon...", he said, looking through the window and, like his angelic friends, not pleased at all with the weather conditions:

"...I wouldn’t like to stay here any longer..."

He kissed the top of Monica’s head with a worried expression on his face, as if there was something else about that horrible storm, something he could not explain, but which caused him to be twice scared.

CHAPTER 2

Tess’ Cadillac crossed the countryside facing more darkness along the way, as the only source of light (the lamp posts spread along the road) had gone with the thunderstorm. There were no houses either and the heavy rain poured down showing no sign of abating, causing it to be more difficult to see what was ahead of them.

The wind blew hard, adding more force to the huge amount of water that was falling from the sky; and, together with deafening thunders and repeated rays and lightning, made that one a dreadful scenario, one of the most horrible that the angels had already seen.

Due to the fact that they had been angels of death for so many years, Andrew and Adam were already used to face the fury of nature, as it always brought chaos and destruction in its wake. But for a young caseworker, that was extremely scaring, specially now, in human form. Monica’s discomfort was evident in her eyes, and the Irish angel was really perturbed with the violence with which the rain and the wind slashed the vehicle’s windows.

"I can’t wait to be in front of a warm fireplace, surrounded by covers and pillows and hugging our wee Joy!", Monica said, staring at the window, still resting her head on Andrew’s shoulder, "But I’m glad she’s not here, she would be afraid of the storm..."

The image of the little spaniel puppy dog she, Andrew and Tess ‘shared’ always running along on the 3 angels’ feet somewhat softened their hearts and made them smile:

"You’ve got a point there, Angel Girl! I never missed that baby so much!", the supervisor said, looking at the rear mirror.

"Hey, I’m curious to know the so famous little Joy!", Adam exclaimed, "She seems to be a lot of fun!"

"Oh, yeah, she is! Sometimes, she’s more fun than what we’re ready for!", Andrew joked, gently soothing Monica’s hair.

"Our wee one is the most enchanting, adorable and sweet wee dog an angel could have!", she said, enthusiastically. The blond angel chuckled:

"That was how Monica managed to convince Sam to take care of Joy! But I wonder if, right now, he still agrees with her!"

"I’m sure he does! What in this world could make him have a different opinion?!", the Irish angel protested, a little indignantly because of his teasing tone of voice.

"I couldn’t possibly imagine, sweetie!...", he answered.

But that moment of amusement didn’t last so long: a strange noise was heard and, a second later, the car stopped, increasing Tess’ worry:

"Oh no! What’s happening with my baby?!"

"Why don’t you try turning it off and, after, turning it on again?", Adam suggested. The supervisor did as he said, but the vehicle didn’t show any response to the command. Tess tried to start the car five times more, but it didn’t work.

"What are we going to do?", Monica asked, starting to become nervous again.

"We should ask for help somewhere...", Adam said, though he knew that finding help in that place would be highly unlikely.

"I don’t wanna be pessimistic but I don’t believe we’re gonna find a gas station in the next corner!", Andrew looked through the windowpane: "I’ll go outside and try to fix it, otherwise we’re gonna stay here, exposed to the thunderstorm, and I don’t think this is such a good idea!"

Hearing that, Monica stared at him with worried eyes:

"Andrew... Don’t you think we should wait a little?... Maybe the storm changes its direction..."

"I don’t think this is gonna happen, Monica.", smiling, he took her hand and squeezed it, "I’ll just go and take a look at the engine."

"Andrew is right. We have to try to get out of here as soon as possible", Adam agreed, "I’ll go with him!"

The two angels of death got out the vehicle, facing the rain that pelted on them without mercy and the howling wind, which blew so strongly that they could hardly stand on their feet. Both angels were soaked to the skin almost instantaneously. Andrew opened the hood of the vehicle and Adam lit up its interior with the help of a flashlight:

"Do you have any idea of what to do?", Adam asked. The blond angel smiled:

"Well, not much. But I’ve already ‘killed’ this car once, so I’m kinda used to it!...", he half joked.

"Oh... Well, that’s encouraging!", his friend replied, giving him a box of tools.

Inside the car, Monica’s anguish increased every minute, and the Irish angel rubbed her hands nervously, trying to see her friends working outside through the foggy window.

"Monica, are you alright, baby?", Tess asked, turning round and reaching for her hand, noticing the nervousness that flowed from her heart.

"I- I’m just a wee bit shaken up by the thunderstorm. I don’t recall seeing anything like this in the last years..."

"You’re right, Angel Girl. I myself don’t remember when was the last time I had to face such a threatening storm, as this is something caseworkers are not used to do!"

She nodded her head:

"Yes, that’s true, I’m not feeling comfortable at all in here!"

Another lightening, followed by a loud thunder, crossed the sky, causing Monica to cover her ears and close her eyes; distress was evident on the angels’ faces:

"Oh Father, please, allow us to get out of here safely... Let Andrew and Adam be able to fix this car...", the supervisor prayed.

Some minutes passed by and Andrew knocked on the windowpane, next to the driver’s seat:

"Tess, try to start it again!", he said, his loud voice competing with the noise of the thunders that crashed almost incessantly. The supervisor obeyed to that command and, to their relief, the Cadillac was working again:

"Good job, babies!"

The 2 angels of death came back to the car, completely soaked:

"I’m sorry to spoil your upholstery, Tess!", Adam joked.

"Oh, don’t worry about that, baby!...", the supervisor replied, causing the other 3 angels to stare at her in surprise. Noticing their questioning faces, she concluded: "... there’ll be plenty of time for you to clean it up later!"

The others couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement. Two towels had miraculously appeared on the back seat and Monica quickly handed them to her 2 friends:

"I hope we can find at least a shelter so you two can dry and we won’t be exposed to the storm."

The Irish angel’s face was filled not only with concern, but also with weakness and exhaustion: the fever was getting higher and higher.

"Yes, I agree. And you can be treated properly!", Andrew added, not missing the traces of fear and exhaustion in her brown eyes.

*

Although the 2 angels of death had managed to make Tess’ car work, it was far too clear that the vehicle was not operating properly, as it produced strange noises and could not develop the usual speed. And it didn’t take too long before it stopped again:

"I can’t believe this is happening! Not to my baby!", Tess lamented again, now more worried than never.

"What are we going to do now?", Monica asked, nervously. Andrew looked through the foggy window:

"I can’t see any sign of a house or a gas station nearby..."

"Well, I guess this only leaves us one option...", Adam suggested, looking at him through the rear-view mirror. The blond angel nodded:

"Yes, I think we’re gonna need some extra towels!", he half joked. But Monica never let go of his hand:

"We’ll be right back!", he winked at her and stroked her hair, getting out of the vehicle for the second time:

20 long minutes passed by and, this time, nothing could make the convertible work again.

"It’s pointless, Andrew. It’s broken and will never work; at least not here, not now..."

"Yeah, you’re right. And, as much as it breaks Tess’ heart we’re gonna have to leave it here and start looking for a shelter, ‘cause this storm won’t stop anytime soon. Besides, I’m worried about Monica; she had just a slight cold in the morning and now she has a fever that is getting higher every minute."

"I just wonder if we’re gonna find a shelter along the road...", Adam looked around them, the rain still pouring down with violence. Suddenly, his eyes focused on something near the road, not far away from where they were:

"...take a look over there, Andrew!..."

He was pointing to what seemed to be a construction that rose up in the shadows of the night, not too distant from where they were. And lightening allowed them to see it clearly for a few seconds:

"It’s a house!...", Andrew said, already relieved.

"Do you think there are people in there?"

"I think it doesn’t matter right now, we’re going there anyway, it’s getting dangerous out here every second!"

The blond angel was right: they were in an empty road that crossed the woods, in a swampy region, which only reduced the possibility of finding help or a shelter to stay. Besides this, the storm worsened every minute, and the wind was so strong that some tree branches were already flying up in the air. It would be just a matter of time before entire trees were being ripped from the ground. The house that stood in their way was the only option the angels had to protect themselves from the fury of nature:

"Tess, I’m sorry, but we couldn’t fix your car.", Adam spoke, getting into the Cadillac again.

"Oh, I please, don’t tell me that!"

"Yes, and we need to get out of here, the storm is getting worse!", Andrew added. Monica was feeling her heart beating quickly in her chest:

"But where are we going?"

"There’s a house not far from here. I don’t know if there are people living in there but it’s the only shelter we have."

"So, I guess now it’s your time to get soaked, ladies!", Adam half joked. Andrew looked at his best friend, concern for her health evident on his face:

"I guess so..."

"I’ll be fine!", she squeezed his hand, reassuringly. But Andrew wasn’t convinced by that statement:

"Your fever is getting higher!"

"It won’t be better if we continue here.", she kindly objected. Tess agreed that that was the best solution:

"Angel Girl is right, we have to find a shelter soon! And we can’t forget that there are two bags in the trunk with dry clothes for us all! So, let’s grab them and get outta here as fast as we can!"

The 4 angels got out of the car and, after taking the 2 bags, ran towards the house, as the rain pelted down on them so hardly that they could barely see. The wind had grown stronger than never and they had to grab one another’s arms in order to resist its force. Andrew got a firm hold on Monica, as the little Irish angel was the most likely to be carried away due to her small figure and the weakness caused by the fever that, little by little, consumed her.

CHAPTER 3

A ten minute walk was enough for the 4 angels to finally reach the huge construction that had been raised nearby the road, in that desert area and which was in total darkness. Right in front of them, tall and intimidating, stood a country house so old and battered-looking that anyone who saw it would think it was going to collapse under the slightest touch. The large stonewalls were deteriorated and fissured due to its age. Withered, dry veins interlaced through the faded grey stones and coiled past the worn wooden windows, into the mysterious interior.

But the angels decided to ignore that sombre image which stood before their eyes, as there were more important things to be dealt with at moment. Immediately running to the porch, they were relieved to, at least, having found a shelter to protect themselves from the heavy rain.

"Hello! Anybody home?!", Andrew cried, knocking on the front door.

"Hey! Can anybody hear us?!", Adam peered through the window and tried to see if there was any movement inside the house. But there was no reply to their callings, which only increased their concern.

"I’ll go and check the backyard.", Adam said, turning around the house.

The others waited for him in the porch and it was then that Tess noticed the expression on Monica’s face: she was pale and had her arms crossed in front of the chest, her entire body trembling with cold:

"Angel Girl, I’m worried sick about you!", the oldest angel said.

"I’ll be fine, Tess. I’m... I’m just a wee bit cold. When we enter and I can change these clothes I’ll be better...", she replied, even though the illness was clearly causing her to get worse every second. Andrew placed his hand on her shoulder:

"You’ll do it soon, Monica."

At that moment, Adam came back and announced:

"I think the house is really empty, but I’ve found an open door!"

Hearing that, the angels heaved a sigh of relief; but, before anybody could say anything, Monica felt her head spinning and, a second later, her legs gave out and she lost consciousness. If it hadn’t been for Andrew’s placing a supportive arm around her waist, the Irish angel would have hit the floor:

"Monica!", his voice was a mix of concern and anguish in seeing his dearest friend almost lifeless. The other angels quickly surrounded them, equally worried about that sudden faint:

"Angel Girl, please, open your eyes, baby! Say something, for Heaven’s sake!", Tess pleaded, stroking her charge’s wet hair, "What’s happening to her?!", she asked, scared with the scene right in front of her eyes.

"The fever is getting higher..."

"Adam is right, she’s burning with fever!", Andrew said, placing his hand on her forehead, "I’ll take her inside the house right now!"

The blond angel lifted Monica in his arms and carried her to the back of the house, followed by his other angelic friends.

In the back of the huge country house, there was a door which led to the kitchen and, as Adam had said, it was unlocked. The angel of death quickly opened it and looked for a light switch. The lights were feeble and blinked all the time:

"Let’s take her to the living room!", he said, quickly going from one room to another, turning on the lights so that Andrew could carry Monica along this way.

The house seemed indeed empty and the dust in the furniture, together with some cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling were evidences that the place had been abandoned for a long time.

The blond angel took his dearest friend to the living room and placed her in the couch. Carefully, Tess lifted her head and put an old cushion underneath it:

"Baby, c’mon, open your eyes! Talk to us!", the supervisor pleaded, stroking Monica’s cheek, "Oh Father, she’s so hot..."

Andrew took Monica’s hand in both of his and squeezed it:

"Please, talk to us...", he whispered, affliction evident on his face.

Their agony lasted for some minutes, which seemed an eternity to them. Suddenly, the Irish angel moved her head and slowly opened her eyes:

"Tess...", she said, with a puzzled expression on her face, "...What happened?..."

"You fainted outside the house, baby.", Tess explained, "I’m glad Adam found an open door so we could bring you inside."

"I... I was feeling cold and... suddenly... everything started to become darker... I couldn’t feel my legs...", the ill angel murmured. Andrew frowned with concern:

"She’s burning with fever, Tess, she has to change these wet clothes and we gotta keep her warm!"

The stairs that led to the second floor of the house were in the living room, and Adam quickly climbed them in search for a bedroom. A long corridor, with many closed doors lay ahead of him. The angel opened one of them and, to his relief, there were two beds inside of it. A minute later, he returned to the living room:

"There’s a bedroom upstairs!", he announced. Andrew wasted no time in gathering his dearest friend in his arms:

"Good! Now, c’mon, I’ll help you out, honey!"

"Oh, Andrew, it’s ok, I think I can walk...", she kindly objected. He tried to smile:

"I know you can! The problem is that I’m not feeling ok, and I think carrying you a little more will make me feel better!", the blond angel said, with a wink, and got a firm hold on her, going upstairs together with Tess.

Andrew carefully placed Monica in one of the beds and stroked her cheek:

"You get better soon, ok?"

She grabbed his hand and kissed his palm:

"Thank you..."

"You’re more than welcome! Tess will take care of you now."

"You bet I will, baby. And you and Adam go and get yourselves changed too! I don’t wanna see anybody else catching a cold here!"

"Yes, ma’am!"

*

The thunderstorm that crashed upon that region didn’t show any sign of abating; much on the contrary: the heavy rain hit the windows of the house, together with some twigs and branches that had been ripped off the nearby trees, and, for several times, the lights inside the old house went out, adding more darkness to that already dreadful scenario.

The angels changed themselves into dry clothes and Adam started to walk around the house, checking on the construction. Andrew, for himself, remained inside the temporary bedroom he was sharing with him, and which was right beside Monica and Tess’.

With a pensive expression on his face, he stood by the window, quietly staring outside and watching as the fierce storm hit the area, and large gusts of rough wind caused the highest tree tops to bend as if they would break at any moment. Inwardly, the blond angel’s heart was filled with anguish, as he deeply wished that the sun would come out and all the darkness that surrounded the region would just vanish, together with that horrible storm.

But, most importantly, he was extremely worried about Monica’s condition. Angels weren’t used to human diseases and to face a terrible cold, with a high fever along with such dreadful weather only made things more difficult. Besides this, Andrew felt something else troubling the depths of his soul, the same eerie sensation he had been feeling since the angels had left the bowling alley; something he still couldn’t explain, but which caused him to long anxiously for the first opportunity to get out of that place.

Adam walked around the enormous house, finding over 15 rooms, most of them completely empty, distributed along 3 floors and an attic. But the traces of abandonment were evident. Cobwebs and dust were in every corner of the building, some window panes were broken and the smell of mildew impregnated all the rooms, which seemed to have been closed for a long time. Besides this, it was far too clear that the house was very old, and needed repairs urgently. The howling strong wind made the windows tremble, and there were leaks in almost everywhere.

But abandonment wasn’t everything the angel could find in the creepy building: one of the longest corridors was a link to the garage; and, in there, Adam found a car. The angel of death quickly came closer to it and, after checking on the vehicle, he could see that, although it was old, it was still in good condition. With that piece of news, the angel returned to the living room, to tell his angelic friends his new discovery.

*

Another lightening, followed by a deafening thunder, cleared the dark skies and diverted Andrew’s attention from his own thoughts. The blond angel left his room and went straight to the bedroom Monica was sharing with Tess. The supervisor’s reply to his soft knock on the door came immediately. Both angels had already changed themselves into dry clothes and Monica was sitting on one of the beds; while Tess was setting a worn out blanket (found inside a deteriorated wardrobe, together with some other equally shabby pillows and covers) around her.

"Hey there! How are you doing, Miss Wings?", he asked, with a loving smile on his face. She smiled back at him and, despite the paleness on her face, she was definitely looking better than some minutes ago:

"I’m ok now. To be honest, I’m not that ill, you know. I think I’m just a wee bit nervous about the storm, that’s all...", the Irish angel said, not wanting her friends to worry abut her. But Tess’ face was enough to show her total disbelief in what she had just heard:

"She still has a high fever!", the supervisor said, "And I’m glad you’re here, Angel Boy, ‘cause you can keep an eye on her while I go downstairs, to the kitchen. I have a can of soup inside my bag and some tea bags, as I happen to be a very prudent angel! I’ll prepare her something to eat and see if I can find any more food in this place."

"Yes, ma’am! I promise this young angel isn’t flying anywhere!", the blond angel joked, sitting at the edge of Monica’s bed. But before the supervisor went out of the room, Monica shot her a pleading look:

"Tess, I was wondering... if you find some coffee, would it be possible if I could have..."

The expression on the oldest angel’s face was a stern one:

"That’s tea for you, Miss Wings, and period!", she grumbled, and disappeared through the door. Although she could perfectly understand the supervisor’s concern, Monica sighed a little disappointed. Chuckling, Andrew took her hand and squeezed it:

"Hey... if I find coffee I promise I can prepare you some later!...", he half whispered, and watched with delight when a tiny smile appeared on her face:

"Thank you!", she replied, also in a low tone of voice. Turning to a more serious face, the blond angel looked deep inside her brown eyes:

"How are you feeling?"

After pondering over that question for a few seconds, she gazed back at him:

"Happy..."

He raised his eyebrows inquisitively, and the Irish angel smiled meekly and continued to talk:

"I’m happy because you and Tess are here, together with me, as well as Adam. And healing is faster when we are surrounded by love."

A smile appeared on his handsome face and he nodded his head enthusiastically:

"I couldn’t agree more!"

At that moment, the weak light inside the bedroom went out, causing Monica to stop smiling. But her dearest friend quickly moved to sit beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing the ill angel closer to him:

"It’s ok; the lights will come and go because of the storm. Besides, this is an old house, the wires need changing."

"I know...", she sighed, "I wonder what wee Joy is doing right now. She gets a wee bit antsy with thunderstorms, you know. Besides, I’m under the impression that she doesn’t like the dark either..."

The Irish angel snuggled closer to him and rested her head on his chest, and the memory of the little chubby puppy made him chuckle:

"Yes, I’ve already noticed that particular feature in her personality...", he said, gently soothing her hair. But his face turned into a serious one second later:

"I hope this storm finishes soon so we can get out of here..."

"Well, at least we’re safe here, Andrew. I’m grateful that the Father placed this shelter in our way so we could protect ourselves from that terrible weather outside. It doesn’t really matter if it is old and there are some problems with the electricity, the most important is that we are all safe in here."

For a reason yet unknown to him, he didn’t reply to that statement. Instead, he just tightened his hold on her and kissed the top of her head; but concern was still there, on his face, deep inside his troubled heart.

CHAPTER 4

The heavy storm continued to hit the region incessantly and the sky was covered with dark and threatening thunderclouds, which indicated that the rain wouldn’t stop anytime soon. The lights at the old country house eventually came back and, although they were still feeble, it certainly was much easier to walk in its many rooms and corridors.

In the bedroom temporally occupied by Monica and Tess, there was a knock on the door and, a second later, the supervisor came in, carrying a cup of hot tea and followed by Adam:

"Here it is, Miss Wings! I found no trace of food in the kitchen. This house seems to be abandoned for a long time.", the supervisor said, "But I’m glad I had that can of soup left; I’ll prepare it for you while you drink this tea."

As Monica grabbed the cup of hot tea and took a sip, Adam came closer to the bed:

"Hey Monica, I was so worried about you, how are you doing?"

"I’m already feeling better, thank you, Adam."

"I guess you spent too much energy playing bowling!", he joked, causing the other angels to smile.

"Probably... Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to help Andrew that much!", she replied.

"Well, did you think that beating Tess and I would be that easy?"

The light mood produced a sensation of relief in the 4 angels, something that they hadn’t felt since they had left the bowling alley.

"Well, be sure that it wasn’t easy at all, Adam. But I have to confess a little secret that helped me: I had a very good teacher!", Monica said, shooting Andrew a loving gaze. Slightly blushed, he smiled back at her:

"Well, I can tell you were a very good learner, Angel Girl!"

"Yes, but now our talented ‘bowling Angel Girl’ will lie down and rest, ‘cause by morning I don’t wanna see any trace of fever around here!", Tess stated, in a determinate way, "Adam found a car in the garage, and, by the morning, if this thunderstorm is over, we’ll take you back to the city, I remember there’s a big hospital there."

"A car? There’s a car here?!", Andrew was surprised to hear that.

"Yes, it’s old, but there’s gas in the tank and I think it still works.", the other angel of death replied. But Andrew wasn’t all too pleased with that piece of news; an expression of concern and apprehension appeared on his handsome face:

"Who in the world would leave a car in a house that’s falling to pieces?"

"Well, maybe someone who uses the house as a temporary shelter..."

"And left the car here?", the blond angel sceptically insisted.

A week smile appeared on Monica’s face and she took his hand:

"I’m sure there’s an explanation for this, Andrew, and we’ll find it out later. But the most important is that we could find some help, more than we expected, and everything will be alright now."

Andrew squeezed her hand and tried to let go of his worry:

"Yes, that’s good news. But, for a while, we’re not going anywhere and you’ll do exactly what Tess told you to do: try to get some rest and get better soon!"

Adam soothed her hair:

"I know Andrew and Tess are taking a good care of you, but if you need more angelic help, just call!"

"I’m sure about it, Adam. Thank you."

"Angel Boy could you stay here and watch over her? I’ll go back to the kitchen and make her some soup."

"You can take your time, Tess. I don’t plan on going anywhere tonight...", Andrew replied, smiling at his dearest friend. The angels left the bedroom and he rearranged the blanket around Monica:

"Well, it seems that I’m in command around here, so I have 3 orders for you, Miss Wings! The first one is: take some sleep for a while; the second one is: eat the meal Tess will prepare you; and finally, the third one rule is: get better soon!"

A sheepish smile appeared on her face:

"Well, I believe I can try, as long as you stay here to supervise me..."

The blond angel helped her to lie down and gently placed his hand on her forehead: the fever was still there, and it seemed higher than before. Seeing him frowning with concern, the Irish angel took his hand into hers:

"Hey, it is only a bad flu! Human beings deal with this all the time, remember? It’s nothing so serious and..."

A loud sneeze didn’t allow her to finish the sentence:

"Whoa! I’ll keep a close eye on you, Monica! A flu can be pretty serious too!"

He sat down on the right side of the bed and held her hand:

"You shouldn’t stay so close to me, you know. You can catch a flu too."

Despite the worried look in Monica’s eyes, Andrew smiled at her with all the love in his heart evident on his face:

"I’d love to catch a flu from you if that meant to be close to you for a long time!"

Blushing deeply, she let out a small giggle. Andrew leaned to place a tender kiss on her cheek, and stroke her hair afterwards:

"Try to sleep now, ok?"

"Ok...", she half whispered, feeling her eyelids growing heavy, and, seconds later, she drifted off to sleep.

Andrew, for himself, never moved away from her, and started to say a silent prayer for her recovery.

*

The hours ticked slowly in that dark and cold night, causing it to be part of an appalling and endless nightmare.

Andrew remained sitting on Monica’s bed, gently rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand and praying. A light knock on the door interrupted his prayer: it was Tess, bringing a bowl of hot soup:

"Wake her up, Angel Boy; this baby needs to eat, she is already too weak and we have no idea how long this storm will last and how long we’ll stay here."

"I hope not too long, Tess. There’s something wrong here; something I can’t explain but which makes me pray to get out of here soon."

Hearing that, the older angel frowned:

"Yes, I had the same impression downstairs..."

"You did?", he exclaimed, a little surprised.

"Yes. This old house has a suffocating atmosphere!"

"Isn’t it weird, Tess?"

"Well, I believe we are all nervous with this thunderstorm and worried about Monica. Besides, the only shelter we found is in the middle of nowhere and isn’t exactly a five star hotel. One could easily be feeling a little claustrophobic tonight. We are no different as all of us are in human form now."

Andrew sighed heavily, still with some apprehension:

"Yes... Maybe you’re right..."

He bent down and gently stroked Monica’s cheek, not missing the hotness in her pale skin:

"Hey, sweetie, wake up..."

Slowly, she opened her tired brown eyes:

"It’s time for dinner, baby. I made you some soup."

"Oh Tess... Thank you, but... I’m not hungry, you know..."

The look on the supervisor’s face was a stern one:

"Let me get this straight: the little ill angel, who has a high fever and needs to eat something, is saying that she doesn’t want the soup I prepared her?! Is that what I heard?!", she spoke, in a mock threatening tone, which caused Andrew to suppress a smile and stare at the Irish angel equally serious, completely agreeing with Tess. Seeing both severe faces, Monica lowered her eyes, slightly embarrassed, and felt that she had lost the battle:

"I guess I don’t have much option..."

"Yes, you don’t! So sit up straight on this bed and start drinking it right now!", the oldest angel commanded. Seeing that the Irish angel now had Tess’ company, Andrew stood up from the bed:

"I’ll go check around the house, and see what else I can find here; maybe some tools to fix Tess’ car would help!", and turned to his dearest friend: "And you be a good Angel Girl!"

"I’ll try... Hard, I mean..."

The blond angel kissed the side of Monica’s head and left the bedroom.

Adam was in the living room, by the window, looking outside, when Andrew came downstairs and joined him:

"How is Monica?", the other angel of death worriedly asked.

"The fever won’t break. As a matter of fact, she needs to see a doctor and to take some medicine, ‘cause she has a terrible flu; and I’m afraid only tea and soup won’t do in this case."

"I agree with you; I guess we both have seen this many times before. Her health condition is serious and she needs to be treated properly."

Thoughtfully, Andrew looked through the window:

"If we could take her away from here... If we could take her to the city hospital..."

"I think it would be risky to do that in such weather, though. It’s far from here, we would take over 2 hours."

"Yes, you’re right, Adam. Let’s wait and see if the storm starts to move away, then we’ll see what we can do."

The 2 angels remained there, watching with anguished hearts as the heavy rain poured down outside. But, in the shadows that spread along the house, unbeknownst to them, someone, hidden in the darkness, was attentively observing the angels talk, and, some seconds later, the mysterious figure silently walked away, disappearing through one of the corridors of the building.

CHAPTER 5

The old country house was full of other bedrooms, one of them right in front of Monica and Tess’ and similar to theirs, with two beds and an empty closet. As the rain poured down incessantly, the angels didn’t have any other option but to remain in the house, even under its precarious conditions. Adam lay down on his bed and tried to sleep, although for him it was quite difficult to fully relax once they were stuck in such a horrible place and with a dear friend really ill.

Nevertheless, they were also in human form and that was enough to make them feel exhaustion taking control over their bodies; one of the angels of death ended up drifting off to a light sleep, which was always interrupted by the loud noise of the thunders.

Andrew, for himself, was not able to do the same, as his worry about his dearest friend was growing stronger every second, as well as his wish for that terrible night to be over. He remained by the window, thoughtfully staring outside. Somehow, the blond angel felt tempted to place Monica and the others in the car found in the garage and go away from the mansion.

Seriously considering that possibility, he left the bedroom and went downstairs, following the corridor that led to the garage. The car was not new, it was true, but it was in good condition, being perfectly able to run a long distance. Most importantly: the tank was full, so it was possible to reach the next city, or to return to the one they had left hours before. Andrew checked the vehicle, but, after some minutes of reflection, the angel sighed heavily: it was too risky to face such horrible weather conditions carrying a very ill person, and if anything happened in the middle of the road, Monica would be the one to suffer the consequences more than the others.

He shook his head and decided to come back to the living room. There were leaks spread all over the way and the smell of mildew impregnated his lungs. Suddenly, his left foot sank in the wooden floor, up to his knee:

"Man! This house is falling to pieces!", the angel grumbled.

*

A sequence of deafening thunders echoed through the skies, causing Tess to wake up from her light snooze; and the first thing that came to the supervisor’s mind was her charge. She immediately rested her eyes upon Monica and what she saw caused her heart to beat loudly in her chest and an expression of panic to appear on her already worried face: the Irish angel was curled up in her bed, with the blanket pulled up to her neck and trembling with cold. Tess quickly stood up from her bed and placed a hand on Monica’s forehead: the fever was much higher than before, causing even an experienced angel like her to be twice scared.

With an anguished heart, the supervisor left the bedroom and went downstairs, dropping into Andrew, who was coming in the opposite direction and immediately noticed the frightened expression on her face:

"Tess... What is it?... Is that Monica?", he asked, though the question wasn’t really necessary, as he was already feeling in his own heart the aggravation in his dearest friend health condition.

"It’s the fever, Andrew. It’s getting worse every minute! That poor baby is so hot! I don’t know what else to do!", she answered, with despair evident in her strong voice. And despair also flooded he blond angel’s soul when he heard that:

"...oh God..."

"Go and stay with her, baby. I’ll look for a cloth and some water to put on her forehead."

He climbed the stairs in a quick rush, going straight to the Irish angel’s bedroom, and the image of the friend he loved so much seriously ill and trembling with cold was like a sharp pain right through his heart. Andrew quickly walked over to her bed and stroked her pale face:

"Angel Girl, wake up, please... Dear God, she’s so hot!...", he frowned with concern at how pale and sick she looked:

"Monica, wake up, please... Tell me how you’re feeling..."

"...Andrew?..."

"I’m right here!", he replied, taking her hand into both of his.

"...I’m cold... so cold..."

The blond angel helped her to sit on the bed and took off his jacket, placing it upon her. Then, he wrapped his arms around her and brought the ill angel close to him:

"Hang on in there, sweetie. Just a little longer until the weather gets better.", he said, tenderly stroking her hair.

A minute later, Tess, followed by Adam (who had been woken up by their friends footsteps on the rotten wooden floor), entered the bedroom carrying a bowl with water and a humid cloth, which she immediately placed on Monica’s forehead:

"Here, baby. I know this isn’t the best solution, but I’m sure that it’ll make your fever break at least a little", she said with worry, and the Irish angel flinched when she felt the cold fabric touch her skin:

"I know, baby, I know...."

Seeing the accelerated deterioration in the angel’s condition, and deeply fearing where it would lead, Adam sighed heavily:

"She needs proper treatment; she needs a doctor or at least some medicine! We can’t just stand here and wait, this thunderstorm may last for hours..."

"I agree with you, Adam, but we can’t risk taking her back to the city in such weather condition. Crossing these roads is risky even for a healthy person.", Andrew said, "Monica is already too weak and although I don’t like this place at all, it is still a shelter and she’ll be safer here."

One minute of disturbing silence passed by; until it was finally broken by Tess:

"Andrew is right.", she suddenly stated, with a serious look.

"But Tess, Monica is very ill, she’s burning with fever!", Adam insisted.

"... I’ll be fine...", the Irish angel said, not wanting her angelic friends to worry even more about her, "... we can wait for the storm to go and then we can go away...", she added, still trembling with cold.

"That’s not what I have in mind, Angel Girl. I’ll get that car and I’ll come back. I know that the way to the city hospital is a long one, but I remember that, when we started to follow this road, there was a gas station and a drug store at its very beginning. I could buy some medicine and bring it to her."

"Do you think it’s possible to come back?", Andrew asked.

"Of course it is! There’s gas in the car and you said it’s in good condition!"

"Yes, it really is. I checked it out myself.", the blond angel assured.

"So I believe there’s nothing else to discuss here! I’m gonna find help!"

"Tess, wouldn’t it be better if I went and you stayed here with Monica?"

"No, Angel Boy. You stay here and take care of her. I didn’t forget the conversation we had about this house and I do completely agree with everything you’ve said."

"I’ll go with you Tess.", Adam said.

"Good. I surely would like your company, baby."

But, before they left the room, the 3 angels heard a weak and concerned voice:

"Tess, Adam, please, don’t go!...", Monica pleaded, "It’s very dangerous out there, the storm won’t go away anytime soon and it’s a long way to the city... I’ll be fine while I wait here..."

"Of course you will! There’ll be an angel here to take good care of my precious Angel Girl!", the supervisor gently ruffled her hair.

"I don’t wanna be a burden to you..."

"Hey! You’re not a burden to anyone!", Adam said, and smiled, "And we’re glad we’re here to take care of you!"

Tess stood up and took Monica’s hand:

"I’m sure you’ll be in good hands, Angel Girl!"

"She will, Tess. I’ll take good care of her!"

The angels, with the exception of Monica, went to the garage and, as Tess and Adam got into the car, Andrew opened the garage door for them. Outside, the rain pelted down as intensely as before and showed no sign of abating:

"The Father will be with you two.", he said.

"And with you and Monica too, Angel Boy. ", Tess replied.

"Be careful, ok?"

"We’ll be back soon!", Adam assured.

The supervisor and the angel of death left the sombre old country house and went back to the road, facing the adversities of the weather to find healing for a dear friend.

Andrew shut the garage door and went back to Monica’s bedroom; his heart heavy with anguish about the Irish angel.

Under the blinking lights which showed the inefficiency of the electric system, he passed by the living room and quickly climbed the stairs, shutting the bedroom’s door seconds later. But what the blond angel didn’t notice was another presence in the house, most precisely, in that room: hidden in the shadows, Monique, the demon who looked exactly like Monica, had been observing the angels since they arrived at the house. With an evil smile upon her face, she gave some steps ahead and stood in the middle of the living room:

"It seems that, now, it’ll be just us...", she stated, looking upstairs. But she was not alone: another figure emerged from the shadows of another corridor and joined her; he was tall, strong, had dark hair and dark evil eyes:

"I’m also in this, have you forgotten?", he said, joining her.

"Gregory... you never know what kind of surprises a rough thunderstorm can bring!"

"Yes... Let’s say these angels have crossed my way too many times in the past...", he stated, "...And the last time, they stopped a practically perfect revenge plan to be accomplished, and that is unforgivable!"

Gregory, a demon the angels had faced so bravely on a dark stormy Halloween night, similar to that one, was back. On that occasion, Gregory tried to steal the soul of man named Lonnie; a soul he had been pursuing for years. But Monica, Andrew and Tess managed to stop him from doing more harm to the human and sent him back to the darkness where he belonged.

But that was not the last time the angels had crossed the 2 demons way. Some months earlier, in a dark cold night, when Monica and Andrew stopped a desperate man to accomplish a terrible revenge by committing a murder, they actually stopped Monique and Gregory from finishing their job.

"I do completely agree with you, Gregory. Stopping Steven Harris from killing that man was not... let’s say... ‘nice’!", Monique added. Both looked upstairs and it was possible to see all the evilness in the world clearly written in the shining of their eyes:

"Now it’s our time to teach these angels a little lesson about revenge!", she finally said.

CHAPTER 6

Sitting on the edge of Monica’s bedroom, Andrew wiped her feverish brow for the third time and sighed heavily when he noticed that her temperature didn’t seem to have lowered not even a single degree. The blond angel wet the cloth and replaced it on her forehead; the coldness of the fabric causing her to open her eyes:

"... I guess I’m not co-operating, am I?", she asked, noticing all the worry on his handsome face. Nevertheless, he tried to smile:

"I’m already used to this stubborn behaviour of yours, Miss Wings!"

A tiny smile appeared on her tired face, and he kept on talking:

"And for your information, I know exactly how to deal with this! Right now, I could tickle you until you start begging for mercy and finish with this fever once and for all!"

The memory of his fingers touching her stomach caused her to let out a small giggle:

"But you know what? I’m not gonna try this one now, ‘cause you cannot run much far in this house, and as I am a merciful angel, I like giving you a little advantage before I can catch you!"

Relief filled his heart and his soul when he heard her giggling echoing in the bedroom and he smiled with contentment:

"I’ll have to trace another strategy then. But I have an idea: why don’t you continue to sleep a little while I think about a new plan to send this fever away and make you feel better, huh?"

"Having you here, right beside me is enough to make me feel better, Andrew.", she replied, "Though I prefer it without the tickling part!..."

"Alright then. I’ll try to control myself. But now would you sleep a little and save your energies for later?"

"Ok... Will you be on my side?"

He ran his fingers through her hair and on her cheek:

"Of course I will, Angel Girl. Although you snore a lot, I’ll stay with you..."

"Oh! I don’t snore!", she replied, giggling once more and almost drifting off to sleep.

"Yes, you do! Even Joy knows that!"

"Our wee Joy would recognise her daddy’s loud snore anywhere!", a teasing tone in her low voice.

"Look: I think you’d better start snoring at once, before I change my mind and start tickling you right now!"

Still with a smile, which contrasted with her pale face, the Irish angel drifted off to sleep, but, before this, she could still whisper 3 loving words to her dearest friend:

"I love you..."

Andrew leaned forward to place a tender kiss on her cheek:

"I love you too.", he also whispered in her ear.

Inside the same bedroom, but unseen to the two angels, Monique and Gregory observed the two heavenly creatures with an ironic look in their eyes:

"Are you doing this to her?", Gregory asked, not missing how ill Monica looked.

"In a way, yes. It was lucky that she had a cold already. But the evilness in this house is very strong and she is...", she stopped talking and sighed with some annoyance, "... how can I say that without feeling nauseous? She is the most ‘sensitive’ of the group."

Monique gave a few steps towards the bed:

"It seems that all this evilness is not doing her much good..."

"Well, ironically, I’d say that’s good! It’ll make our job here a lot easier!..."

*

Time went by slowly in on that appalling night, streaks of lightening covered the dark sky and the noise of the thunder echoed throughout the countryside, where the old mansion was located. The strong wind produced a sad melody, which penetrated inside the house and only increased Andrew’s anguish in being in a place like that.

The blond angel was holding Monica’s hand in both of his and spent the last hour praying not only for her recovery but also for Tess and Adam, as the two angels were outside, exposed to all sorts of danger the thunderstorm could bring.

Suddenly, his prayers were interrupted by a loud noise coming from downstairs. Andrew looked at the window, which trembled with the strong howling wind, and, tightening the hold on his friend’s hand, elected to continue praying. But, some minutes later, the noise was heard again, this time louder than before, and the blond angel frowned with concern:

"But what is that?!...", he wondered, in a low voice. At that moment, Monica stirred in the bed and whispered:

"...Andrew?..."

He gently placed his hand on her cheek:

"Shh... I want you to keep on sleeping, Angel Girl!"

He waited until she drifted off to sleep again, and, hearing the noise for the third time, Andrew decided to check where it was coming from. He kissed his dearest friend’s forehead and left the bedroom, going downstairs.

The cracking noise of the wooden steps filled the dark shaded living room and arriving there, Andrew saw one of the windows had its glass broken into pieces. He sighed and shook his head, still bothered with the precarious condition of the house. But, before he could do anything to fix it, another noise was heard, louder than before; this time, it was coming from the back of the house, where the garage was.

"It looks like a horror movie!", the blond angel grumbled, heading towards the garage. Water dropped from the leaks on the ceiling and walls of the dirty place and a rat crossed the now empty floor. Andrew turned the light on, only one light bulb precariously illuminated the room, allowing him to finally see what was causing all that noise: The 2 huge wooden doors protested loudly as they swung back and forth on their lower hinge. The upper half had apparently, in some inexplicable way, been torn apart, and the heavy rain to invade the interior of the room.

"But I could swear I closed them when they left!", the angel exclaimed, running his fingers through his blond hair. He walked over to the doors and, as they had to be shut and locked up together, he took a firm hold onto one of them. But, when Andrew tried to grab the other one, a sudden gust of wind blew the other heavy wooden door shut, right on his left hand. Andrew let out a cry of pain with the impact, letting go of the door and holding his hand:

"Father!...", he whined, falling down on his knees and biting his lower lip, hardly bearing the sharp pain in his bones.

In a dark corner of the garage, Gregory watched his suffering with a content expression on his face.

*

Meanwhile, Monica’s fever remained high and the Irish angel stirred in her bed, in her troubled sleep, still trembling with cold:

"...Andrew...", she whispered, with some concern on her asleep pale face. Suddenly, Monique emerged from the shadows of the night that flooded the bedroom. With an evil smile, the demon came closer to the angel’s bed:

"That’s so easy that I almost feel bored...", she said, and grabbed one of the pillows left on the bed, "...That will take just some seconds..."

She leaned forward and was about to place the pillow on Monica’s face when the Irish angel turned her head to the side and opened her eyes extremely scared:

"Andrew!!!"

With that, Monique vanished in the air before Monica could even see her.

*

In the garage, while the rain and the strong wind flooded the entire place, Andrew tried to keep the great pain in his hand and wrist after the shock with the door, and stood on his feet again. He knew he had broken some bones and had to immobilise his hand immediately, but was still intrigued by how those doors had been opened up without any explanation.

But what the blond angel didn’t notice was the big wooden beam that was right over him, in the ceiling, which was so old and withered that it started to crack, threatening to fall at any minute.

Once again, in the interval between two gusts of wind, Andrew took hold of the doors and managed to lock them. Not that he wanted to stop the rain from falling inside the house; the old building was already too deteriorated and undeserving of any special care. What the blond angel really feared was that place itself, the mansion and its surroundings, as there were no other houses nearby and, apparently, not a human soul either. He and Monica were all alone in a dark isolated area, lost among the woods, a desert road and a swamp, and keeping the house well locked was a way to keep away any stranger who happened to approach it.

Still whining with the intense pain in his hand, he stood in the middle of the garage and looked around him:

"Oh Father, please, help me...", he whispered, unaware of the danger which was still there, in that room.

Upstairs, Monica woke up with her heart pounding loudly in her chest, and, looking around and not finding her dearest friend nearby, the Irish angel stood up from the bed and walked groggily towards the bedroom door.

Leaning against the dirty walls, Monica left her temporary bedroom and looked around the long dark corridor, but, again, she found no trace of the blond angel. The weak light allowed her to see the stairs and she imagined he could only be downstairs, in the kitchen, preparing her some tea. But, then, she wondered why she had that strange and eerie sensation of panic creeping her heart and her soul. Why was she under the strongest impression that her beloved friend was in great danger? The anguished angel headed to the stairs but, before she could make it, the lights went out once more:

"Oh, Father...", she whispered, even more scared. But the total darkness was broken by a streak of lightening, which showed her that she was just a few steps from the stairs:

"Andrew!", Monica called once more, and, not having any reply, she started to walk again, ready to go downstairs, being guided by the walls and a series of lightening.

But she was not alone in that dark corridor: Monique reappeared right behind her, and, again, the demon had an evil smile on her face.

*

Andrew approached the light bulb to see the extension of the injury in his hand: it was bleeding and swollen, and the mere act of moving his fingers caused him to bit his lips in great pain:

"As if we didn’t have enough to worry about!", he lamented, with some impatience in his voice. Besides, he knew that, once Monica saw it, she would be more worried about him than about herself; her unique compassion towards the others had always been one of the most remarkable qualities in her sweet personality; also being one of the uncountable reasons why he loved her so much.

Suddenly, he heard a cracking noise coming from somewhere in the filthy garage: the wooden beam that held the ceiling was crashing and, a second later, it collapsed, bringing the garage together with it.

Hearing the loud noise that echoed throughout the house, Monica’s eyes grew wide in panic:

"Andrew! Andrew, where are you?! What’s happening?! Andrew, answer to me, please!", she screamed in tears, despair evident in her voice.

"Looks like Gregory already took care of your friend! I’m really glad to work with him, he’s so efficient!", Monique said, her voice still not audible to the Irish angel’s ears.

"Andrew! Answer to me, please!", she called again, louder than before, and not hearing any reply, she came closer to the high stairs, still using the lightening and touching the walls to guide herself. Right behind her, Monique whispered:

"...Now it seems that you’re the only one missing here!..."

Downstairs, in the corridor that led to the garage, Andrew took off the dust the covered his clothes and stood on his feet. The blond angel had been able to hear the cracking of the wooden beam and, seconds before it crashed down, he had managed to run an get out of the garage, practically throwing himself into the dirty corridor.

Breathing heavily, he looked at the door which he had just crossed and shivered at the image of total destruction inside the garage. But, all of a sudden, another sharp pain, maybe more intense than the one he was already feeling, came through the blond angel’s heart, causing him to whisper one single name:

"Monica!"

CHAPTER 7

Deafening thunders crashed in the sky as the heavy rain still poured down, and, together with the strong howling wind, hit the old country house that stood in the woods, next to the desert road.

In its interior, Andrew ran along one of the long corridors towards the living room, with a sudden and suffocating sensation of panic creeping on him. Something was telling him that Monica was in great danger and that he had to go to her immediately.

On the top of the stairs, weak and dizzy, the Irish angel was about to give her first step down, with Monique standing right behind her, ready to pull the ill angel downstairs:

"Andrew?", she called, for the last time.

"You want to talk to your friend? I’ll help you to go to him faster...", the demon said, from behind her. But, before she could accomplish her diabolic plan, Andrew entered the dark room; the lightening helped him to see the Irish angel:

"Monica!"

"Andrew... I...", but the Irish angel couldn’t finish her sentence: she stumbled on the first step and felt as if ‘something’, or, in that case, ‘someone’, had pushed her forward. But the blond angel was faster: with his heart pounding loudly in his chest, he climbed up the stairs in a rush and took hold of his dearest friend before she could fall:

"It’s ok, I got you!", he said, relived to have arrived right on time, and ignoring the intense pain he was feeling.

"I’m sorry... I’m so sorry, Andrew. I woke up and you were not there...", she cried, also with guilt in her words.

"It’s alright, I shouldn’t have left that bedroom anyway. I’m the one who is sorry for scaring you like that!"

The lights came back at that moment and the Irish angel was even more scared when she saw how high that fall could have been.

"Come, I’ll take you back to the bedroom...", Andrew said, leading her upstairs. But she shook her head:

"No, Andrew, please. Can I stay here, in the living room? I... I don’t feel like coming back to the bedroom right now... I guess I was a wee bit claustrophobic there..."

He nodded his head understandingly:

"Sure, Angel Girl. Come with me, I’ll help you. You can lie down on the couch."

He carefully helped her way down to the couch and, when she sat down, he noticed that she was still trembling with cold, despite the hotness in her skin:

"I’ll go and get the blanket for you!"

Some seconds later, the blond angel came back and wrapped his coat and a blanket around his best friend, and, as soon as he sat beside her, Monica noticed his injured hand:

"Oh, good Heaven! What happened to your hand, Andrew?", she asked, worry already on her tired face.

"It was an accident...", he said, mentally scolding himself for letting her see the wound in his hand, as he didn’t want her to worry about him.

"But look at this! It’s swollen and bleeding, you might have broken it!", her preoccupation was evident in her anguished voice, and she touched his forearm as kindly as she could.

"I’m not that bad, Monica. It’s just dirty. I’ll clean it up and it’ll be ok."

"I’ll do it for you!", she said, quickly standing up to look for anything that could be used as a first aid material. But the disease that spread over her organism and the dizziness she was feeling caused her to sit down again:

"Hey, hey! Easy there, Angel Girl! I guess you’ve been walking around way too much for one night!", Andrew gently scolded her, placing his good hand on her small shoulder.

"But your hand..."

"I’ll get some water and a piece of cloth to wrap around it."

"Let me do it for you..."

"Alright, but you’re gonna stay right here on this couch and don’t you move from here until I come back, you understand?"

The Irish angel sadly nodded her head, feeling sorry for being unable to help her dearest friend properly. She lowered her head and, a second later, burst into tears.

"Hey...", Andrew quickly pulled her in his arms and held her tightly, "Please, don’t cry, Monica. You know that it breaks my heart and it hurts much more than any physical pain...", he said, stroking her hair. He could feel her sorrow, as he and Tess were the only angels who knew exactly what was inside her kind, compassionate heart and only they could imagine how unhappy she was, not because of her illness, but because of them, due to the risk both were running in that place, at that dreadful night.

"This is so terrible, Andrew... Tess and Adam are outside, risking themselves in a desert road, facing this terrible thunderstorm, and you are in the middle of nowhere, stuck inside an old house falling to pieces and badly hurt, and here I am, ill... It’s because of me that Tess and Adam are outside and I can’t even do anything to help any of you!..."

Her sobs stopped her from talking and she curled up against him, burying her head in his chest.

"Shh...", he sighed heavily with sorrow evident in his green eyes, and let her cry for sometime.

"Monica, even if you weren’t ill, we’d still be here, in this house, I probably would be hurt and all this rain would still be falling down."

"But at least Tess and Adam would be here to help you and wouldn’t be risking themselves outside!"

Andrew pulled away just enough to look at her eyes:

"They are outside, looking for help, because they have a very dear friend who needs them. And you would do exactly the same for them."

He wiped the tears on her reddened face:

"Besides, if the rain gets worse, Tess and Adam can stop the car and wait, there’s enough gas to come and go 3 times and the gas station isn’t too far from here."

"I’m so worried, Andrew. I’m so worried about them and now you’re hurt too..."

"I’m also worried, Monica. But don’t you forget that they’re not alone. God is with them as well as with us and He is taking care of His children, be sure of that."

The Irish angel sniffled and nodded her head understandingly:

"I know. I should remember that in the first place..."

"We are all nervous with this storm. And I can’t wait for this night to be over.", he put a strand of her hair behind her ear and gently stroked her cheek:

"But I guess we don’t have any choice for the last hours. And if I have to be stuck inside this house, in the middle of nowhere and falling to pieces, then I’m thankful that, at least, you’re here with me! I couldn’t ask for a better company! Now, I’ll need someone to help me here and... I was thinking about you!", the blond angel smiled, "Could you give me a hand? You know, mine has a little problem..."

That little joke was enough to make a tiny smile appear on her pale face and, pleased to see it, he kissed her forehead and stood up:

"I’ll be right back!"

*

Despite the weakness and dizziness, Monica forced herself to be awake and conscious in order to treat Andrew’s wounded hand. Not that he really needed her help – he would be able to do it himself. But the blond angel knew how miserable his dearest friend was feeling and allowing her to do that for him was a way to make her feel useful.

She washed his hand with water and, after drying it, she carefully wrapped a cloth around it.

"It’s ready. If only we had some antiseptic to put in your hand we..."

"It’s fine, Monica. It’s perfect considering what we have at the moment!", tenderly, he stroked her cheek, "Thank you!"

"I guess having some experience in search and rescue helped me a little..."

"You’re always the perfect angel at the perfect time!"

A meek smile appeared on her face and he moved to the side:

"You know something, Angel Girl? I think you’ve already completed your tour around this haunted house, so why don’t you lie down and rest now? We can stay right here in the living room until Tess and Adam come back."

Feeling exhausted and a little sleepy, the Irish angel nodded and lay down on the couch, using his leg as a pillow. Andrew covered her small form with the blanket and gently ran his fingers through her hair:

"Sleep a little, Monica. When you wake up I’m sure Tess and Adam will be here, with help. And maybe the storm will have moved on and we’ll all go away from this house."

"I can fell it too, you know...", she suddenly said, a pensive and rather serious look at the dark furniture, withered with age, which surrounded them like ghosts warning that that place was not safe to anybody.

"Feel what, sweetie?"

"The heavy atmosphere in this house that disturbs you so much."

"You do?"

"Yes. It’s like I’ve said before. I feel a wee bit claustrophobic...", she turned her head to look at his face, "You’re right. It feels like suffocating sometimes."

Andrew sighed heavily, concern evident on his eyes:

"Just hang on a little longer, Angel Girl. I’m sure this is almost finishing.", he stroked her cheek, "And I just can’t wait to see you better and to brew you lots of cups of coffee, away from Tess’ eyes!"

Smiling, but still a little groggy, the Irish angel reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug:

"I think I should mention the word ‘coffee’ more often! It sure has a great effect on you!", he joked, and immediately received a tiny kiss on his cheek in reply.

In a dark corner of the same room, Monique and Gregory watched the two angels with disgust:

"You know... These kind of scenes do make me feel something!...", Monique said, with an ironic tone in her voice, "... A terrible headache!"

Gregory sighed with impatience:

"You know what I think? If we want to get rid of those two we’d better stop playing around and start talking serious because this thunderstorm is not gonna last forever!"

"Yes, you’re right. But we still have the rest of the night, ‘cause their dear friends won’t bother us anymore, now that we’ve managed to send them away from this house!", Gregory nodded his head:

"Yes, they’d be a problem. Specially Tess, she’s able to spoil the whole party in just the blink of an eye!"

"Well, they’re far away now and won’t come back here until it’s too late... Somehow, I’m under the impression that the ‘miraculous’ car they found in the garage isn’t as ‘miraculous’ as they thought it were!"

They laughed evilly:

"Now let’s get the show started, ‘cause I don’t wanna waste my time with those two anymore!", he said, and they disappeared afterwards.

CHAPTER 8

Tess drove the old car found in the garage of the old country house along the dark desert road, crossing the woods and facing the endless thunderstorm as fast as she could. Adam was sitting right beside her, his eyes wide open and his full attention on the road ahead of them, as the visibility was precarious due to the heavy rain that poured down.

"How long do you think we’ve been driving, Adam?"

"About one hour.", the Angel of Death responded, after checking his pocket watch, "We’ll be there in 20 minutes. We could arrive faster, but considering this weather..."

"I can’t drive any faster than that. Being here is already too dangerous, we don’t need more incidents than the ones we already had!", the supervisor said.

"I just hope we can find help soon, Monica really needs a doctor. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody getting ill so fast; she had a light cold, but she was ok, playing with us and having fun. And, all of a sudden, she started to get worse and worse, and now she’s lying on a bed, burning with fever!"

"Don’t even tell me that! I’m so worried about that baby!"

Suddenly, Adam’s face turned into a more worried one and he frowned with deep concern and distress:

"...oh no...", he whispered, causing the oldest angel to stare at him:

"What is it?"

"We have to be faster, Tess..."

The supervisor was terrified to see great sorrow in his eyes:

"What is it, Adam, for Heaven’s sake?!"

"I’ve... I’ve just been told to stay here... There... There must be some work to do..."

"Oh no, Father, please don’t let anything happen to my baby!"

Seeing her despair, the angel of death tried to comfort her:

"It was just a warning, there’s nothing set yet! If we get to the city fast and find some help, everything will be alright! Let’s keep driving!"

The angels were filled with deep anguish and concern, and, inside their hearts, they were praying to make their way to the city and find help for the Irish angel as fast as possible. Tess continued to drive for some more time, in the dark and windy road. All of a sudden, both angels were surprised by a U shaped bend ahead, and Adam warned the supervisor:

"Tess, be careful..."

"I know, I know...", she answered. But when she stepped on the brakes, to reduce the car velocity, her blood ran cold:

"Oh, no..."

"What is it, Tess?"

"The brakes don’t work!"

The vehicle slid and left the road, getting into the grass and the dense vegetation that surrounded it, and finally crashed on a nearby tree.

*

Monica and Andrew remained on the couch, in the living room of the old house, and, after lying down, the Irish angel soon fell into a deep sleep; this time, a little calmer one, perhaps due to the fact that she had her dearest friend close together with her, and his loving presence was surely able to put her troubled heart at ease. And even the blond angel, sitting on the couch, had drifted off to a light snooze, being woken up a few times, either by the crashing of the thunders, or because of the sharp pain he was feeling in his hand.

Monique and Gregory came closer to the two angels and that simple attitude caused Monica to stir and moan, her asleep face frowning with fear. That was enough to make Andrew open his eyes with his heart beating faster than before. The two demons exchanged an evil look and stepped back:

"We have to find a way to make them split up, that’ll be easier.", Gregory said, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Yes, you’re right. And we can ‘share’ them that way too! I can’t wait to finish with this poor image of myself! It’s like looking at a broken mirror!", Monique looked around the living room, "But it seems we have a little problem here: he won’t leave her alone again; not after what happened... I mean, what ALMOST happened on the stairs. And she won’t stay away from him either, that’s for sure..."

"Never underestimate me in a night like this!...", Gregory replied, with a malicious tone in his voice.

Andrew checked on his dearest friend: she continued to sleep using his leg as a pillow, but, by the traces of fear on her meek face, it was possible to notice there was something troubling her besides the illness that spread all over her organism. He could feel it too, and that scared him terribly. The blond angel gently ran his fingers through her hair and sighed with concern when he touched her forehead and felt that her fever was still high:

"Oh Angel Girl... I wish you got better!... I even wish I could change places with you and be the one who’s ill...", he said, stroking her cheek. Then, Andrew bowed his head and started to pray:

"Father, please, bless this angel with Your healing. Send away the disease that is taking over her body. And take care of Tess and Adam, allow them to arrive at the city safely and bring help..."

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted his prayer and drew his attention: the wind had grown much stronger than before and large gusts ended up ripping off an old tree from the ground. It hit the house in full force, causing the front door to open violently, and breaking some window panes.

Monica woke up extremely scared and confused, and, instinctively, Andrew held her tightly, trying to protect her from the cold rain and wind, the pieces of wood, ripped from the door, and the window glasses, which flew away through the interior of the living room; in short, he was trying to protect her from everything that surrounded them:

"Andrew what is that?!"

"It seems to be a hurricane, Monica. It’s coming this way..."

"Tess and Adam are outside...", her voice was trembling with fear.

"They must be away from here now, I’m sure of this...", he replied, but, inside, he was equally worried about his two other angelic friends.

"What are we going to do now?", a loud thunder crashed at that moment, and another gust of wind invaded the room, now ripping away a branch of a another nearby tree, which came flying right into the angels’ direction:

"Oh no!"

Andrew quickly grabbed Monica and they threw themselves into the floor, the large piece of wood passing a few inches from their heads:

"Oh, my goodness, Andrew, the storm is destroying the whole house!"

"I have to get you out of here, quickly!", he said, helping her to stand on her feet. But the Irish angel was too weak to walk and, even if she were able to, she was barefoot, and the pieces of glass spread all over the wet living room floor would surely hurt her feet.

Trying to overcome the pain in his wounded hand, the blond angel lifted his dearest friend in his arms and carried her upstairs, back to the bedroom she previously stayed in, and placed her in her bed:

"Let’s stay here, Monica. There’s no other place we can go..."

"I’m so scared!...", she held him tightly, tears of fear rolling down her cheeks.

"I’m here, Monica. I won’t let anything happen to you..."

With the thunderstorm getting worse every minute, the lights of the house went out again, increasing the sombre atmosphere which surrounded that place.

Extremely frightened, Monica closed her eyes and started to pray in silence, asking for that nightmare to be over soon, while Andrew soothed her hair, trying to calm her down and chase away some of the tension and fear inside her heart.

The angels remained holding onto each other in the dark bedroom for about 20 minutes. But, when the wind speed finally seemed to decrease a little, Andrew heard another noise, almost inaudible to his ears, but which caused him to be twice scared: steps. Somebody was walking outside the house. The blond angel soon remembered that the front door and the front windows were open. He pulled away just enough to look at his dearest friend’s face and gently stroked her cheek:

"Monica, I want you to pay attention to me... I’ll have to go downstairs, but just for a few minutes..."

The look in her eyes was so frightened that he almost regretted what he had just told her:

"Why?...", she asked, fear was evident in her hoarse voice. After some seconds of hesitation, he kept on talking:

"Well... The door and the windows are open and... I’ll just go and close them...", he didn’t want to let her know what was troubling his heart, as that would make her more nervous than never. But Monica knew him better than anyone else, they had been best friends for a long time, and the little Irish angel had the ability to read what was on his mind, in his thoughts, in every beat of his heart:

"Is there something wrong, Andrew?", she questioned, looking straight into his green eyes.

"Well... apart from the bowling match, I guess things are a little messed up this night...", he joked, though with sadness in his voice and trying to escape from her inquisitive look. But she insisted:

"You don’t want to tell me, do you?"

He sighed heavily:

"Well... I don’t want any door or window to be left open, Monica. At least inside this... house... we’re protected from the storm and from anyone else who shows up."

"I don’t think there are other people nearby..."

"Yes... But let’s be cautious anyway, alright?"

Realising that he was right, she nodded her head miserably:

"Ok..."

"Please stay right here, I won’t take too long downstairs."

"I won’t go anywhere, I promise."

He cupped her chin and placed a loving kiss on her forehead. Then, he stood up from the bed and walked over to the door. But, before he could walk through it, Monica stopped him:

"Andrew..."

"Yes?"

"I love you.", she said.

"I love you too, Angel Girl.", he replied, with a small smile on his lips, and then left the bedroom.

The living room was dirtier than before, full of branches and leaves brought by the wind. Andrew walked carefully on the wet floor, stepping on the thousands of pieces of glass spread along it. The only source of light continued to be the constant lightening, followed by loud thunders: the storm was still going full force, hitting the area without mercy. He walked over to the door and saw that the lock had been broken.

Thoughtfully, Andrew looked around and an idea crossed his mind: the furniture could be used to block the entrance. Quickly, but with some difficulty, as one of his hands was immobilised, he placed a huge bookshelf behind the broken door. After that, he checked on the windows and locked them up.

But little did the angel know about how dangerous the thunderstorm could be: all of a sudden, a noise, coming from the kitchen, was heard and, a second later, the water started to flood the house.

The blond angel looked outside: all the area around the house was flooded too, as it was located in a swampy plain. Shaking his head, Andrew decided to go upstairs; that was the safest place to stay now, and he and Monica would surely have to wait until the next morning to get out of that house, if the water level lowered.

Quickly, he climbed up the stairs and, as he opened the bedroom door, the blond angel found his dearest friend standing on her feet, beside the bed, leaning on the dirty wall:

"Monica, where do you think you’re going?", he said, immediately taking hold of her arm and making her sit down:

"You were taking too long, I just wanted to make sure you were alright...", she nervously answered, seeming to be embarrassed by her attitude:

"I told you I would come back in some minutes! You shouldn’t try to walk around the house anymore!", he gently scolded her. Monica lowered her eyes:

"I’m sorry..."

Andrew sighed deeply and sat down on the bed, beside her, and passed his arm over her shoulder:

"I won’t leave your side again, I promise."

"Ok... Did you lock the door and the windows?"

"Yes, I put the bookshelf behind the door."

"How will Tess and Adam enter?", she worriedly asked.

"I’m afraid they’re not coming back right now, Monica. The area around the house is flooded."

"You mean we’re isolated here?"

"Yes... But it won’t take long. When the storm moves on, the water level will low. We just have to wait. And now, the best place for us to stay is here, upstairs."

She nodded her head:

"Alright, then. I guess we don’t have any option left..."

At that moment, a sudden thought crossed Andrew’s mind and the expression on his face turned into a more serious one:

"Andrew... What is it?"

"I... I just felt something..."

"Felt what?"

He stared at her for some seconds and shook his head:

"It’s nothing, really...", he tried to light the mood: "And you, Miss Wings, will stay right here with me this time! Like I’ve said before, you’re quite stubborn!"

A tiny smile appeared on her face and she looked at his eyes:

"Well, if it weren’t that way... it wouldn’t be me..."

"Yes, it really wouldn’t!", he replied, smiling. "I just wish we were out of here, in some other place, and then, I’d like to see you walking around, barefoot and chatting about everything, on a sunny day, in a beautiful place. And, most importantly, with little Joy trotting around us!"

She nodded her head:

"Yes... I do miss my wee Joy... How I wish she were here!"

Again, he stared at her:

"You do?"

"Yes. Her company would really make me feel better..."

Hearing that, a serious expression appeared on Andrew’s face and, with his heart pounding loudly in his chest, he stood up:

"You’re not Monica!"

"What?!", she replied, with a scared look.

"Don’t you dare acting as if you didn’t know what I’m talking about!", he replied.

"Andrew... I think you’re too nervous..."

"What did you do to her?! Where’s Monica?!"

"I’m right here..."

"Answer to me!!!", he shouted, as nothing in that horrible night would make him feel more nervous and scared than the possibility to have his dearest friend ripped away from him.

At that moment, the woman in front of him stood up from the bed and gave a few steps back. Then, an evil, diabolic smile appeared on her face:

"You were quick, I admit it! Your friend would be proud of you!"

"Where is she?! Answer to me and leave us alone in the name of God!", he didn’t shout this time, but his voice was trembling with the anger that rose from his heart.

"Leave now? I don’t think so... Not after waiting for this for such a long time...", calmly, she walked over to the window, thunders crashing louder than before:

"Your friend is with my co-worker, Gregory. I bet you remember him from a dark, Halloween night; a night very similar to this one. And, I’m sorry to say that, but he wasn’t too pleased to meet you then; he had work to do and your little group spoiled it... In fact, you two ruined our plans so many times in the past! But do you know which one hurt the most? Stopping that man from killing his wife’s murderer!"

She was talking about the assignment they had worked on a week before; in which Monica, with Andrew’s help, had managed to dissuade Steven Harris from accomplishing a terrible revenge plan, by shooting and killing a young man, who had, by accident, killed his wife years ago.

"Revenge is one of the most efficient ways to carry out and fulfil our assignments and you two spoiled what would’ve been a complete success!"

"God will always send His messengers wherever it is to face everything you represent and to light the way to the souls you want to destroy!"

"In my view, it’s just a question of perspective.", she replied, with some disregard, "It all depends on how things are arranged on the spot. You see, since from the moment you stepped into this house, your friend got seriously ill, you, seriously injured and the rest of the group you hang around with is not in a good situation either! There’s no place here for you to shine this light of yours! It’s all darkness! In this territory, we win!"

Her ironic smile disappeared and she faced him sterner than before:

"And this time, the souls to be destroyed will be yours!"

CHAPTER 9

The heavy rain poured down incessantly, and, together with the strong wind and deafening thunders, it hit the old country house unmercifully. In one of its rooms, with no furniture and only one window, Monica was lying down on the dirty wooden floor, making an extra effort to see something in the dark place. Her heart was beating fast and fear took control over her spirit now that she knew what was behind those macabre incidents since she and her friends had arrived at the house.

With a puzzled expression on her pale face, she raised her head and tried to sit down. But her illness seemed to stop her from moving and her entire body was aching and burning with fever.

Suddenly, the constant lightening illuminated the room and she saw, in one of its corners, a tall and dark haired man, who stepped forward and smiled at her. She knew him; they had met before, in a dark night like that one.

"Monica! It’s always a pleasure to see you! It’s a pity I can’t stay for too long, I’m afraid I have an issue to discuss with your friend, Andrew, and I’ll have to leave in a few minutes..."

"What do you want from us?"

"Well, I don’t actually want anything from you two. In fact, I will give you something... A lesson, on how angels should mind their own business and not mess with other people’s assignments! And with the help of Monique, my co-worker. I believe you already know her; she’s as enchanting as you are, I might say!", he walked over to her, "It’s a pity that, after this night, there’ll be only one of you two left... And I’m gonna miss you, dear, I swear. Andrew is another story – I never liked this angel of death very much! He stares, and that’s very rude! It’ll be a relief when he’s gone!"

"God will never allow this to happen!", she replied. He shook his head disapprovingly:

"You know what your problem is, Monica? You trust too much!"

"That’s because I can always put my faith in one loving Almighty Father!"

"That’s your big mistake! When darkness falls, there’s nothing you can do but to surrender to it..."

"That’s not true! He will always hold my hand and guide me through the darkness!"

*

Not having his dearest friend together with him and not knowing where to find her was filling Andrew’s heart with deep anguish, and panic took control over his soul:

"This night, Gregory and I will finally finish with a problem that has been torturing us for a long time!", Monique stated, with a cold look in her eyes. Andrew faced her:

"I’m not afraid of your threats and I’m not afraid of who you represent. And I’m not gonna stay here listening to you anymore, I’ll go find Monica!"

But before the blond angel could leave the room, the door was shut violently:

"I’m sorry, but you’re not going anywhere! There’s someone here who wants to have a little talk with you, and I wouldn’t dream of being in the way. About your friend, don’t worry; she won’t be alone. I’ll go and make her some company!"

Saying that, the demon disappeared through the shadows, reappearing in the room where Monica and Gregory were:

"You can go now, I’ll take care of her!", she said, looking with delight at the miserable angel fallen on the floor.

"Well, I’d love to stay and discuss existential matters with you, Monica, dear. But duty is calling and I got to go!", he said, and came closer to her, "It was wonderful to meet you again. It’s a pity that it’s the last time!"

He left the place and, once more, Monica and Monique were face to face. But this time, the Irish angel was in an apparent disadvantage, as she was weak and could barely keep her head up. Monique faced her with an ironic smile:

"That’s an image I’ve always longed for!"

"I’m not surprised... Misery, destruction and chaos are everything you’re always looking for!"

Monique nodded her head:

"As a matter of fact, yes, you’re right. And what really makes me mad are the ones who insist on standing in my way and don’t let me finish what I begin!"

"Be sure that there’ll always be messengers of God to bring hope and comfort to those you threaten!"

"Oh, really? Isn’t it a coincidence that you and that little group you hang around with are the ones being threatened now?", the demon kneeled in front of the angel:

"I haven’t seen anybody around to bring ‘hope and comfort’ to you!"

"That’s because all you see is evil!"

Monique stood up and looked through the window at the heavy rain pouring down:

"You know something? Since you’ve mentioned it, I’ll show you some comfort!"

They disappeared from the dark bedroom and, in a matter of seconds, reappeared in one of the balconies of the old mansion. The pouring rain immediately soaked the Irish angel, aggravating even more her health condition:

"It is really comfortable, or should I say ‘comforting’ to watch this!", Monique said, smiling with delight and without being hit by the rain, "You know something? You and your friends should have never trusted on the attendant at the bowling alley... I think she gave... I mean... I think ‘I’ gave you wrong instructions about the best road to get out of the city and to escape from the storm. Look at all this rain!"

Monica was trembling with cold, which was even more intense due to the strong wind that was blowing against her, and the pain in her head and all over her human body were severer than never:

"...I’m feeling so cold...", she whispered to herself, her lower lip trembling.

"You see? That’s what you have for being such an intruder!"

*

Try as he might, the blond angel couldn’t open the door of the bedroom he was in and he was trying to put it down when Gregory appeared in the room:

"Having problems with the house, Andrew?", he asked, "Yes, I know it can be really inconvenient being in human form sometimes, it makes you prone to little accidents..."

"...Father, please, help us...", the blond angel whispered, trying to ignore the evil presence.

"Oh, I can help you!", the demon said, and, all of a sudden, the bedroom door was ripped from its hinges and flew right against Andrew, hitting the angel in full force and knocking him down on the floor:

"This house is really full of tricks. And, being an angel of death, you should know how dangerous it can be!"

Suddenly, the shutters of the only wooden window in the bedroom were opened by the wind and flew right into Andrew’s head. Although he protected himself from it, it hurt his forehead, which started to bleed.

"You want a good advice, Andrew? Those of you should avoid going around in human form in nights like this. It’s not safe at all..."

At that moment, Andrew was dragged along the floor by an invisible force and hit the wall violently.

"You and your friend should’ve thought twice before interfering with our job. I mean, the guy killed the man’s wife; he was a little useless thief! You stopped that man from doing the humanity a favour!"

"You’ve lost two souls, didn’t you?", the blond angel replied, pain was evident in his voice, "Be sure this number will be multiplied many times!"

Despite the pain, there was a little bit of pleasure in his green eyes when he said that. The demon came closer to him:

"And who is going to do that? You? I don’t think so..."

This time, the angel was raised up to the ceiling and thrown into the floor again, with more violence. With the impact, his ankle was hurt and his nose started to bleed. Gregory sighed with delight and glanced at his watch:

"I could stay here and do it for hours, but in a night like this, there can be a lot to do outside, if you know what I mean. So, I’m afraid I’ll have to say goodbye sooner than I expected..."

*

That terrible dark night had become a nightmare to the four angels, who were now trapped in the hands of evil forces that claimed for revenge. There was no place to run, and, even if there were, Andrew was badly hurt now - probably with some bones broken - and couldn’t even stand on his feet anymore. Monica was no different. The fever that consumed her body was so high that she was about to faint at any moment. And, like her dearest friend, the Irish angel remained lying on the floor, unable to move.

"I thought it would take more time, you know. But you’re so ill that I didn’t even have to make any effort in order to hurt you; just stand here, watching you fade...", Monique stated, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her evil voice was even more distant to Monica’s ears: she was losing her conscience.

"But it’s good! Soon it’ll all be over and maybe I can even enjoy the night! I just hope Gregory is having the same success with your friend!"

At the mention of her dearest friend, Monica opened her tired brown eyes and whispered a single word:

"...Andrew..."

Deep in her heart, she knew he was in great pain; she could feel his suffering and that caused a sensation of panic that maybe she had never experienced before.

"Your friend is with Gregory, but I don’t think they’ll stay together for a very long time. To tell you the truth, Gregory doesn’t like him very much, you already know that, and I have a slight impression that he’ll finish this little issue with him earlier than what we expect...", seeing the panic in Monica’s eyes, Monique came closer to her and stood face to face with the Irish angel:

"... I even think that he’s already finished it!"

For a brief moment, Monica closed her eyes; fear and despair filling her heart:

"Father... please... help him... Help Andrew, Tess and Adam... Send Your love and healing for I can feel they’re in great pain..."

"Praying is not gonna help you, dear!", the demon said, with total disregard. But the angel ignored her words:

"... And keep them safe from all the evil that has been threatening them all through this night, I ask you. Please, dear Almighty God, listen to my plea, come and see them through this difficult hour..."

Monique looked around them with irony in her smile:

"I guess you’ll have to speak a little louder, there’s no one listening to you!"

"God is listening! I’m His child!"

"Well, and where is He now? I guess when He arrives here, to help you and your friends, that’ll be too late!"

At that moment, Monica, with great effort, raised her head and looked up to the dark sky. It was all covered with thunderclouds and rain was falling upon her pale skin. But, much to the demon’s surprise, she smiled:

"... He won’t arrive here... He IS already here!..."

"I cannot see anybody around!"

"… He lives within me, inside my heart and guiding my soul through the darkness you insist to bring to this world!"

Suddenly, a splendid glow started to surround the Irish angel and, slowly, she stood up from the dirty stone floor. Her clothes were dry again and so was she, as the rain that was falling incessantly could not hit her anymore. The fever and the pain in her body ceased and the angel walked over to Monique:

"But He created this world, and He has the power to shine His light wherever there’s one of His children in danger, no matter how dark it is, because the light of God’s love can penetrate any darkness!"

The glow surrounding Monica shone more incessantly than before, causing the demon to cover her eyes and step back:

"And I’m ordering you, in His name, leave this place and His children alone!"

Desperate, as that image caused her a great discomfort and panic, Monique ran away from Monica, and disappeared through the shadows of the house. But the Irish angel’s assignment was not finished: there was somebody who needed her desperately:

"Andrew!"

*

In the dark room where Andrew was being cruelly tortured, Gregory stopped smiling all of a sudden:

"Oh no... not now!", he exclaimed, a tense expression on his face. He came closer to the blond angel, who was badly hurt and lying unconscious on the dirty floor:

"I guess you and I will have to finish our little talk in another place, maybe outside this house!"

Then, both disappeared from the old mansion.

CHAPTER 10

Desperately, Monica ran along the rooms of the old country house in search of her dearest friend. The darkness inside the huge building was not a problem for her anymore: there was a light illuminating her way wherever she went to. Besides, outside, the rain and the storm had finally moved on and a new day was about to start.

But the search didn’t last for long, as, suddenly, the Irish angel stopped walking and placed her hand in her heart. A second later, she looked outside through a window, and immediately ran downstairs.

The front door, in the living room, was blocked with a bookshelf, and the water, up to one’s knees, flooded the entire place. Using her strength, which was now greater than the usual, Monica removed the heavy furniture away and opened the door, finally leaving the sombre country house where she and her friend spent some hours of terror and despair.

But those feelings hadn’t abandoned her completely, as something was telling her that Andrew was still in great danger. The Irish angel ran through the woods, facing the thick mist that was now covering the area and blocking the day light. To guide her, there was nothing but her heart, as the blond angel was unable to cry for help or to utter any sound at all. Some minutes later, Monica arrived at the bank of a big lake and stopped running to look around her:

"Andrew? Can you hear me?...", she called, her heart beating faster and faster. At that moment, she looked at the lake, through the intense fog, and her blood ran cold when she saw Gregory and an almost unconscious Andrew inside a small boat. The demon was quickly rowing towards the centre of the lake:

"Oh no!...", she whispered, her face now pale with fear.

Suddenly, he stopped rowing and, to Monica’s despair, grabbed Andrew by the arm and threw him in the water.

"No!!!", the Irish angel cried, calling Gregory’s attention and when he saw Monica standing at the bank, the demon vanished into thin air.

Andrew splashed his arms in the water in a desperate search for air and it wouldn’t take too long before he got drowned, as he was extremely hurt:

"Oh Father, please, help me! I have to go to him as fast as possible!", Monica pleaded, tears falling down on her face. At that moment, another boat miraculously appeared by the bank of the lake and she rushed to it.

Monica rowed as fast as she could into Andrew’s direction, but, when she was coming close to him, the blond angel submerged in the water and didn’t return anymore:

"Andrew! No! Hold on, please!", she cried, but, realising that he wouldn’t come back anymore, she stopped rowing and jumped into the water and swam to the exact point where Andrew had drowned, diving in the dark water.

Some seconds later, both angels returned: Monica was holding her friend in her arms, as he was already unconscious. With effort, and fighting not to get drowned herself, as swimming had never been easy for her and Andrew’s weight was twice hers, Monica managed to reach the boat, not far from where they were.

Grabbing the board of the boat, she turned to him:

"Andrew? Can you hear me?...", the angel asked, but he never answered to her calling. Holding his arm, so that he wouldn’t submerge in the water again, Monica managed to climb into the boat and, using all her strength, she pulled him inside. She felt so sorry for her dearest friend, as she could see how hurt he was. Andrew had nasty cuts on his forehead and on his eyebrow, and probably some broken bones, not to mention his the blood in his nose, and all that movement only increased his pain. Besides, he seemed to be lifeless, and it scared her so much that now the little Irish angel trembled not with cold, but with fear:

"Andrew? Andrew, answer to me, please!...", she cried, and only then she realised another horrible thing: he was not breathing. Monica turned his head up and gently pinched his nose closed. Then, she held his jaw and, taking a deep breath, she started to mouth-to-mouth him, in a desperate attempt to make him breath again.

Monica administered CPR for some minutes, which seemed to be an eternity, either giving full breaths or pressing her hands into his abdomen, while watching for his chest to rise and fall and feeling for air to escape during exhalation:

"Please, Andrew, please, come back!...", she was already getting tired when, suddenly, he began to cough and the Irish angel immediately turned his head so that he could expel the water that was inside his lungs:

"Andrew? Can you hear me? Can you listen to what I say?"

"... hurt...", that was the only word he could utter.

Quickly, Monica started to row back to the bank of the lake, and, some minutes later, she stopped the boat and held his head:

"Andrew, we’ll have to walk up to the road, otherwise nobody’s going to find us here...", her voice trailed off when she noticed that he didn’t reply to her, "... Andrew? Please, talk to me!... Don’t do this to me!..."

He was extremely hurt and fell unconscious again. Completely desperate, Monica gathered him in her arms and rested her forehead on his, crying helplessly. They were in the middle of nowhere, lost in the woods and the thunderstorm had surely kept away the very few drivers who used the only road that crossed the region.

But a minute later, she raised her head and looked around them: although there wasn’t help nearby, she had to try and go to the road; her dearest friend depended on that and she would never disappoint the one who had always been there for her, in difficult moments like that one. She stood up and, once again, making a great effort, held him under arms and dragged him a few steps away from the banks of the lake. Then, she lay him on the muddy ground and gathered him in her arms again, stroking his damp blond hair for a few moments:

"I took you out of water... And you’re breathing again... Now... I’ll go and find some help, ok? Please, hang on in there just a wee bit long... Please, do it for me... I’ll be right back..."

Placing a kiss on his forehead, Monica left him lying on the ground and ran desperately towards the road, not distant from where they were. But her fear were confirmed when she got there: there was not a single soul within reach. No cars and no one around who could help her. The tears falling from her eyes were so many that she never cared to wipe them anymore; all the Irish angel could do was to pray and wait desperately for a sign of hope, no matter how unlikely that could be.

But, suddenly, the impossible happened: Monica heard the noise of an engine and, a second later, a car showed up from behind a nearby bend. She started to wave nervously, trying to call the driver’s attention and the car, which was in a low speed, stopped right in front of her.

The driver opened the door and got out of the vehicle and, as soon as she saw him, the expression on her face turned into a surprised one: the driver was the man who had almost been killed some days earlier, part of a desperate man’s revenge plan. The same plan she and Andrew had stopped to be accomplished, raising the anger of evil forces that had attacked them over the previous night.

"You?...", the driver said, recognising the Irish angel, who stared at him back in surprise:

"Oh Father... Thank you...", she whispered. And the man was not alone: Adam got out of the car right after him:

"Monica? We were going to the country house, I thought you were in there!"

"No, we left it... Please, you have to help me, Andrew is badly hurt!"

The 3 ran to the place where Andrew was and Adam and the man took hold of him and carried the blond angel to the car, placing him in the back seat, together with Monica, who held his head in her arms all the way back to the hospital and prayed for him unceasingly.

*

Arriving at the city hospital, Andrew was immediately placed in a stretcher and carried through a large corridor, and the doctor that came to meet them in the way stared at Monica and Andrew with surprised eyes: Doctor Steven Harris – the author of the revenge plan the two angels had stopped from succeeding:

"God... I never knew I would see you again and least in such circumstances!", the man exclaimed, with haunted eyes.

"Please help him, Mr Harris! Please, take care of him!..."

"I’ll do my best, Monica, I promise!"

Monica and Adam were together with their angelic friend all the way, but, when they crossed two large doors, Mr Harris stopped the two angels from going on:

"We’ll take care of him now, ok? You wait here.", he said, disappearing through the same doors afterwards.

"Monica, what was all that? How did that happen to him?", Adam wanted to know.

"Monique and Gregory, two demons, were in that house all the time, Adam. It was all a revenge plan, they wanted to destroy all of us, specially Andrew and me.", the Irish angel explained, still crying.

"I should have known that! Now everything makes perfect sense!", the angel of death said, "The car Tess and I used to call for help – its brakes didn’t work on the road and we had an accident on the way!"

Hearing that, Monica’s heart nearly jumped out of her mouth:

"Oh, my goodness, where’s Tess?! How is she?!"

"I’m right here, baby!", came the sudden and all too familiar voice. Monica turned around and wasted no time in holding the supervisor tightly:

"Oh Tess!...", she whispered, and burst into tears on the older angel’s shoulder.

*

Monica cried incessantly for some minutes and when she finally started to calm herself down, Tess pulled away and looked at her face:

"Angel Girl, you have to come with me, you have to change these wet clothes!"

"Are you ok?", she asked, noticing the bandage around Tess’ hand and some bruises on her face.

"Yes, baby, it’s just some scratches, I’m fine."

"It was a revenge plan, Tess! Monique and Gregory were behind it all the time!"

"I know that. I suspected that when we had the accident and I confirmed it at the moment you all arrived here carrying Angel Boy."

"He’s so hurt, Tess..."

Monica noticed when the supervisor and the angel of death exchanged a look full of worry and stared at them even more distressed:

"What is it?...", she asked, but none of the angels knew how to start:

"Tess, Adam, what is it?!"

"Well baby... We’ll have to be strong. And pray..."

Desperately, the Irish angel looked at Adam, who placed his hand on her shoulder:

"I was told to stay around...", he spoke, distress all over his face. Fresh tears rolled down on her cheeks, and Tess held her tighter than before.

"But the doctor is taking care of our Angel Boy now and the best we can do is to ask the Father to be with him through this difficult hour."

"Excuse me..."

The man who had brought Andrew and the other angels to the hospital (and whose life had been saved a few days ago), interrupted that conversation:

"I’d like to stay, but I can’t. and I think now it’s up to the doctors, I can’t help very much."

"You’ve already helped a lot, believe me!", Adam said, and turned to Monica, "He was the only one driving along that desert road when our car crashed in the tree. As soon as he saw it, he helped us to get out and took us to this hospital."

"Yes, that’s true. If it hadn’t been for him, we would still be there, on that road, and nobody would’ve found you and Andrew.", Tess concluded. The angel of death nodded:

"We have a lot to thank you."

"Oh no, you don’t. I am the one who should be grateful for having the opportunity to help.", he replied, "And considering that the ones who were helped were you, it makes this occasion even more special."

Monica nodded her head:

"Thank you."

"I’m sure your friend will be fine. And I mean it not because of what he is but because there’s Someone who is taking care of him now, the same way He took care of me when I most needed it."

*

The hours ticked slowly on that day. Doctor Steven Harris worked on Andrew the entire morning and part of the afternoon. The injuries in his human body had been severe and his left arm had been broken, together with some ribs. Not to mention the cuts on his forehead, which were extremely serious.

By 3 PM, Dr Harris came to talk to the 3 angels who waited outside, and, when they saw him, they stood up nervously:

"How is he, doctor?", Tess asked.

"Well, we did everything we could. Now he’ll be under observation for the next 48 hours, which will be decisive for his recovery.

"Can we see him?", Monica wanted to know.

"Yes, sure. Follow me."

They entered the room at the end of the ICU corridor and surrounded their friend’s bed. Monica touched his blond hair:

"You’ll be ok, Andrew. Your friends will be praying for you...", she whispered.

"She’s right, Angel Boy. We are all here, at your side.", Tess agreed.

"We’ll stay here until you get better, buddy!", Adam completed, and the 3 angels started to pray.

*

Two days passed by and the angels stood in the hospital together with Andrew, taking turns of 8 hours each. Monica had spent the first 4 hours of that day watching over him, and she hadn’t slept that much since they arrived there. Sitting on a chair, right beside the bed, the Irish angel’s eyes insisted on closing, no matter how much she tried to keep them open. But, finally beaten by exhaustion, she leaned her head on Andrew’s shoulder and fell asleep, holding his hand.

Some time later, Andrew opened his green eyes for the first time since that terrible night, and waited to get accustomed to the morning sunlight, which was now entering through the window. Suddenly, when he regained full conscience, the memories of what had happened 2 days earlier came back to his mind and the blond angel’s heart started to beat fast, causing him to nearly sit down on his bed. He only calmed down when he saw his dearest friend sleeping, sitting on a chair and resting her head on his pillow. He also placed his head on the pillow again and let go a sigh of relief at the confirmation that the nightmare had finally come to an end:

"Thank you, Father!", were his first words. Only then, Monica stirred and opened her eyes, slowly raising her head:

"G’morning, sleepyhead!", Andrew greeted, with a smile upon his face. And when she saw that her dearest friend was conscious again, tears of happiness quickly filled her brown eyes and started to roll down on her cheeks a second later:

"Andrew!", she whispered, smiling broadly at him, and immediately, though carefully, hugged him tightly: "You woke up! You’re back!"

He let her cry for some minutes and, with his good hand, he stroked her hair and chuckled:

"Of course I woke up... You were snoring away in my ear! How could I possibly sleep with all that noise?!"

Both angels laughed at that joke, and she pulled away from him, taking his hand in both of hers:

"Are you feeling anything? Should I call the doctor?"

"No, I’m fine. To wake up and see your face in front of me is enough to make anyone feel better!"

Still sobbing, the Irish angel shed more tears:

"I was so afraid, Andrew. I prayed so much! We all, Tess, Adam and I, we all prayed for you!"

He reached up and wiped the tears from her face:

"I know that. And I’m ok now, so I’ll ask you to please, stop crying and let me see this beautiful smile of yours again; I missed it a lot, and it sure does wonders in anyone’s recovery!"

She was already smiling, but, with that request, her smile became wider, and she bent down and placed a loving kiss on his cheek, resting her head on his chest and hugging him tightly again afterwards.

CHAPTER 11

"...Are you sure you don’t want me to help you, Tess? You know I’ve improved my culinary abilities a lot in the last few months; you and Andrew even had the chance to taste it when we were on vacation together!", Monica insisted, with a pleading tone in her voice.

She and Tess were in the kitchen of a small but cosy house, located in the mountains and surrounded by hundreds of trees. Adam was sitting at the table, drinking some orange juice, and so far, had limited himself to listen to the conversation, making an extra effort not to laugh at the expression on Tess’ face, which was a nearly desperate one. Without knowing what to do or what to say, she looked around, as if trying to find out the best words to explain why Monica’s help wasn’t necessary:

"I know that, baby. And, yes, I remember the great job you did with that special lunch when we were on vacation, but... Well... I guess it’s a different situation now, I... I..."

The supervisor stopped to speak to think about what she would say when Sam opened the kitchen door at that exact moment, carrying little Joy in his arms:

"Anybody home?", he asked, interrupting the conversation and causing Tess to heave a sigh of relief:

"Oh, thank you, Father!", the supervisor whispered, while Monica smiled broadly at her ‘precious baby’:

"Oh, my goodness!"

And, when she saw her ‘mommy’, the little puppy dog started to bark and to wag her tiny tail excitedly, practically trying to jump into the Irish angel’s arms:

"Oh, my precious wee one! Come here with your mommy!", she exclaimed, taking Joy from Sam’s arms and holding her close, immediately receiving lots and lots of ‘kisses’ from the small dog:

"Oh, I missed you too, sweetheart! You have no idea how much!", Monica also kissed the puppy’s little head, trying to hold back the remaining tears that still insisted on appearing in the corner of her eyes once in a while. And after warmly greeting her mommy, Joy looked at Tess and let out another small bark:

"Of course I missed you too, baby! Come here with your grandma!"

Again, the small animal practically flew from Monica’s arms to Tess’, and covered the older angel’s face with lots of kisses. The Irish angel turned to Adam:

"Adam, this is our wee Joy. Isn’t she the cutest puppy you’ve ever seen?", she asked, with enthusiasm and proudly looking at the little dog. The angel of death stood up and came closer to the small animal. He stroked her soft black fur and smiled when she happily licked his hand and wagged her tail back and forth:

"Hey, Joy! Monica is right, you’re a rather beautiful young lady!", receiving a puppy’s bark as ‘thanks’:

"She’s adorable, Monica; really adorable!"

While the angels were receiving such affectionate greeting, Sam looked for a chair and sat down with a tired expression on his face:

"Are you alright, Sam?", Monica asked, noticing a few traces of exhaustion in his eyes, "I think you look a wee bit tired..."

Tess agreed:

"Yes, Angel Girl is right, Sam. Is it my impression or you’ve lost some weight since the last time we’ve met?"

"Well, yes... In fact, I’ve been doing a lot of physical exercise these days...", he answered, a fatigued tone in his voice.

"Well... Physical exercise is good when we are in human form, even for angels, you know. It keeps us with a lot of disposition...", the Irish angel spoke, already with some embarrassment.

"I’ll try to remember that, Monica.", he replied, filling a glass with water. It was then that Tess noticed something else:

"What happened to your shoes?"

His shoelaces had disappeared and his shoes had many teeth shaped marks, as if it had been chewed. Before he could reply, Monica took Joy back in her arms:

"Well, I guess I’d better take our wee Joy to see Andrew, I bet she’s missing him badly... Excuse me..."

And the Irish angel quickly disappeared through the kitchen door, carrying the chubby fur ball with her. Sam stared at Tess with a worried face:

"That little dog definitely doesn’t like shoes! And she has the hugest appetite I’ve ever seen in my whole existence!"

"Really?...", Tess asked, quickly returning to her previous task, "I can’t imagine who she got that from!..."

"Well, somebody should check that out. She is charming, I might say, but she’s also prone to trouble!", he added, with some tiredness. Adam couldn’t believe in what he was saying:

"That little creature? C’mon, Sam, aren’t you exaggerating?"

"You’re saying this because you didn’t have to spend the last 2 weeks with her!", the angel replied, slightly indignant.

*

One week after that terrible night in the dark country house, Andrew’s recovery was considered amazing by the doctor who took care of him. His left arm and foot were still immobilised, it was true, but the bad cuts on his forehead and face were disappearing faster than the usual, and the pain over his human body was almost ceasing.

The blond angel was peacefully asleep, curled up on his right side, when, suddenly, a puppy bark echoed inside his bedroom and he was woken up by an unexpected attack of wet kisses all over his handsome face:

"Hey, little one!...", he exclaimed, really happy to see the little chubby dog again and receiving another bark as a reply.

"I’m happy to see you too!", the way the small animal wagged her tail and the evident excitement in her tiny black eyes were really funny, and made him laugh even more. As Joy continued to lick his cheeks, a soft voice whispered in his ear:

"She was missing her daddy very much, you know..."

Smiling broadly, he turned his head and looked at his dearest friend; some strands of her hair were gently tickling his face and neck. He stroked her cheek softly and, holding Joy in his good arm, the blond angel sat down on his bed:

"Well, I missed her a lot too. And I have to confess that I’m really enjoying this new way some people have been greeting me when I wake up!", he joked, immediately receiving a warm embrace from his dearest friend:

"You see? That’s what I’m talking about! It’s really efficient!"

Giggling, Monica placed a tiny kiss on his cheek and pulled away:

"Tess and I are doing our best, you’re our assignment and... well, to tell you the truth, you are the best assignment we could have ever received!"

He placed Joy on the bed and took her hand:

"I could have never asked for better angels!", he stated, his eyes filled with love. With a warm smile on her beautiful face, she took his hand in both of hers:

"How are you feeling?"

"Better every second. ‘Healing is faster when we are surrounded by love’ – a dear friend, a pretty little angel who I happen to love very much, told me that some days ago, and it’s totally true!"

Slightly blushed, she nodded her head:

"You can be sure there’s much love surrounding you!"

"I have no doubt about that... But I have to confess something else..."

"What is it?"

"I’m hungry... To be honest, I’m starving!"

"Well, I knew you’d be hungry and I had the idea to prepare you some special meals today..."

Hearing that, his mouth dropped open and it took him a lot of effort not to show the sudden sensation of panic that crept on him:

"... Really?... And... er... you... you prepared them?..."

"That’s the problem. I really wanted to do it and to help Tess in the kitchen with some other things, but she told me that I should stay here with you, even when you’re sleeping, so that we could share our assignment in a better way, covering more ground."

Relief immediately filled his heart and he sighed a lot calmer:

"Well, honey... Tess is... She is very wise, you know...", he cleared his throat, allowing himself some seconds to think about what he was going to say, and then, the blond angel continued to talk, "Did you know that domestic assignments can be even 100% more successful if the angels in charge share them, in order to cover more ground?", he said, a serious expression his voice.

"Really?"

"Yes! And it’s not me who is telling this, it’s statistics! Everything based on this new research on ‘Domestic Assignment Effectiveness’! Ask Ronald, from Records and Permanent Files, he can confirm what I’m saying!"

"I didn’t know there was a research about domestic assignments...", Monica said, a little confused and slightly worried about ignoring that fact.

"Oh, you shouldn’t worry, ‘cause it is a very recent research; really new. The results are still being analysed. But, if you ask me, I totally agree with them. Why do you think Tess, you and I work together all the time?"

"That’s true...", there was a thoughtful and surprised expression on her face.

"That’s why I think Tess is right: if you have the same domestic assignment, it’ll be much more effective if you split it up and take different positions to fulfil it."

"Well, I guess you’re right, then. And I don’t want to go against such an important research work!"

Pleased to have convinced her, he kissed her hand and gently pulled her to sit beside him:

"Besides, even if there weren’t any research at all, I’d still love if you could stay right here to make me some company!...", he looked down at the chubby puppy who was playing among the blankets and pillows and who was about to protest, "... together with our little one, of course!", he completed, receiving a bark as a reply.

Smiling broadly, Monica wrapped her arms around his waist:

"Nothing could make me happier either!", she said, comfortably resting her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head repeatedly:

"But you know what? I’d still like some breakfast!"

"Well, I’d love to go to the kitchen and take it for you, Andrew, but I guess we’d better wait for Tess to do it instead..."

"Why?"

"Well, Sam is here; he came to bring Joy back and... Well... I guess he has found out how playful our wee one can be... If you know what I mean..."

"Oh... I see...", the blond angel nodded his head understandingly.

"And since we were the ones who convinced him to take care of her for these days, I think it’s a good idea if we three stayed inside this bedroom for a little while...", she concluded. Andrew looked at the little dog, who was now leaving the marks of her tiny teeth in Monica’s pink socks, and chuckled:

"I couldn’t agree more!"

EPILOGUE

The following days at the cabin were peaceful and happy, despite the slight chilly weather of the mountains. Andrew’s recovery turned out fine; his wounds and injuries disappeared, he got rid of the plaster in his arm and in his foot, and, in 3 weeks, the blond angel was considered, by the doctor who assisted him, completely healed. To celebrate the occasion, Tess had the idea to prepare a special dinner and invited Sam and Adam, as the two angels had been there most of the time:

"... But I don’t really think I’ll need help here, Angel Girl, you see... We are only 5 angels and I thought about doing something tasty but simple, I’ve even started to prepare it...", Tess said, with a worried (and rather fearful) expression on her face when Monica and Andrew entered the kitchen and found out about the dinner. But the two exchanged a quick look and the Irish angel took the supervisor’s hand:

"That’s ok, Tess. I won’t stay in the kitchen while you prepare dinner."

"You... You won’t?...", she replied, now with surprise.

"No. I’ll do some other things, instead, such as setting the table or tidying up the house."

"Really?!...."

"Yes!", she responded, enthusiastically, "Andrew told me about the research on Domestic Assignment Effectiveness!"

"Research on ‘Domestic Assignment Effectiveness’?...", the supervisor repeated, without exactly knowing what her charge was talking about.

"Yes, I didn’t know the results were so impressive! They show that angels who work on the same domestic assignment could be even 100% more successful if they split up in order to cover more ground! I agree that working together is more exciting and it really makes things easier, but I didn’t know that statistics could be so high!"

"Really, baby?..."

"I’ll go and set the table and arrange the dining room while you cook!"

"Well, in that case, I’m relieved... I mean, I’m relieved because I was exactly wondering if you could set the table and get the things ready in the house, it’s quite messy, you know..."

Surprised, Monica looked at Andrew, who, so far, had been in absolute silence:

"You see? This research is really amazing!", and, totally pleased, she left the kitchen.

Tess started at the blond angel with an inquisitive look:

" ‘Research on Domestic Assignment Effectiveness’?!"

A little embarrassed, he ran his fingers through his hair:

"Well... yes..."

"And does this research also show that to make up stories to other angels, specially the extremely naive ones, is a bad point to the ‘assignment effectiveness’?!"

"I didn’t make anything up, Tess! I’m an angel; I don’t lie! This research really exists!"

"So how come I’ve never heard of it?!"

"Well, because it’s new!"

"And who was the angel in charge of it? Who did this research?"

"I did! I carried it out while I was in bed, and you and Monica were the first ones to know about the results!"

Now the supervisor stared at him sternly:

"She was threatening to cook again and I had my arm in plaster and a swollen foot, how could I possibly help?!"

Tess considered those arguments for a few seconds, and, then, nodded her head:

"Yes... On second thoughts, I guess I like this research work... And I have to agree: it is really effective!"

*

The dinner went out fine and, on the following day, Adam and Sam had to say goodbye and return to work:

"We don’t know how to thank you enough!", Monica had a look of gratitude in her eyes, as well as Tess and Andrew. Sam smiled at them:

"There’s nothing to thank, Monica. I’m glad everything is over now and that you’re fully recovered, Andrew. I’m happy for you three!"

"I hope we can all meet again, but, this time, in a sunny day, with no clouds in the sky!", Adam joked. He had left his coat and his tie above the armchair, but, when he looked for them, the angel couldn’t find his tie:

"Are you sure you left it here?", Andrew asked, he and Monica helping him to find it.

"Yes, yesterday I left the coat and the tie together right here, after the dinner!"

"How come it disappeared?", Tess wondered. But that mystery didn’t last for long, as, suddenly, Joy came through the living room door and, at that moment, they found out what had happened to Adam’s tie: the little puppy had been playing with it outside, her teeth marks were all over it and the tie was covered with grass and mud. The 5 angels watched somewhat perplexed as she walked over to the centre of the living room, holding the tie in her mouth:

"... I guess we don’t have to look for it anymore...", Tess murmured, she, Andrew and Monica rather embarrassed.

"I guess you’re right...", Adam replied, rather disappointed. And, watching that scene, Sam looked at the angel of death’s face and let out a loud laugher:

"You know... I never thought how funny it can be when you’re not the victim!", he exclaimed, "Well, I have to go now! Goodbye Joy!", without letting go of the piece of cloth she had in her mouth, the little puppy gave a tiny bark in reply. Sam turned to the other angels: "Tess, Monica, Andrew, see you!"

And still laughing, the angel placed his hand on Adam’s shoulder, "Goodbye, Adam!", and disappeared afterwards.

Then, Andrew cleared his throat:

"I... I think I left the kitchen door open... I’d better go and close it...", and the blond angel also vanished from the living room.

Without knowing what to do, Monica walked over to Joy and took the tie (or what had been left of it) from her mouth:

"Our wee Joy is... rather playful, you know...", she stated, visibly ashamed, and Joy barked, agreeing with her.

"Yes... I can see that...", the angel of death replied.

Blushing deeply, Monica turned to the little animal:

"Why don’t you go find out what your daddy is doing and help him, sweetheart?", she said, and Joy immediately ran through the door. The Irish angel looked at Adam again:

"…I’ll wash it and I’m sure it’ll look like a new tie!"

With that, she quickly disappeared from the room, leaving Adam and Tess there:

"’Daddy’?!", he said, with a puzzled tone of voice, "Have I missed something?!"

"Well, don’t ask me, I’m only the grandmother!", the supervisor replied, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

*

Tess, Monica and Andrew still had a few days left before going back to their work and, that afternoon, the blond angel decided to take a walk in the forest that surrounded the house, inviting Monica to go with him:

"Where’s Andrew, Tess?", she asked, not finding him in the living room.

"He’s outside, baby, waiting for you."

"He forgot his hat! It’s rather cold outside!"

Laughing, Tess watched as The Irish angel quickly took Andrew’s woollen hat and left the house slightly worried. But she was relieved to see that the blond angel was standing in front of the house, admiring his surroundings:

"Andrew! You forgot this!", she called, going down the steps of the porch, except for the last one, so that she could stay at the same level as his:

"It’s very cold in here, you can catch a flu!"

Monica carefully placed the warm knitted woollen hat on his head and, after straightening it properly, she kissed the tip of his nose.

"Now you’re ready to go outside!", she stated, pleased to have done it. Andrew chuckled at all that extra care:

"You know, Monica, suddenly I fell like Little Red Riding Hood! The only thing missing is the basket of food!’, he said, with irony and a certain mockery. Slightly annoyed, she stopped smiling and pulled his hat down up to his chin, causing him to laugh even more:

"That’s not funny! You still are under observation and have to be careful with your health!", the Irish angel scolded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Andrew raised his hat and wrapped his arms around her waist:

"I’m fine, Angel Girl! I can assure you, I’m already recovered and I don’t feel anything at all! And I’ll prove it to you..."

Saying that, he lifted her off the floor and started to walk, carrying her along with him. With that, she let go of her previous annoyance and wrapped her arms around his neck:

"I believe you, but you’ve been ill very recently and an extra care is still advisable! Besides, as long as we stay here, you are Tess’ and my assignment, and we’ll keep an eye on you, Mr!"

Laughing at the seriousness with which she spoke, the blond angel carried her along for some more steps and finally placed her on the ground:

"Alright, Miss Wings! I’ll be a good angel let you and Tess take care of me a bit more, ok?"

"That’s a very wise decision!"

He passed his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him, and kissed her temple; and the two started a pleasant walk along the forest.

Even in the fall, Monica was enchanted with the view of the now orange trees and the ever humming of the birds. Despite the chilly breeze that gently blew upon their faces, the sun was bright and warm, and the sky was the bluest of the ones – there were no clouds in it; nothing that could remind them o the terrible nightmare they had faced about a month ago.

That atmosphere of joy and pleasure caused the Irish angel to go back to her usual chatty mood, as she made a comment on every single bird, flower, leaf, or whatever she saw on their way.

"Have you noticed how beautiful the jasmine are, Andrew? You know that this flower blossoms in the fall?", she said, her eyes focused on the white and beautiful flowers that surrounded them. Smiling and finding her enchantment lovely, Andrew took one of the jasmine and handed it to her:

"Yes, it’s amazing how they overcome the lack of light and grow as beautiful as they can...", he said, looking straight into her brown eyes. Monica smiled warmly and took the flower in her hands:

"I guess that’s because Mother Nature is taking a good care of them!", she replied, "Existence is always easier when there’s someone taking care of us..."

Hand in hand, the angels continued that pleasant walk and didn’t even realise how far they had gone until they came closer to a small clearing. There was an old tree trunk fallen on the ground and, exactly above it, lay a small present box:

"Andrew! Look!", Monica exclaimed, as soon as she saw the package. A mischievous smile appeared on his handsome face:

"You never know what sort of things can grow up on trees these days!"

Monica looked at him and only then she realised that he was teasing her:

"Andrew!", her Irish lilt sounded through the trees.

"Won’t you check that out closer?"

She smiled at him and walked over to the trunk, taking the box in her hands. It was roundish, white and with a pink ribbon around it. And, attached to it, there was a very small card where it was written ‘To my Angel Girl’. Playfully, Andrew came closer and bent his head in order to read it:

"Well, it surely isn’t for me!"

The Irish angel giggled and, deeply touched, looked at her dearest friend:

"You didn’t have to..."

"Aren’t you curious to find out what it is?", smile never abandoned his face.

Monica looked at the small box for some instants, knowing what that simple gift represented, and took his hand, both kneeling on the ground covered with yellow leaves. Carefully, she took off the pink ribbon and opened the package. And, when the Irish angel looked inside, a mix of surprise and joy appeared on her meek face:

"Oh my goodness! Andrew!", she exclaimed, taking a small and delicate musical box from inside the package. It was heart shaped and, inside of it, there was a little ballerina, "It’s beautiful!"

"Let me help you..."

Pleased to see that reaction, though he more or less expected it, Andrew took the small ballerina and placed it in the centre of the musical box. Then, he showed her the key, on the bottom of the box:

"Now you have to wind it."

She followed his instructions and, as the lovely tune started to play, the little doll began to dance. The blond angel watched with delight as she smiled broadly and with contentment:

"It’s beautiful, Andrew! I... I love it!"

Saying that, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly:

"Thank you! Thank you so much, my friend!"

He held her warmly and ran his fingers through her hair:

"I’m glad you liked it, ‘cause it’s just the smallest way I found to say how much I love you, Angel Girl!", he said, burying his face on her shoulder, and joked, "It’s like a portable ‘I love you’, so that you can carry it with you anywhere you go!"

Hearing her giggle, he pulled away and grabbed her face with both hands, placing a tender kiss on her forehead:

"Do you know the name of this song?"

With some tears in her eye, she nodded:

" ’You light up my life’."

Andrew put some strands of her hair behind her ears:

"Yes. That’s you, Monica. An angel of God who will always bring hope and faith to the souls who have the privilege to meet you, angels included. And, though you may not be aware of the great strength you have inside this heart of yours, be sure that all this love and compassion the Father has given you will always have the power to shine, even in the darkest places, at the darkest hours."

He tenderly stroked her cheek:

"And I know that better than anyone else, because, when darkness fell, God sent you to be my guiding light."

Shedding some tears, she took his hand:

"When darkness fell, all I had in mind were the people I love; and all I could ask for was that God could take care of them and keep them safe. It was for them that I faced the shadows and the fear… Everything you said might be true, Andrew. But I want you to know and to remember – I even wish that I could write it down somewhere...", she laced her fingers through his, "... you are still part of what makes me strong and, to be honest, enormously happier."

And, with happiness and a beautiful smile upon their faces, the two angels watched as a white dove cooed and perched on the tree trunk, fallen on the ground, next to them.

THE END