[b]THE DARKEST NIGHT[/b]

[b][i]"There’s no greater love than giving your life for somebody else’s." [/b][/i]Andrew in "The Lord moves in mysterious ways".

A young couple walked along the sidewalk of a small town in the state of Utah on that cloudy morning. The young man, apparently in his twenties, had a pensive and worried expression on his face, which was quite evident by the frown on his forehead. His girl friend, who was wearing black clothes and dark lipstick, had a hint of anxiety in her eyes and walked a bit faster than him, perhaps a bit eager to get to wherever they were heading to. But, on their way, a group of people gathered in front of a newsstand called their attention and made them stop. They were attentively reading the headlines of the main newspapers, which contained basically the same news:

[i]"Edward Evans in the death row. His appealing was denied once again, as the defence could not find a witness to prove that Edward Evans is innocent, and now nothing can avoid his execution today, at midnight."[/i]

Much to the young man’s insistence, the couple stopped to read these lines and ended up listening to the comments of the crowd.

"I doubt he is innocent! You can see his story is totally fake. I bet he killed those 2 children in the Halloween night, exactly a year ago!" a man spoke, and the others nodded.

"Yes! This guy isn’t a human being; he’s a beast and will have what he deserves!"

"No witness to prove his innocence, nobody who can confirm his story! Justice was finally done!"

"Dave, why don’t you go to the store and buy the food? I’ll wait here." the girl who was together with the young man said. Seeing his hesitance in leaving the place, she insisted, "David? Please, we can’t waste time... Don’t forget we’re leaving tonight!"

"Ok..." he finally said, and entered the small grocery store just a few steps from them, while the discussion about the headlines continued.

"But that won’t bring those children back..." an old woman spoke, calling the other’s attention.

"Yeah, but at least Edward Evans won’t be here either!"

Everybody turned their eyes to the young lady who had just arrived, not missing her dark clothes and make up.

"How can we possibly compensate a person’s death with another death?" the old woman insisted.

"It is not about compensating, madam; it’s about preventing!" the girl replied, "By excluding this man from the world we’ll be protecting our children and every good citizen! Tell me, how would you feel if these children were your grandson and granddaughter?"

"I... I don’t know..." the woman was a bit hesitant.

"Well, I do know: you would want this man to be dead! And this doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person at all! We’re all human beings and decent human beings, so this is part of our sense of justice!" she made a brief pause, as if waiting anxiously to see if her arguments had been accepted.

"I guess the young lady is right!" a man said, and all the others agreed.

With a pensive look in her eyes, the old woman ended up nodding her head, "Well... I... I hadn’t thought about it in this way... I guess you may be right, young lady!"

Somewhat surprised herself, the girl gave a short smile and it was then that the guy who was together with her came out of the grocery store, and, besides the two bags containing food, he was also carrying a roundish black spaniel puppy.

"Dave? What’s this?!" she asked, slightly confused.

He smiled and showed her the puppy, who was looking at them with eager eyes, "Isn’t she pretty?"

"Well... yes, but..."

"I found her right there, near the shop entrance and she was staring at the candies inside that big jar like a kid! So I inserted a coin, took some of them and gave her one: she seemed to like it!"

The young woman chuckled and studied the animal, "Are you gonna keep her?"

"She doesn’t look like a bad girl, does she? Besides, she has no collar, it’s impossible to identify her or to know if she has an owner..."

Sighing deeply, his friend nodded her head, "Fine. It’ll be more company for the trip anyway..."

Her last words seemed to bring some memories to his mind and, still with a look of indecision, he gave one last look at the newspapers headlines. But, before he could say something, she placed her hand on his arm, "Let’s go?"

"Yes..."

*

A disturbing silence filled the chilly air on that cold and dark night. There were no moon or stars in the sky; they had been replaced by dark clouds heavy with rain. A cold, howling wind was constantly blowing and a strong gust put off the light of a candle that was burning inside a pumpkin, placed on the porch of a house in a silent and deserted neighbourhood. That wasn’t exactly a residential area, as there weren’t many houses there, only some small buildings – most of them abandoned, and deteriorated.

And that wasn’t a common night. It was almost 9 PM on October 31^st and, while for most of human beings it was a day meant to have fun and go ‘trick or treating’, for the heavenly beings created to accomplish God’s work, it was the darkest of the nights. The angels knew that every Halloween brought evil closer to Earth and, therefore, it was when they were most needed. Despite God’s presence and His infinite power, evil was lurking around, it was for sure, and any creature that would dare to walk along those empty streets would certainly feel it and tremble with fear.

Suddenly, footsteps broke the annoying silence, as a tall man, with short blond hair and green eyes, walked along an alley in a hurry. He had a worried expression on his face, frowning with concern every time he looked at his surroundings and ascertained he was alone. Sighing heavily, he took his pocket watch and checked it for the 100^th time.

"Monica... where are you?" he spoke, an anguished tone in his voice. Despite his angelic status, it was not wrong to say that Andrew hated the Halloween, and it was not just because of all the mockery concerning death. What caused him so much disgust about the date was the danger it represented. As a heavenly being, he knew evil was lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to take any poor soul who committed the terrible mistake to cross its path. But if it was his assignment to be there at that exact time, it meant his Almighty Father had a greater plan in His mind, and the blond angel was ready to accomplish it wholeheartedly.

However, something else was troubling the blond angel besides that somber atmosphere: why was his dearest friend late to meet him? Both had been assigned together for the same mission and he had his orders to meet her at that exact place, in that deserted neighbourhood. Andrew ran his fingers through his hair and looked around again, his heart clenching and full of apprehension with her delay.

*

A beautiful young lady, with long reddish hair and brown eyes, walked fast along the street, and the confused look in her eyes was evidence that she was a bit lost. "Andrew?" she called, but no reply was heard. Looking around her, Monica sighed deeply. She knew that was the place where she was supposed to be, but why wasn’t her dearest friend there? The Irish angel kept on walking against the wind, closing her overcoat and rubbing her hands, trying to protect herself from the cold night air.

All of a sudden, the little angel heard a small noise, coming from somewhere in the dark corners of that somber neighbourhood. A chill run down her spine and she felt her heart beating faster with fear. Monica knew that God was watching over her, that she had been sent to that place to help one of His children. But being afraid in such a dreadful atmosphere was something she could not avoid.

Quickening her pace, the Irish angel turned around a corner and found herself in a dead end alley. "Father, please, show me the right way... Show me where Andrew is..."

She looked around her and, sighing deeply, decided to come back through the same path. But the same noise was heard again and now the little Irish angel had no doubt: somebody was following her. Monica started to walk twice faster, practically running from her invisible stalker.

"Andrew! Where are you?" she shouted; her voice filled with fear.

Not far from there, Andrew checked his pocket watch again, now with a terrible sensation of panic creeping over him. "Monica!" he shouted, "Monica, where are you?!"

Having no reply made him twice scared, "Father, please, guide her footsteps... Please, keep her safe..."

He had hardly said that when a familiar voice reached his ears. "Andrew! Can you hear me?"

A flood of relief immediately filled his heart. "Monica! I’m here!"

The Irish angel opened a broad smile when she heard her dearest friend’s voice and she wasted no time in rushing towards it.

"Please, keep talking, Monica! I’m coming!" he said, following the street to reach the corner.

"I’m here Andrew!" she replied, appearing at the same corner a second later. The image of his dearest friend just a few steps form him was like a breath of fresh air in that dark and frightening night.

"Oh, Monica! You have no idea who happy I am to see you, my angel!" he exclaimed, and, although he had stopped running, he kept a quick pace in her direction.

"Andrew!" She lifted her eyes up to the sky, "Thank You, Father!" and then, looked at the blond angel with a broad smile and sparking brown eyes, "Yes, I think I have! It’s the same feeling I..."

But she couldn’t finish her sentence: suddenly, a very tall creature, with its body involved in a black cloak, which was covering inclusive its face, emerged from the shadows and grabbed the little Irish angel by the waist.

"Andrew!!!" her terrified cry was like a punch in his stomach.

"Monica!!!" he tried to run after her, but the creature was faster and, dragging the angel with it, it disappeared through the same darkness where it had come from.

"Monica!!! Monica!!!" Andrew shouted, but it was too late: his dearest and beloved friend had vanished into thin air.

However, the blond angel didn’t stay alone for a long time: a malign presence invaded that dark alley a second later and, feeling it, he turned around to face Monique, Monica’s look alike demon. She was staring at him with an evil look and an ironic smile upon her face and, although she was wearing the same clothes as his friend’s, he immediately knew who she was.

"Well, well, well... It’s a pity that your friend has such a poor sense of direction... I mean, it’s a pity for you and lucky for me!"

"Bring her back!" Andrew roared, clenching his jaw and his fists with anger.

"Me? Why don’t you ask the ‘Almighty’ to bring the little angel back? After all, you both kept on asking Him to find each other in this little corner of the town and... isn’t He the... ‘Almighty’?" she replied, defiantly.

"In the name of God, bring His angel back and leave!"

"Humm... ok, I’ll grant one of your wishes and go away..."

"I want Monica back!"

"Well, you can wait for your ‘Father’ to bring her back or... you can come and bring her back all by yourself. It’s up to you!"

And, saying no more, she disappeared through the shadows, leaving a desperate Andrew behind.

Andrew ran his fingers through his blond hair and paced from one side to another with a desperate expression on his face. "Oh Father, please, help me! Help me to go to Monica! I cannot leave her alone!"

"Andrew..."

He turned around and saw a dark skinned old lady walking quickly towards him.

"Tess... they took her! They took Monica away!" he spoke, desperate placing his hands over the supervisor’s shoulders.

"What’s happening? Who took Monica away?"

"The demons! One of them was the one who looks like her! They came from the shadows, took her with them and disappeared again!"

Hearing that terrible piece of news, Tess’ eyes grew wide with shock, "What are you telling me, Andrew?!"

Some tears formed in the corner of his eyes and despair took over his soul, "They took her away from us and I couldn’t help her, Tess! She screamed and called out my name for help but..." he ran his fingers over his hair; anguish and anger burning in his eyes, "... but I was unable to help her! I should’ve been faster!" he shouted.

Tess placed her hand over her heart, "When I was told to come here quickly I didn’t know why but, somehow, I felt something inside my heart... I knew there was something wrong! Oh Father, this can’t be true! This can’t be happening!" she spoke, equally desperate.

"I’ll go find her! I’ll bring her back right now! Please, tell me how to get there!"

At that moment, they heard another voice in the dark alley. "It’s not as easy as it seems, Andrew..."

Andrew and Tess turned their heads to look at Sam.

"I don’t care, Sam! It’s Monica we’re talking about! I’ll do anything for her! I’ll go anywhere!" the blond angel replied, still very nervous.

"You have no idea what you’re asking me to do!" the oldest angel spoke, still with some reluctance, which caused Andrew to be slightly irritated.

"And what are we supposed to do? Leave her all alone and mind our own assignments?!"

"You know she’s not alone..." he replied, with a stern look.

"I know. But how do you expect Monica to get out of where she is?!" Andrew replied, as nothing in the world would convince him to give up on his dearest friend.

Tess stood beside the blond angel and nodded her head, "I understand this, Sam, and I know the danger you’re talking about. But Andrew is right: we need to go after her; I won’t let my angel girl at the mercy of evil creatures who are longing for destroying her!"

"You know that it’ll be very difficult to come back, don’t you?"

"Yes, but she needs help; she’s God’s child, she’s defenceless and, most importantly, she’s part of us... she’s part of me. So precious to our existence that only God can understand what we’re feeling right now!"

And Andrew was right: the pain and despair he and Tess were both sharing was evident in their eyes, and it was far too clear that they would do anything for the little Irish angel, including facing the demons in their own habitat. Sam nodded his head; there was nothing he could say that would dissuade Andrew from going after Monica.

"I cannot stop you, Andrew. Angels, like human beings, have free will. But I have to give you 2 warnings: have in mind that all you’ll find is evil. And evil creatures will try to destroy you, as their objective when they captured Monica was to exterminate as many God’s children as possible, as well as to destroy as many lives they can. And Andrew, in this journey, you’ll go alone."

"But that’s too dangerous, Sam! Andrew will need all the help he can get!" Tess protested, not believing what the other angel was telling her.

"I have my orders to tell you that you should stay. You’ll help Monica and Andrew if you remain here. These are the orders. And Tess... you know that if He is asking you to do it, it’s because He has a greater plan in His mind."

Andrew and the supervisor exchanged a worried glance and the blond angel placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, "I’ll bring her back, Tess. I promise."

With tears falling from her eyes, the supervisor held him tightly. "I know you will, angel boy. And please... be careful. I want you both back here, you hear me?" she tried to sound stern, but her voice was a tearful one, filled with emotion, "I love you both so much!"

"I love you too... And I’ll see you very soon!"

From a safe distance, unseen to the angels’ eyes, a young lady, with straight black hair and black eyes and wearing dark clothes, observed Tess, Andrew and Sam, and listened attentively to their conversation. She was the same girl who, hours earlier, had talked to a group of people about the trial that was on the headlines of the most important newspapers in the country. But now her friend, a young man of about the same age as hers, wasn’t with her. All alone, she frowned with the angels’ words and left the dark alley with a pensive expression on her face.

*

Some minutes later, in the same dark and deserted neighbourhood, the young lady saw another person walking towards her; it was a woman, who she knew pretty well.

"You’re doing your job very well, Erika. Be sure you’ll get your reward sooner than what you expect!" the woman said, standing right in front of the girl.

"The other angel is going after her, Monique. I heard them talking!" she replied.

An evil smile formed on Monique’s lips, "Good. Everything is going exactly how I’ve planned!"

The young lady shook her head, a bit confused. "I can’t understand how that angel, Andrew is his name, I can’t understand how he has such courage to go after Monica! He won’t manage to get out of there! No angel has even managed to!"

"That’s the difference between these creatures and us... They’re always ready to give up on themselves for ‘the ones they love’... That’s why they lose!"

"He must love her very much!"

"That’s too bad for him! Now, remember that this assignment hasn’t been fulfilled yet, Erika!"

"I know. I was going to meet David; we’re eloping tonight..."

"Good. Get him far from this city and far from testifying in favour of that stupid idiot who stopped to help those kids on that Halloween night!"

"He won’t do that. David is a fugitive; if he testifies, he’ll have to say what he was doing in that place, at that time of the night."

"Yes, and confessing that he had just escaped from prison and that the police was after him at the exact moment Edward Evans found those kids wouldn’t be such a good idea!"

The girl frowned with concern for the second time, "What will happen to David after he elopes?"

"Well, he’ll continue to live his life, now as a free man, and nobody’s gonna bother him anymore!"

Monique gave two more steps and, smiling, took the young lady’s hands, "And you, Erika, are the most talented demon I’ve ever trained! If you managed to ‘touch’ so many people’s lives in only a few days, I just can’t stop imagining how powerful you will be in some years!"

Erika gave a slight smile and the demon kept on talking, "Now go! David is waiting for you! Convince him to go as far as possible and remember: don’t let him watch TV or read newspapers about that trial! Human beings have awful habit to regret and this would ruin our assignment!"

"Ok..."

Erika was going to leave but, before she did so, a thought crossed her mind, "Monique... Who killed those children?"

"Oh... well... Probably some crazy or drunk guy! The world is full of human beings like these, you know..."

*

In the dark alley, Tess and Sam watched as Andrew vanished into the darkness, starting his journey in search of their beloved friend. Moments later, another angel appeared in the same dark place.

"Tess? Sam?" Rafael said, with a puzzled expression on his face and sensing, by the look in their eyes, that something bad had happened, "Is there something wrong?"

"Rafael... Monica has been kidnapped..." Sam said, as Tess couldn’t stop crying.

That terrible piece of news caused the youngest angel’s heart to clench with shock. "What?!"

"The demons took her away... before anything else could be done." Sam finished to explain.

"God! I can’t believe it!" Rafael ran his fingers through his dark hair, his head spinning with the angel’s words, as he was very fond of the little Irish angel, "What... what are we gonna do now? We have to help her!"

"Andrew has gone after her to try to bring her back from the darkest of the places."

"But... what... what if he needs more help, Sam? I’ll go with him, I can..."

"No. You and Tess must stay here, and together; this assignment has taken a new dimension now..."

"But... I’m not working in this assignment, Sam... Monica, Andrew and Rafael are in charge of it. I don’t understand..." Tess finally spoke, for the first time since Rafael had arrived there.

"Neither do I, Sam. I wasn’t supposed to be here tonight, that would be Monica and Andrew’s task. I came here because... something happened..." The young angel looked at Tess with his eyes filled not only with worry for his 2 angelic friends, but also with deep guilt, "... it’s Joy..."

"Joy?! What... what is it? What happened to my baby?" Tess’ voice was a desperate one; her anguished heart was full with pain.

"I’m sorry Tess, but... When Andrew and Monica asked me to take care of her I thought it wasn’t a big deal; I thought I could handle it, but... she escaped from me... I’ve looked everywhere, in all of the usual places, but I couldn’t find her! Joy disappeared..."

"Oh no! Not Joy! Not my little baby! She’s too little to fend for herself!" the oldest angel shook her head in disbelief on how so many horrible things could have happened in only one night. "Sam... is this all some sort of a diabolic plan?"

"This is the darkest night of the year; when evil is hidden in the dark, ready to attack and when the angels are most needed. So, answering to your question, yes, it seems that there is a plan. But the Father has a new plan too, once His children are in great danger." Sam explained, looking at them, "Andrew is taking care of Monica; he offered to go after her and right now this is his assignment, with the Father’s protection. Now He is asking you two to trust Him and do what He’s asking you to do: go in search of the little dog."

*

The evil creature that had captured Monica took a firm hold on her and, as both were transported to another place, when darkness involved the little Irish angel, she closed her eyes and prayed. A few seconds later, when Monica opened her eyes again and looked around her, she found herself in the woods. But the angel immediately knew that was the darkest of the places, inhabited by diabolic creatures, which were ready to spread chaos, sorrow and destruction around the world. There, it was always night, as the sunlight would never manage to reach its barren soil. Trees were all withered and stood like ghosts along the land that covered that place, and loud thunders echoed through the air, with constant rays crossing the cloudy skies.

"Father, please, help me.." Monica whispered, and, a second later, the creature that was holding her threw the angel on the ground. Monica’s clothes had become different at the moment she had crossed the invisible border between the 2 worlds. Now, instead of a warm sweater, jeans, leather boots and an overcoat, the angel was wearing a long white dress and white shoes, as if the gown was a way to brand a celestial being on that evil territory.

Sitting on the muddy soil, Monica lifted her head up and stared at the devilish creature: it had no face, no eyes, and no soul. It was totally made of shadows. As if facing the personification of a nightmare, Monica tried to back away from it, but the creature grabbed her arm with so much violence that it almost broke, and made her stand up.

"Leave me alone! In the name of God, leave me alone!" Monica shouted, but those words had no effect on the creature. Much on the contrary: it raised the thin long sleeve of her dress and placed one of his long and sharp nails on Monica’s arm.

"No! Stop it!" she cried, feeling the sharp nail cutting her white skin. Monica’s cry of pain and fear echoed through the air as a line of blood started to form in her arm. "Stop it! Please!"

"What do we have here? Is my friend hurting you, dear?" Monique’s evil voice was like another sharp pain, and, seeing that the cut was already about 20 cm long, the demon ordered. "Stop!"

The creature immediately obliged her, but kept on holding Monica’s arm. Monique gave a few steps towards the angel and stood right in front of her. "Feeling lonely, honey?" she asked, still with an ironic smile upon her face.

"I’m never alone, Monique. Contrary to the one you serve, my Father is always protecting me, no matter where I am!" Monica replied, placing her hand over the nasty cut in her arm.

Hearing that, the demon rolled her eyes with some impatience. "The ones of you are always counting on Someone to help you, such as the human beings who follow your silly teachings! That’s why they end up alone, still waiting for help to come!"

"You know that’s not true!"

"Oh no? And where are your precious friends now, huh? I bet they’ll leave you here, they’ll never come to get you, it’s too dangerous!"

"That’s the difference between you and me. I never ‘bet’, Monique. I KNOW that God will provide help. Somehow, He’ll answer to my prayers."

"Well, I doubt He’ll listen to your prayers from here, you know. This place is a bit distant from your... Home!" she said, and giggled evilly.

"Now, if you excuse me, I have other fish to fry so I’ll have to leave you alone for a while. Let her go..." the sinister creature let go of Monica’s arm and threw her on the muddy ground again. The image of Monica fallen on the dark and dirty soil brought Monique a sensation of great pleasure. "Ops! Be careful not to spoil your pretty white dress, angel! And have fun visiting the surroundings; as I said, I’ll have to leave you alone, but I promise it’ll be for a little while... very soon, you’ll have some company!"

She and the creature vanished into the shadows a second later, leaving Monica alone in the dark woods.

"Oh Father, please, help me... Show me a sign... Let your light shine on this darkness so that I can follow it and get out of this place... But most importantly..." she grabbed the gold necklace Andrew had given her on Christmas; it had a small angel pendant linked to it, "... please keep Andrew and Tess safe... Don’t let any harm happen to them..."

Suddenly, the sound of many steps echoed through the woods, interrupting her prayers, and Monica’s heart started to beat loud in her chest: something hidden in the darkness was coming into her direction, and it was moving fast.

Andrew walked alone through the sand trail that crossed those barren wastelands. With a gas lamp in his hand, the only source of light in that place apart from the constant lightening that crossed the dark skies, the blond angel checked on his surroundings at every second to make sure that no evil creature was following him. Never had he felt surrounded by such void in his whole existence. Not even in his worst nightmare, had he imagined there could be such a frightening and dark place.

"Father, please, guide my footsteps so that I can find Your angel and be our shield so that we can leave this place in safety." He prayed, almost in a whisper. Andrew’s anguish was evident on his face, as being apart from his dearest friend was his greatest fear. He had faced this possibility sometimes before, and was sure there couldn’t be a greater pain than knowing that Monica was suffering. Right at that moment, it was almost unbearable.

"Monica, please wait just a little more... I’m coming for you, my angel... I won’t let you down, I promise..." he spoke. Suddenly, a familiar sensation of panic crept over him, as if a warning that his beloved friend could be in great danger. "Monica!"

*

Monica heard footsteps coming closer to her in a fast and threatening march. The little angel stood up from the ground and looked around her, but darkness, which she hated so much, was all that she could see. Trembling and with her heartbeats accelerating, Monica realised that at that very moment, she would have to follow her own instincts in order to escape from any evil creature that could be hidden in the darkness.

The Irish angel started to run, desperately searching for any kind of shelter where she could hide form them. But all that she had to guide herself along the woods was the constant lightening that crossed the cloudy sky and, during some brief seconds, it allowed her to see what was ahead of her.

Nevertheless, the many stones and fallen trees along the way made her escape extremely difficult, and the little angel ended up stumbling and falling. She let out a small cry as her knees hit the hard ground and the palm of her hands touched the rough soil. But Monica couldn’t waste any second: she had to be as fast as she could. The Irish angel stood up and kept on running, feeling that now whoever was following her was closer than before.

And, less than a minute later, many creatures, like the one that had captured her, arrived at the exact point where she had fallen. With an incredible tracking capacity, they spotted Monica’s blood on the ground.

Monica continued to run and managed to move away from them just a few meters ahead. Breathing hard, she looked back, trying to see any sign of her pursuers and heard them coming closer. Suddenly, a ray crossed the sky, illuminating, for a few seconds, what was ahead of her: a huge oak tree. In its trunk, there was a narrow opening and Monica wasted no time in passing through it. Trembling and hurt, she closed her eyes and started to pray with all her faith not to be found.

Her stalkers arrived there a second later and stopped next to the big tree, looking for any trace of the escaping angel. Monica stood still, just listening to their steps close to her. And, some moments later, she heard them leaving.

"Father, I know You’re watching over me... I know I’m not alone... but please, comfort my heart... Turn all this into something good..."

*

Feeling his heart heavy with sorrow and deep anguish, Andrew looked around him desperately trying to spot any sign of his beloved friend. Frowning with concern, he realised Monica wasn’t anywhere around and there was only one thing to be done: he would have to leave the trail and enter the dark woods.

"I’m coming for you, my angel... Wait just a little bit more, I’ll find you!" he whispered, and left the relatively safe path to trail a dangerous track in order to find the little Irish angel.

*

Erika walked along the street in the same neighbourhood Monica had been kidnapped an hour earlier. Carrying a backpack, she stopped in front of a small house, climbed up the porch steps and knocked on the door. Soon, the young man who was together with her hours earlier, opened the door, "Hey." He said, greeting her with a small kiss on the lips.

"Hey." She replied, with a rather worried expression on her face; which David didn’t miss.

"What is it? Is there something wrong?"

"No... No, I was... I guess I’m just a bit nervous..." she replied, "Are you ready?"

"Well, yes... but I... I just can’t stop thinking about that man, Edward Evans..."

"David there’s nothing you can do; if you testify you will be arrested and may even be accused of killing those kids!"

"But... If I don’t say anything... An innocent man will die..."

"If you go to the police and tell them what happened you’ll be arrested and your life will be ruined forever! You robbed a bank! You were sentenced to years of imprisonment and your escape will only aggravate this sentence!"

Erika’s words had some effect on him and, realising this, she kept on talking, "We have to go away from here, David! We have to go far away from this place!" she took his hand and looked deep inside his eyes, "Let’s start our own life in another place! With these new ID cards we can find a job, rent a house, meet new people... David, we can even raise a family!"

The guy smiled softly and stroked her face, "What are you? Some kind of angel?"

A somewhat surprised smile appeared on her face, "An angel?"

"Yes. You came to me when I most needed, you helped me out of prison, then gave me these false IDs... you stood by my side even knowing that I’m a criminal..."

"You didn’t kill anybody, you didn’t do any harm to anybody; the bank was empty and I know that you regret what you did. That’s why I care about you! I care about you very much!"

"I know that now... And I really regret what I did in the past, Erika. I mean it when I saw I want to start a new life with you, from zero..."

With a cheerful smile, the young demon squeezed his hand, "C’mon, I’ll help you with the bags!"

They placed their luggage in the car trunk and entered the vehicle. But then another obstacle made them stop: the motor didn’t turn on.

"But what’s happening?!" she complained, visibly upset.

"I don’t know... it doesn’t seem to start..."

"I thought you had checked this car before!"

"I did! I... just don’t know what’s happening..."

Without any other option, David had to get out of the car and check what could be causing that problem. Half-hour later, he closed the hood and sighed deeply, "I can’t fix it!"

"But we have to get out of here tonight!" the girl replied, now nearly desperate.

"We can’t, Erika. We’ll have to wait for tomorrow so that I can call a mechanic and get this car checked!"

"But didn’t you do it yesterday?"

"Yes, but probably Andrew did something wrong, cause..." hearing that, Erika frowned with worry.

"Wait a minute! Andrew? That’s the mechanic’s name?"

"Yes... He and Rafael are the mechanics in the shop and Monica is the accountant... Why?"

The young demon sighed deeply, mentally scolding herself for not realising how close the angels had been during the time they were there. "It’s... nothing, nevermind..." she looked at the vehicle with totally disappointed eyes, "So, we’ll have to stay here, right?"

"Yes, at least until tomorrow..."

"Fine. Why don’t you take the bags from the trunk and take it to the house? I’ll go buy some food for us."

"I can do that..."

"No, it’s ok. I’ll go. Be back soon."

*

Monica remained inside the oak tree trunk, whispering her prayers for 20 minutes. And deep inside her kind and compassionate heart, she couldn’t stop worrying about Tess and Andrew. At the moment the demons kidnapped her, the blond angel was on the same dark alley and now she wondered what had happened to him, if he was ok. "Oh, Andrew... Tess... I miss you two so much... How I wish you were together, playing with our wee Joy..." the Irish angel whispered, whimpering softly.

But, all of a sudden, she heard a familiar male voice in between loud thunders and her heart jumped.

"Monica! Monica, it’s me, Andrew!"

Monica opened her eyes, a lump forming in her throat. "Andrew?"

"Monica! Where are you?!" the voice was now near.

The Irish angel came out of her hiding place and looked around her, desperately searching for her dearest friend. "Andrew?! Andrew, I’m here!"

Her callings produced a quick effect: a second later, a tall man, with blond hair and green eyes, holding a gas lamp, spotted her in between the darkness and quickly came into her direction. "Monica!"

"Andrew!"

The Irish angel wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his neck and both held each other in a tight embrace. "Oh Andrew! you shouldn’t have come here! It’s so dangerous!" she said, with tearful voice.

"Monica, I would never leave you here all alone, you know that!" he replied, softly stroking her hair.

"I know... And I cannot lie, I’m so happy you’re here..." she tightened her hold on him and shed some tears.

A minute later, he pulled away and stroked her cheek, "Shh... It’s gonna be ok now. Don’t cry, Monica..."

"I’m sorry... I know that the Father has sent you here and that He’s watching over us both... But I couldn’t help being afraid..."

"Don’t be; the worst is gone now, ok?"

She nodded her head and they held each other once again.

But what the little Irish angel didn’t see was the evil smile that appeared on the blond man’s face.

Monica held her dearest friend for a few seconds more and then she gently pulled away, "Do you know the way to get out of here?"

"Yes, I do," he replied, and stood up, "Come, follow me."

The Irish angel took his proffered hand and both started to walk through the dead vegetation; the noise of breaking twigs was constant and it caused Monica to be twice worried. "We have to be careful, Andrew. There are evil creatures in the woods, like the one who captured me..." she whispered, feeling a bit better when he tightened the hold on her hand.

"Don’t worry, I know where I’m going..."

"Are you alone? Where is Tess? Does she know that? Is she ok?"

"Yes... Tess is fine; she’s waiting for us. That’s why we have to walk faster..."

"I am..." she said, trying to catch up with his pace, which was rather difficult, as he was walking really fast and the obstacles on the ground were many. Besides, he was pulling her along with him in a great hurry, which made her imagine how scared he should also be.

At a certain point, Monica stumbled on a rock and, if it hadn’t been for his firm grip in her hand, she would have fallen on the ground. One of her shoes, however, was left behind.

"Andrew... Please, wait..."

"We can’t wait, Monica!" he replied, practically dragging her along with him.

"I hurt my foot..." she said, hardly managing to follow him.

"Honey, we must keep walking, I take care of your foot later, I promise." He spoke, and those words suddenly caused a sensation of great panic to creep over her.

"Andrew?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yes, yes, Monica...This is the right way!"

All of a sudden, the Irish angel got rid of his grip and gave a few steps back, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. "No..."

"Monica? What is it?" he asked, frowning and a bit confused.

She shook her head, "You’re not him!"

"What?"

"You’re not Andrew!"

"What are you talking about, sweetie? It’s me, Andrew!" he replied, coming closer to her.

But now the angel was terrified. "Stay away from me!" she shouted, ready to run.

"Monica?" he said, walking towards her.

"Go away!"

Monica started to run away from him but he was faster and much stronger: a few steps were enough for him to grab her arm, "Hold it there, angel!" he spoke, now with a different tone in his voice.

"No! let me go!" she fought to get rid of his grip but it was practically impossible.

"I have to admit that you angels have great sensibility!"

The cold and evil look in those green eyes only confirmed what Monica already feared: that wasn’t her dearest friend.

"Let me go, in the name of God!" she said, still fighting. But he let go of the gas lamp and took her other arm, "You have nowhere to go now, little angel! You’ll be trapped here forever!" he smiled and faced her really close, "And I have to warn you: you’ll only find eternal suffering in this place!"

"I’m not afraid of you nor of who you serve... I have a loving Father Who is always protecting me!"

"Oh really? Well, let’s see..."

With violence, he grabbed her arm, which had been previously hurt by another evil creature, and threw her against a tree. The angel’s terrified cry filled the air and she felt her back and her head aching due to the impact, and the gold necklace with a small angel pendant, Andrew’s Christmas present to her, soon called his attention, "Hum... What we have here?" he said, taking the shining object in his hand, "You know something, angel? You won’t need this anymore!"

"No!" she cried, as the sentimental value of the small object was immeasurable. The demon ripped the necklace from the neck – the gold chain cutting the soft skin in there, and tossed it on the muddy ground.

"That would be a real pity to destroy such an enchanting creature like you, you know..." he said, once again, standing face to face with her, "But I have my orders. Besides, I was told you’d never be able to do any harm to any creature in this world, so you’d never be one of us!"

Ignoring his words, Monica closed her eyes and started praying.

"Hey! Look at me when I talk to you, angel!" the creature shouted, shaking her by the shoulders. But Monica kept on praying, "You’re asking for it, dear..." he spoke, with a threatening expression on his face, and placed one of his hands on her neck and squeezing it. Monica’s soul was filled with great fear and her heart beat faster each and every minute. Suddenly, before the demon could hurt her even more, a ray crossed the sky and hit one of the longest branches of that same tree, and if fell right on him.

The evil creature let out a cry and let go of the angel’s neck for a moment, and she took the opportunity to try to escape from him.

Weak and hurt, Monica started a desperate run in between the dry and dead vegetation, and surrounded by total darkness. She could listen to the evil creature’s steps right behind her and the possibility of finding another one like him scared her deeply.

But, besides those evil creatures, the woods hid another danger: Monica didn’t see an inclined slope a few steps from where she was standing. The angel stumbled and fell once more time.

"Oh Father, please, help me..." she begged, after rolling down the slope. Hurt and scared, with her dress completely dirty and now without both shoes, she thought it was her end, as she heard the demon coming after her. But a lightening crossed the sky again and she could see, hidden by the stones and the dense and dry vegetation, an narrow opening in the rocks. She quickly crawled to it and managed to pass through the narrow passage just a few seconds before Andrew’s look alike demon arrived at the same spot.

"Hey, angel! You know I’ll find you, don’t you? It’s useless to run away! In a place like this, all the paths lead to destruction, you should know this!" he said, giving a few steps closer to the cave, "Why don’t you show up and maybe I can be a little merciful to you..."

Monica listened in the most absolute silence as he walked outside, and even her breath was caught not to call his attention.

A minute later, she heard as he finally walked away and, only then, she closed her eyes and cried helplessly.

*

Half hour after Monica had found a relatively safe shelter in that small and dark cave, the pain caused by the wounds on her arm and back started to become more intense. Besides, she had lost her shoes during the desperate escape and now her feet were also hurting and bleeding.

Since she had arrived there, the little Irish angel hadn’t interrupted her prayers and kept on asking for guidance until a small noise made her stop. With her heart beating faster once again, she soon realised some steps coming closer to the cave and a voice made her freeze with fear.

"Monica! Monica, are you some place near? It’s me, angel, please, answer to me!"

Monica kept an attentive eye on the entrance of the cave and saw when a light of a gas lamp illuminated its surroundings.

"Monica, it’s me, Andrew! Please, answer to me!" the voice spoke again, and as the person came closer, the light illuminated the entrance of the cave even more. Realising she would be found soon, Monica let out an involuntary and terrified sob, which immediately reached the person’s ears and guided him to the interior of the small cave.

"Monica!" Andrew spoke, a mix of relief for finding her and also sadness for seeing how hurt she was.

But Monica instinctively backed away from him. "No! Go away! Stay away from me!" she shouted.

"Monica... it’s me, Andrew!" he replied, now extremely surprised.

But the Irish angel continued to shout, "Stay away from me and go back to the darkness where you belong!"

Andrew placed the gas lamp on the ground and came closer to her, in an attempt to calm her down, but Monica’s reaction to his presence was twice worse: she stood up, took a stone on the ground and threw it into his direction. Fortunately, the blond angel’s reflex was quick and he managed to move before it hit him.

"Monica, try to stay calm, it’s me!" he quickly walked over to her and grabbed her arm.

Now the little Irish angel fought to get rid of his hold, "No! leave me alone! Leave me alone!" she cried, and with her fists, she hit his chest and arm.

Without much choice, he grabbed her other arm and made her look at him, "Monica, angel, I found your necklace; the necklace I gave you!"

Hearing that, she immediately stopped struggling and finally stared at his face. "I found it on the ground..." Andrew let go of her arms and took the gold necklace the demon had ripped from her neck inside his pocket, "I gave it to you on Christmas night! It has an angel pendant because I told you you’re an angel to my existence!"

Now shedding fresh tears, she covered her mouth with her hand in surprise, "Andrew?"

"It’s me, Monica... I was so desperate looking for you, my angel!"

His final words were the confirmation she needed: that was really her dearest friend.

"Oh God! Andrew!" Monica murmured, and then burst into tears. Andrew’s heart broke to see her so scared and he loathed to imagine what had caused her to act like that. He wasted no time in holding her tight, but, as he wrapped his arms around her, the little Irish angel winced with pain, which scared him deeply, and made him quickly pull away.

"I’m hurt..." she spoke, noticing the immediate guilt on his questioning face.

"Oh God! Angel, I’m sorry! Please forgive me..." he took her hand into both of his.

"It’s ok..." Monica let go of his hand and held him tightly, burying her face on his chest and lifting her prayers of thanks for having her dearest friend with her.

As much as he wanted to hold her tightly, the blond angel couldn’t even think of hurting her more than he already had when he grabbed her arms. So, gently and tenderly, he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head repeatedly, also thankful and deeply relieved to have found her in that dreadful place, at the darkest of the nights.

Andrew let Monica cry in his arms for some time and his heart ached with every sob she let out and every tear she shed.

"Monica, my angel, try to calm down, please..."

"He was equal to you, Andrew..."

Her tearful words made him pull away and look into her eyes, "Who, sweetie?"

"There was another... A demon, he took your form..." Monica placed the palm of her hand on his cheek and tenderly stroked his face, "... I thought he was you and I trusted him... God! How could I trust him?"

Knowing that only made him twice sadder, "Oh Monica..."

"He took me to the woods, through a dark path and, even though I had told him I was hurt he kept on dragging me along with him. It was then that I realised he wasn’t you... He... hit me and tried to strangle me..."

Andrew compassionate heart was immediately filled with deep sorrow and his eyes with sad tears. Carefully, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her forehead repeatedly, "I’m sorry, my angel! I’m sorry it took me so long to find you! Please, forgive me!" the blond angel spoke, feeling his heart heavy with guilt.

"Oh, you don’t have to apologise, Andrew. You have no idea what it’s like to be with you again!"

"You’re hurt..." he said, now making her sit down on the stony ground and taking a closer look at her wounds. Biting her lower lip, she nodded, "I didn’t want you to come, you know... I was afraid for you... afraid that you would be hurt too..."

He cupped her chin and lifted her head up, "But you knew I would come for you anyway, didn’t you?"

"Yes..." she replied, with a slight smile forming on the corner of her lips. Andrew tenderly stroked her cheek and took her hand into his, making her stretch her left arm. What he saw caused his heart to ache: Monica’s delicate skin now had a long cut, which was dirty and would become even worse if it wasn’t treated properly and fast.

"The creature that took me away did this..." she said, noticing all the worry evident on his face.

"You said your back is hurt too..." Andrew was trying to focus on the Irish angel in order to control the anger he felt rising in his heart.

"Yes..." she knew him well enough to see he was angry not only about that situation but also with himself for not being able to avoid it. "My body aches because of the impact as the threw me against that tree..."

"Oh Monica... I’m so sorry, angel girl. I wish I had brought medicine and clean clothes for you but..."

Monica reached for his hand and made him inch closer to her, "Your presence here is the best medicine to heal these wounds, Andrew," she spoke, "I love you."

Always carefully, Andrew gathered her in his arms once again and placed a loving kiss on her forehead, "Pretty angel girl... I love you too..."

"I’m afraid I’m not that pretty right now..."

"You are! So pretty to my eyes and my heart you’ll can never imagine!" he spoke, kissing the tip of her nose and causing her to smile again.

"Do you know how to get out of here?"

"Yes. There’s a small trail that crosses the woods. I came here following this path and that’s how we’ll escape. But we’ll have to walk fast to get there and it’s a bit distant from here."

"And how did you find me here, Andrew?"

"I followed my heart, Monica, and asked the Father to guide my steps. He knows you’re a part of me."

Still holding his hand, she inched even closer and kissed his cheek.

"Can you do me a favour?"

"You know the answer for that," the blond angel replied, gently caressing her hair.

"My feet... I guess there are some small sticks pieces on gravel in the soles of my feet... Do you think you could..."

She didn’t even have to finish: Andrew was already moving to take care of her hurt feet.

*

Monique was standing on the top of a mountain, in the same dark lands, and it didn’t take too long before Erika went to meet her.

"Something happened..." the young demon said.

"I knew it... This assignment couldn’t be that easy... what is it?"

"The car broke down, we’ll have to stay for the night."

"Damn it!" the demon grumbled, with her voice slightly different from Monica’s.

"Apparently Dave had taken the car to a mechanic whose name was Andrew. He works at the mechanic shop, together with Monica and Rafael."

"So our angels were closer than we thought." Monique gave a few steps and spoke again, "Well... they won’t stay in our way anymore... our servants won’t let them get out of here..."

" ‘Them’? You mean Andrew is here?"

"Yes... I told you he wouldn’t think twice before coming after his dearest friend."

Erika shook her head, still not believing how an angel could sacrifice himself up to the point of going to a place like that in order to find another angel, even knowing how dangerous it could be. "These angels... They’re intriguing creatures, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"How can they give up on themselves in order to help others?"

"I told you, it’s part of their pathetic nature!" Monique sighed and faced the young demon, "Still, there’ll be a little change in our plans..." she took Erika’s hand and placed a small bottle of medicine in her palm, "Mix it in water and give it to David."

"What is it?"

"A tranquilliser. I told you, he can’t be in contact with TV or the radio. That guy is close to go to the police and tell the truth, and now that you’re telling me about this repair shop he’s been going to, I can understand why so much regret!"

"Yes, I see. Tomorrow by morning I’ll call a mechanic to fix the car and we’ll elope as soon as he wakes up!" Erika spoke, disappearing through the shadows.

Monique nodded and smiled evilly, "Yeah, right..."

*

Andrew was almost finishing to remove most of the gavels from Monica’s feet and, though he could notice how hurtful it was for her, he was also proud to see she could bear the pain without complaining.

"I’m almost finishing, angel."

"That’s ok. So, this is all part of a plan to stop David from testifying?"

"Yes. Somehow the demons knew that he could elope tonight and that we would be there to try to stop him." Andrew replied, carefully holding Monica’s foot but doing his task as fast as he could.

"What I can’t understand is how did Monique know that? From what I’ve heard, David doesn’t have any family."

"Well, David and I talked sometimes, since the day he arrived here. He has a girlfriend; her name is Erika..." the blond angel looked at her for a moment, and she immediately understood what he was trying to say.

"You mean his girlfriend, Erika, she can be..."

"A demon, yes."

"But if this is true then he is in great danger!" the Irish angel concluded.

"Yes, and this is another reason why we should get out of here fast." He said, finally finishing his task, "I guess it’s over. But we should put some alcohol and..."

"When we get out of here I’ll do it..." she interrupted him, and then smiled slightly, "I mean... I’ll let you do it for me..."

A smile also appeared on the blond angel’s face, "You can be sure I will!" then, his face turned into a serious one again, "But I still need to find something to protect your feet, angel, otherwise you’ll get hurt again."

"Well I.. I don’t know what we can do... I lost my shoes somewhere in the woods and I don’t think your shoes would suit me..." she said, happy to see the smile back on his face.

Andrew tenderly stroked her hurt feet, trying to come up with a solution to that problem.

"I never thought that being the angel who likes walking around barefoot would become such a problem."

The blond angel looked at her and was going to say something but an idea suddenly crossed his mind. "Your long sleeves..." he said, moving to sit next to her.

"What?"

"I have an idea, Monica. I’ll tear up those long sleeves of your dress and wrap them around your feet."

The Irish angel chuckled, "Yes. After all I don’t think I’ll be wearing it again..." she joked, looking at the outfit, which was dirty with mud.

*

Erika had come back to David’s house and after they had a snack, which she prepared, the young man fell into a restless sleep on the couch. The demon watched him for some time and after headed to the kitchen, to throw the tranquilliser bottle, now empty, in the dustbin. Joy immediately stood up and started to watch her with questioning eyes.

"Hey, you didn’t eat your lunch! What’s the matter with you, black spot?" Erika said, noticing that the puppy had barely touched her food, which, in fact, was something strange.

She knelt in front of the little dog and looked at the bowl, "Well, it doesn’t look very good anyway..."

Joy remained still, just staring at her in the most absolute silence, which made Erika scoop her in her hands, "Where did you come from after all, huh? You don’t seem like a dog that lives in the streets, judging by your appearance. And judging by your weight, you’re surely well fed!"

The chubby little dog tilted her head, as if she could really understand what Erika was saying. "Hey, don’t you look at me that way! It was for his own protection! If David stays up he’ll keep on thinking about that trial and may end up doing something stupid! I’m saving you too! If he goes to jail, where are you going to live, huh?"

Suddenly, Joy started to weep, which caused Erika to frown with surprise and concern, "Hey! What’s it? Oh please, it’s not gonna hurt him, he’ll sleep, that’s all! You’re too sensitive, black spot! You have to learn how to be a tough girl!"

*

Andrew ripped off the 2 long sleeves of Monica’s dress and carefully wrapped them around her hurt small feet.

"Well, I guess it’ll protect the soles until we get to the trail that crosses the woods."

"Thank you, Andrew. And..." she reached out for his hand, "Please, forgive me..."

"Forgive you for what?"

"For the way I treated you when you found me..." she lowered her head, slightly blushed and embarrassed.

Despite the dramatic situation, Andrew couldn’t help chuckling and, sitting right beside her, he wrapped his arm around her small shoulders, "Well, I have to confess that I had no idea you could be so strong, angel girl!" he joked, brushing a gentle kiss on her temple.

Blushing even more, and still embarrassed, she raised her head and looked at him, "Can you forgive me?"

"Hum... I don’t know... It really hurt, you know!"

The little giggle she let out was like music to his ears, "Oh, Andrew..." she raised her hand and placed it on his face, so that he could bent his head, and then she placed a loving kiss on his cheek, "I love you so much!"

"You know something? I was going to say that you shouldn’t even think of apologising for that and that I love you very, very much too, but now... I’m kinda enjoying your apologies! Could you please continue?"

With a cheerful smile, the Irish angel held him in a tight embrace and the only thing he resented was the fact that he couldn’t return the embrace, at least for a while, due to her aching body. Nevertheless, Andrew gently ran his fingers through her hair, and kissed the side of her head repeatedly.

Then, still grabbing her face with both hands, he pulled away, "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded her head, "Yes!"

But, before they could stand up, the noise of steps was brought by the wind to their ears: somebody was coming closer to the cave and they were more than one. Andrew quickly put out the flame that was burning inside the gas lamp and both angels remained in the most absolute silence. Feeling the fear that was flowing from Monica’s heart to his, he reached out and took her hand in both of his. After kissing her palm, he placed her hand over his heart and the 2 angels lifted a silent prayer for help.

The noise of the footsteps became louder and clearer each and every second: whoever was walking around outside was coming closer to the small cave. Monica held Andrew tightly and closed her eyes, silently praying for protection. She felt Andrew squeezing her hand against his heart and knew that he too was quietly asking the Father to take care of them.

The intense lightening, followed by a loud thunder, allowed the blond angel to see through the entrance: there were many creatures outside, equal to the one that had captured Monica. A split second later, the 2 angels heard a familiar evil voice echoing through the woods.

"Look very carefully, she must be here somewhere!" Monique was in command of the evil beings, just a few meters from them. "She knows she can’t escape from here; to even her dear angelic friend will be able to save her!"

The blond angel gulped at those words: the demon already knew he was there - they had to get away form that place as soon as possible.

A long minute later, he and Monica heard them moving away from that place and the little Irish angel finally opened her eyes. She raised her head and tried to make his face out but the total darkness blocked her vision. Andrew, however, seemed to sense her glance and, placing the palm of his hand upon her cheek, he brushed a gentle and reassuring kiss on her forehead; that tiny gesture managed to put his heart at ease as he wanted. Only nearly 5 minutes later, did the blond angel spoke again, though it was more like a whisper, "Are you ok, my angel?"

"Yes..." she replied, also in a very low voice.

"Can you stay here for a moment? I’ll go up to the entrance of the cave to see if they really went away. If they’re gone, then we’ll leave this place and go back to the road I used to get here..."

He felt her tightening her hold on him, as if begging him to stay right there by her side, terrified to be torn apart from her dearest friend once again. But, as much as it broke his heart, Andrew kissed the top of her head and gently pulled away from her embrace, "It’ll be just a second."

He walked over to the narrow opening and carefully looked at his surroundings. For precaution, he didn’t use the gas lamp and hid himself in the shadows of the eternal night. The lightening allowed him to check his surroundings for a few seconds and the blond angel heaved a sigh of relief realising there wasn’t anybody around. Quickly, he came back to inside the cave, "Monica, we have to go now, they’re gone," he said, lightening the gas lamp.

"Ok..." she tried to stand up with some difficulty due to her aching body. Andrew was quick to help her up and before they left the cave, he kissed the back of her hand, "Remember I won’t let you go, my angel. I’ll be holding your hand all the time, ok?"

"I know. I trust you my very existence, Andrew." she replied, looking at him with her eyes full of love and trust. And that look caused his heart to skip a beat. Carefully, he wrapped his arm around her small shoulders, bringing her closer to him in a kind embrace. Monica held him back and rested her head on his shoulder for some moments.

"With the Father’s help, we’ll get out of here, Monica, I promise you. I love you angel. Very much and deeply, with all my heart. And when we get Home, I’ll also stay right by your side, all the time, until you heal; and even after that!"

A slight smile appeared on her face and she pulled away just a few inches to brush a tender kiss on his cheek, "I know that and I’d love that. So let’s go, cause I can’t wait for that!"

Chuckling at her wording, he took her hand again and both left the cave, going back to the dark and sinister woods.

*

Sitting on an armchair, inside the small house, Erika watched David’s restless sleep for a long time. The medicine Monique had given her was so strong that the guy didn’t even have time to move to the bed, and ended up sleeping on the couch. The young demon seemed to be absorbed in deep thought and stared steadily at him, as if trying to imagine what would be the next step of that diabolic plan and most importantly, wondering what his life would be from that moment on.

Joy remained by the kitchen door, quietly observing Erika and David, and also with a hint of sadness in her dark slanting eyes.

*

In another part of that same neighbourhood, Tess steered her Cadillac in a low speed, trying to find the little puppy that she, Monica and Andrew loved so much. But, beside the small animal’s disappearance, she was terribly worried about her 2 angelic friends due to the terrible dangers they would be facing at that moment.

"Father, you know I’ll do whatever You ask me wholeheartedly, I know You have a plan in Your mind, but please, take care of my two babies... Protect them from the evil that’s been around on this night..." the supervisor prayed

"He’s taking care of Monica and Andrew, Tess. You and I know that He’s protecting His 2 angels right now," Rafael said, sitting on the passenger’s seat.

"Yes, I know that, baby, but not having any news about them breaks my heart and worries me deeply! And I’m sure you feel just the same!"

The young angel nodded his head, "Yes, you’re right. I cannot stop thinking about where those two can be now. Just hope Andrew finds her and that they can get out of that place as soon as possible. Besides, I feel terrible about what happened to Joy, you know."

"Oh baby, we know it wasn’t your fault; that little baby puppy is adorable, of course, but she is and always will be a baby and isn’t aware of the dangers she’s exposed to and the consequences of her actions. Besides, it’s not the first time it happens."

"Oh no?" Rafael asked, visibly sad about the naughty puppy’s escape.

"No. Joy got lost once, on the beach, while Andrew, Monica and I were on vacations. And she escaped right under Monica and Andrew’s noses. But they ended up finding her."

"I just hope we can find her too. I don’t know if I’ll be able to forgive myself if anything happens to her."

The supervisor patted his hand, We’ll find her, Rafael. And you’ll give her back to the ones she belongs to."

*

Andrew and Monica crossed the dark and scary woods as fast as they could, the blond angel holding her hand tightly and detecting all the possible obstacles ahead of them, especially the rocks on the ground.

"Step where I step, angel girl. And don’t let go of my hand."

"I’m right behind you, Andrew... and please don’t think twice if we have to walk faster, it’s ok with me..."

"Yes, but I don’t want you to get more hurt than you already are!" he replied, bringing an inch of comfort to the Irish angel’s heart: even in such a dreadful and dangerous place, Andrew’s care about her was constant; a proof of the infinite love he felt for her.

They kept on walking through the dead trees and finally arrived at a slope. And, despite the loud crashing of the thunders and the howling wind, it was possible to hear, not far from them, the constant noise of running water: there was a river at the bottom of the slope.

"Is it a river, Andrew?" Monica asked, as he held her by the waist, helping her to go down the inclining ground.

"Yes. The water is dirty and flows fast, but it’s not deep, it goes up to my chest." He said, feeling the apprehension rising in her heart.

Monica had made some progress concerning her fear of water, she had even faced dangerous situations involving water – one of them to save his own life, but the tension within her soul was still there and it was perfectly justifiable due to the circumstances. But the blond angel elected not to say a word about it, after all he was there and would never let anything bad happen to her.

They kept on walking and finally arrived at the bottom of the slope, on the riverbank. Then, he looked at her, searching for any sign of reluctance in facing the water, but the little Irish angel nodded her head bravely. "we must not waste any time, Andrew!" she spoke, giving him the encouragement to go on.

"Ok. I’ll get into the water first. Hold this for me..." he gave her the gas lamp and gave a few steps into the water, which quickly reached his chest. Then, he stretched his arm and, with extreme care, he grabbed Monica by the waist and helped her to enter the water, which, in her case, stood about her neck.

The blond angel took the gas lamp back to his hand and kept a firm arm around her body. "Monica, hold me tight and whatever happens, don’t let go, ok?"

"Ok." She replied, and, as she felt the water lashing her body, the little angel couldn’t avoid a low moan of pain.

"What is it?"

"It’s nothing... I... the cuts in my arm and on my feet... the contact with the water causes them to hurt a little..."

His heart broke hearing that, as he knew her pretty well to imagine how hurtful it was for her; not to mention the danger of an infection due to the dirty water.

"We’ll get out of here soon, honey. Now come..."

As much as she tried to avoid it, Monica’s heart beat faster each and every second: the strong flow of water was such that, if it wasn’t for Andrew’s firm grip on her, she would be taken away down the river. Besides, she too gripped his T-shirt tightly, as if her very existence depended on it. And she wasn’t far from the truth.

"I guess the water level has risen..." he said, noticing that his dearest friend was struggling to keep her head out of the water. He had to be careful not to let her slip from his arm and at the same time, to keep the gas lamp in his other hand, as it was what guided them through the darkness.

They were in the middle of the river when, suddenly, Monica felt a sharp pain in the sole of her foot, as if a sharp object had entered her skin. "Andrew!" she cried, loosening her hold on him.

"What is it, Monica?" he immediately stopped walking, and was deeply worried.

"Something entered my foot..."

"Oh God..."

"I guess it was a piece of glass..."

"Can you walk?"

"I guess I... Andrew, be careful!!!" Monica suddenly screamed, with terror in her eyes. The streaming water quickly brought a huge tree trunk and, as Andrew had his face turned to the little Irish angel, he didn’t see it coming right behind him.

The large piece of wood hit him in full force and knocked the blond angel on the water. Due to this, and to the force of the flow, he couldn’t keep his hold on Monica, and the furious waters of the dark river took both angels.

The wild dark waters quickly carried Andrew and Monica and both angels fought desperately not to be swallowed by the river. Now that the gas lamp was gone, everything Andrew had to guide himself were Monica’s frightened cries, some meters ahead of him, and the constant lightening, which enabled him to see his dearest friend debating in the water.

"Monica! Monica! Try to hold anything that comes in your way!"

"Andrew! I... I can’t hold it..." she spoke, hardly managing to keep her head out of the water.

"Angel!"

"Andrew!"

Calling his name for the last time, the Irish angel submerged. Andrew was desperate and his heart clenched for fear of losing his dearest friend forever, "Oh Father, please, help us! Help me to get her back!"

The next minute seemed the longest of his existence but lightening struck once again and for a split second, he could see the little Irish angel trying to come back to the surface and failing once again. Realising it could be his last chance to save her, he swam as fast as he could towards the exact spot where she had disappeared. Taking a deep breath, he dove in the dirty water and relief partially filled his soul when he grabbed Monica’s body. Using all his strength, he came back to the surface and kept on swimming, now holding a lifeless Monica in his arms.

Finally, some stones appeared on the way and, despite the hurting cry the blond angel let out when his body hit the first rock, it served to break their journey.

The blond angel was breathing exhausted and now he had some scratches on his skin. But his dearest friend depended on his, she wasn’t conscious and had swallowed too much water, and he had to get to the bank of the river as fast as possible. Using all his efforts, Andrew took a firm hold on Monica and swam until he finally reached firm ground.

"Monica? Monica, can you hear me?" he asked, but the Irish angel was limp in his arms and didn’t seem to be aware of what was going on around her. Andrew took her in his arms and carried her a few steps away from the river. Then, he carefully lay her on the ground and placed his hand on her cheek, "Monica? Monica? Can you listen to me?"

It took the blond angel a split second to realise what was going on with her: she wasn’t breathing and had swallowed a great quantity of water.

"Monica... Oh Father, please, help me... Help me, please..."

Standing on the top of her, he placed his two hands on Monica’s chest and pushed 3 times. Then, he pinched her nose closed and, holding her jaw, he started to mouth-to-mouth her, in a desperate attempt to make her breath again.

Andrew repeated this actions several times and was starting to get desperate when she didn’t respond to his callings. "Monica! Angel, please, react!"

He administered CPR for another minute and, suddenly, the Irish angel started to cough out the water that came out of her lungs. "Oh God... Thank you! thank you, Father!" he sighed with relief, and, holding her head, he helped her to expel the rest of the water, "It’s alright now, Monica. We’ve made it, angel girl!"

She coughed and desperately reached for air and only the constant movement of Andrew’s fingers running through her wet hair and his firm grip on her hand, managed to put her at ease some moments later.

He helped her to sit down and, with infinite care, gathered her in his arms, "Oh angel... I thought I had lost you. Thank God you’re safe..." the blond angel kissed her forehead, "Try to take deep breaths, Monica."

"Andrew..." she couldn’t finish her sentence: all the tension and terror of the last 10 minutes seemed to consume her soul and the Irish angel started to cry helplessly.

"Angel... come here..." carefully, he gave her a light squeeze and made her rest her head against his chest, cradling her as if she was a little girl.

"I’m sorry... I was so scared..." she sobbed, shaking violently.

"Shh... It’s over now, sweetie!"

"Please, let’s get out of here..."

"We will, just try to calm down first and take deep breaths, you swallowed too much water."

Slowly, she finally managed to regain control of her actions and the blond angel helped her to stand up. It was then that she felt a sharp pain on the sole of her left foot and both saw the nasty cut on her skin.

"The fabric of the dress was too thin to prevent that piece of glass from entering your foot..." Andrew spoke, examining her foot and frowning with concern.

"It doesn’t matter, Andrew. I can walk if you help me. Let’s go away from here, please? I’m already hurt and what I couldn’t bear is to see you hurting too!"

With his eyes full of love for the little Irish angel, he took her small hand into his own and kissed her palm, "I’m sorry I let you go... Please, forgive me?"

"Oh Andrew... It wasn’t your fault. I let go of your hand and you were hit by that floating tree!"

"Still, I promised you I’d keep a firm hold on you, I ..."

"You’ve just saved me a few minutes ago! The same way you saved me other times in the past!" she replied and placed her hand against his cheek, "I’m just so blessed the Father sends you to stay with me, whenever I need, Andrew. Please, don’t ever doubt, not even for a single moment, that you’re an angel in my existence!"

Speechless with her loving words, he held her as tightly as he could, gently running his fingers through her wet hair. A few seconds later, Monica pulled away and brushed a tender kiss on his face and managed a small smile at him.

Andrew helped her to stand on her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist, "Lean on me, Monica. And if you need to stop, we can stop anytime you want, ok?" he said, and kissed her forehead.

"Ok..."

The angels started a new walk towards the road that would lead them out of that dark place.

*

Monica and Andrew had to go up the river to return to the initial path they were following. About an hour later, they were back to the point where they had started crossing the river, but now on the other side.

"The road isn’t that distant," the blond angel said, never releasing the hold on her while they walked through the woods.

"We’ll get there, Andrew, I’m’ sure we will!"

The two angels walked as fast as they could, having to face all sorts of obstacles, such as the darkness only broken by the constant lightening, and Monica’s condition, as the little Irish angel was deeply hurt. All of a sudden, they heard the noise of several sticks being broken a few steps of them: they were not alone in that place anymore.

"Andrew..."

"Come here, Monica..."

Andrew immediately held Monica close to him, and the two angels hid themselves in the shadows of the eternal night, using huge tree trunks as a shelter to stay out of the way of whatever was going in their direction.

The little angel closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, once again praying for protection. In the most absolute silence, they listened as a group of creatures crossed the woods, passing only a few steps from them.

Andrew rested his cheek on the top of Monica’s head and waited patiently until he was sure they were alone again. "Angel girl?

When she opened her eyes and looked at him, he spoke again, "We can continue now, they’re gone! And we’re almost there."

Monica nodded her head and, once again, he wrapped an arm around her waist to help her to go on walking through the dry and dense vegetation.

Monica and Andrew had walked for a few steps more in the dark, frightening woods, and were almost reaching the road that would lead them out of that place. But suddenly, the angels’ hearts pounded loudly in their chests with an unexpected diabolic voice that came from behind them.

"Leaving so soon, ‘angel girl’?"

They turned around and the intense lightening in the sky allowed them to see a tall, blond man, with green eyes and wearing beige jeans and white T-shirt staring at them with an evil smile on his face. Andrew felt his dearest friend squeezing his hand with fear and he himself had an eerie sensation to see an evil creature covered with his own image.

"And you ran away from me when it was starting to be interesting! Not fair!"

"Leave us in the name of God!" the blond angel shouted, tightening his hold on Monica’s hand even more, feeling fiercely protective of her.

The demon shook his head with some disgust, "You’re gonna both regret the night you stepped here. This is not your territory; or His!"

At this very moment, the 2 angels noticed that lots of creatures, tall and wearing dark cloaks, with no face and no soul, equal to the one who had captured Monica, were surrounding them. And a moving exchange of feelings took place: Monica’ heart clenched with fear for her dearest friend, as she shouldn’t bear to see him suffering. As for Andrew, his fear was mixed with anger towards all those evil creatures, as the idea of them hurting such a kind-hearted angel like Monica was revolting.

All of a sudden, before their eyes, the demon’s appearance changed: Andrew’s image was gone and, to replace it, another creature, whose appearance was equal to the other ones, stood in front of the two angels.

A cold, strong wind was blowing and the noise of the thunders echoing through eternal darkness filled their hearts with great fear and left the 2 angels with nothing to hold on but their faith.

Andrew felt Monica’s arms around his waist in a tight embrace and, equally holding her, he stroked her hair, both looking at each other. "I told you once, angel: I’ll be right here with you, no matter what."

"I know... and the same goes to you Andrew..."

Monica and Andrew were captured by the evil creatures that inhabited the dark woods, and taken to the top of a mountain. The old rock formation had no vegetation and there were some huge stone walls on the top, where the wind blew stronger. From the spot, all one could see was that darkness spread along that evil territory where it was difficult to say where earth and sky met.

But when the evil creatures brought the 2 angels there, someone was anxiously waiting of them. With an evil smile upon her pretty face, Monique watched with pleasure as Monica and Andrew were thrown on the stony ground right in front of her.

"Well, well, well... I knew that one of your friends you hang around with would show up here to try a... ‘rescue assignment’!" she said, watching as Andrew helped Monica to stand up, holding her with firm hands, protectiveness always on his face.

"Love and friendship are holy, Monique. I wish you could understand that, and I’m sorry that you don’t," the little Irish angel spoke, facing the demon without fear, despite her injuries.

"Oh you’re sorry, dear? Well, I’ll tell you what: all the ‘love and friendship’ that you’re talking about will only serve to destroy you and this foolish friend of yours!" Monique stepped closer to the angel, "I’m the one who should be sorry for you... But you know something? I’m not... cause it’ll be a relief to get rid of you once and for all!"

"He is carrying us in His hands... Our faith in Him will give us the strength we need to go through this evil plan you have, Monique. Because there’s no evil that can overcome His love."

"Unfortunately for you, and fortunately for me, you’re not in His territory, baby. You both know who is in command here!"

"The power of God can go anywhere... it can touch even the hardest of the hearts and heal even the most desperate of the souls," Andrew replied, also facing the demon and secretly proud of Monica’s courage in facing Monique, who gave a short laugh.

"Well, you can be sure that despair is all you’ll find here."

All of a sudden, they heard another voice, "Monique!"

The angels and the demon watched as Erika, Monique’s apprentice, appeared at the top of the mountain. She had a surprised look upon her face for seeing Monica and Andrew there and with wounds all over their bodies, especially on Monica’s.

"Erika! You arrived just in time!"

"So... he really came for her!" she spoke, approaching the angels.

"Of course he did! I am always right, am I not?"

"How can you risk your own existence because of her?" Erika asked, staring at Andrew with haunted eyes.

The blond angel looked at his dearest friend and after at her. "How could I risk being without her for the rest of my existence?"

Frowning with concern and now twice surprised with his answer, the young demon backed away from them. "I don’t understand..." she said.

Monique placed her hands over her shoulders. "Don’t worry, dear... They’ll both end up with no existence at all!" Then she turned to Monica and Andrew, "Erika is one of my best apprentices, you know? She’s been helping me to destroy 2 men’s lives and, in the process, you 2!"

"Two men’s lives? I thought Edward Evans was the assignment..."

"Of course, honey... I was talking in general. Think about Edward Evans family and friends, they’re all in great pain right now and thanks to us!"

"Yes. And tomorrow, by morning, when Dave wakes up, Edward Evans will have been executed. He’s fallen in deep sleep, Monique, thanks to the medicine you gave me."

"Good girl! Now there’s no danger of him going to the police and telling them the truth!"

Monica and Andrew exchanged a worried look: their suspicions were correct, Erika had been close to David all the time, by Monique’s orders, and with the evil plan of letting an innocent man die.

Erika nodded her head. "It would be so stupid to ruin his life because of someone he doesn’t even know!"

"And live with the death of an innocent man in his conscience forever? Do you expect it brings him any peace of mind?" Monica questioned, looking at the young demon.

"Well, David had a second chance when he escaped from prison; if he surrendered himself to the authorities then he wouldn’t have peace of mind for throwing his opportunity through the window!"

"I’ve talked to David a few times. He’s a man who has made some mistakes in the past but who is willing to change, he has a good heart." Andrew interrupted, "But this omission will ruin his spirit for the rest of his life!"

"Of course that won’t happen!" Monique interrupted, "He’ll end up enjoying his new free life!"

"He’ll live with guilt and regret for the rest of his life!" Monica spoke.

Erika shook her head in disagreement. "No, he won’t! Monique is right, he’ll have a long and happy life! You guys preach about sacrificing yourselves for another person but look where you are right now!"

"Very well, baby. Now let’s stop talking and act cause there’s a lot to be done this night, starting by the angels..." Monique stepped closer to them, "Which one is gonna be the first to be destroyed?"

A loud thunder echoed through that vast and inhospitable territory as Monica and Andrew looked at each other and after to the demon, and the blond angel was the first to speak, "Do whatever you want to me, but leave Monica alone!"

"No! It was me you’re looking for since the beginning; I am the one you should take your revenge at, not him!" Monica protested, and her dearest friend tried to stop her.

"Monica!"

But she didn’t stop talking, "Leave him alone, let him go back Home!"

Monique rolled her eyes and sighed with impatience, while Erika kept on staring at them frowning in disbelief. "Oh gosh! I should’ve guessed that! You are really too repetitious, aren’t you?"

"Leave him alone... it’s me you’ve always wanted!" the Irish angel added.

"Monica stop! Stop doing this, for Heaven’s sake, you’re hurt!" Andrew replied, his heart filled with panic for what could happen to her.

The demon looked deep inside Monica’s eyes and smiled evilly. "It would really hurt to see him bleeding to death, wouldn’t it?"

"No! Leave Andrew alone, please!"

"Put her in the chains! And let’s have a little fun with her dear friend!" she ordered, and the creatures took a firm hold Monica and Andrew, first to separate them and after to put heavy handcuffs, linked to equally heavy chains, on Monica’s wrists. These chains were attached to some huge stones and limited her movements, and the only thing she could do was to watch as the creatures put Andrew right in front of her and threw him on the ground with violence.

"Andrew! No! please, don’t do this to him!"

"Monica... have faith in the Father, angel!" he said, receiving a punch in his stomach and letting out a moan of pain, followed by Monica’s desperate cries.

"No! Stop it! Don’t do this to him! stop it, please!"

"Don’t look, Monica! Close your eyes!" the blond angel said.

"If you close your eyes I’ll throw him from the top of this mountain into the stones down there!" Monique threatened, although it was far too clear that the little Irish angel wouldn’t ignore his dearest friend’s suffering by merely closing her eyes.

"No! Andrew, please, stop this Monique! Take me instead of him!"

The demon ignored her pleas and watched with pleasure as Andrew was tortured by the evil creatures at her command. In silence, and with a surprised expression on her face at how much suffering the angel could bear in order to spare Monica’s life, Erika watched the aggression suffered by the angel.

And then the young demon thought about David. They have known each other for nearly a year, and, although she had initially approached him with an evil mission to fulfil, it was evident they had shared many good moments since he had escaped from prison. The young man made a terrible mistake by stealing, for sure, but no one could deny he had a good heart and that this attitude was maybe due to despair, as he had no job and no family. Erika couldn’t deny that he treated her like a princess and she had never seen him being unkind to any other soul. Even the way he treated the little dog found at the door of the grocery store was an evidence of his compassionate heart.

A slight smile appeared on her face as she remembered of all the good times they had shared together and Monique didn’t miss that. "Enjoying the show, dear?"

Monique’s voice brought her back to the dark mountain and she stared at the demon without knowing what to say. "I... I keep imagining what takes him to do such a sacrifice..."

"Something they call ‘love’ but which we would call ‘stupidity’!"

Erika sighed deeply; Monica’s cries echoing in her ears and Andrew’s deeply hurt image right before her eyes.

"Will they be able to persuade David to go to the police after the execution?" she asked, with a pensive expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" Monique was surprised to hear such question.

"Well... nothing, it’s nonsense, forget it!"

"Ok..." the demon replied, staring at her with the same face, "...Well, as you are my apprentice, and soon will start working on your own, I’ll leave these 2 in your hands for a while."

"Where are you going?"

"I have some... business to take care of. I won’t be long." Then, she turned to one of the creatures that was beating Andrew. "Stop a little. I don’t want to miss all the details of this execution; I’ve never seen an angel dying!"

The evil being immediately obliged her and threw the blond angel on the ground, next to Monica. Only then, with tears rolling down her face and her heart filled with pain, anguish and deep sorrow, Monica could crawl up to where he was. "Andrew... Andrew, I’m sorry... please forgive me... Please forgive me..." she cried, gently stroking his bruised face. Carefully, the Irish angel held his head and made him rest it over her leg, never stopping the moment of her fingers through his damp blond hair.

"Oh gosh, I feel nauseous watching this!" Monique spoke, and disappeared a second later.

Erika watched as Andrew weakly moved his arm and held on of Monica’s hands, placing it over his heart.

"Please, Andrew, try to resist! Don’t go away from me!" the little Irish angel pleaded, sobbing and with a constant flood of tears falling from her eyes.

Monique left the dark mountain where Monica and Andrew were being tortured and reappeared inside David’s small house. The demon started to walk around the rooms, analysing all its details. When little Joy felt her evil presence, the small puppy hid herself in the kitchen, behind the gas stove and remained in the most absolute silence. Fortunately, Monique didn’t see the tiny animal, as her attention was all focused on David. The young man was lying on the couch, in deep sleep due to the tranquilliser Erika had administered on him, and unaware of the great danger he was exposed to.

Smiling evilly, she lit up a cigarette, in a cigarette holder, and started to smoke. "You did a good job, Erika, I admit it. But there are some things that only an experienced demon can handle... Such as the future of your little friend here... or lack of it..." she shed the ashes on the carpet. "Edward Evans will die this night, at midnight, and so will David!"

Saying that, she threw the cigarette on the floor, near the curtains, and watched as a small fire started to catch, "After all, why waiting to destroy souls little by little if this is the darkest night of the year?"

She waited a few more minutes until the fire increased and, before leaving, she checked the doors and the windows, to be sure that everything was locked.

*

Monica stroked Andrew’s hair and never stopped crying at the image of her beloved friend so badly hurt, sacrificing himself in order to spare her own existence.

"Please, forgive me, Andrew... I was supposed to be there, not you..."

"... Don’t ever apologise, Monica... I’ll protect you... until I can..."

"No! Don’t do this anymore! I beg you..."

"I won’t do what you’re asking me, my angel... not this time..." he replied, keeping her hand against his heart.

"You’re hurt! You’re so hurt I can hardly look at you, Andrew! Please, don’t do this to me!"

"... Close your eyes and pray, Monica... You know He’s listening..."

She sobbed, "I am... Praying is all I’ve been doing since I got here... And this time, I’ll pray for you, Andrew, not for me..."

She squeezed his hand and bent her head, so that she could kiss his face. With the light contact and with the tears that fell over his skin, Andrew opened his eyes, "Don’t cry... I’m fine... seeing that they’re not hurting you..."

"But they’re hurting you!" her sobs increased and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, "Oh Father, please, save him! Be merciful and save Andrew from these evil creatures! He’s so hurt.. so badly hurt..."

"He’ll provide us help, baby... Somehow, He’ll see us through. Now please, stop crying." Andrew spoke, with some difficulty due to his aching body, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

A bittersweet smile appeared on her face, "You don’t need to tell me this... I can see it in our face... in your eyes whenever I look at you..." Sniffling, she stroked his face as gently as she could, "Can you feel I love you too?"

"Always..." now he was the one to smile.

Frowning with concern and deeply surprised, as she had never witnessed such thing, Erika shook her head in disbelief. Suddenly, they all felt another presence in that place.

"I’m glad I could make it in time to see the angel dying!" It was Monique, who walked over to Monica and Andrew, "Quite ironic for an angel of death, huh?"

Andrew felt his dearest friend squeezing his hand, but before he or she could say something, it was Erika who started to speak. "Monique, I was wondering... If everything is finished now, what’ll happen to David? I mean, we’ll go on with the plan and elope tomorrow, right?"

"Oh yes, you will, dear... But it’s tomorrow; tonight I’ll need you right here by my side, ok? Don’t worry about David, he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be right now!" she replied, and stared at the angels with a perverse expression on her face, "Now it’s time to take care of these two... Continue the beating!"

"No! Andrew! No! Please, stop! Take me!" Monica cried, desperately. But the soulless creatures obeyed Monique’s orders and ripped the blond angel from his friend’s arms to continue the torture.

"This has been a great Halloween night!" the demon exclaimed.

*

The fire spread fast in David’s house, quickly burning the carpets and the drapes but the tranquilliser Erika had put in his juice was too powerful and the young man kept on sleeping. Smoke started to spread in the room and Joy left the kitchen to look for the one who had taken care of her since she got lost. Barking continuously, next to the couch, the little puppy tried everything she could to wake David up. With evident despair in her slanting black eyes, the animal put her tiny pawns on the sofa and started to scratch the furniture, weeping and sniffling.

Sensing that David wouldn’t wake up, Joy ran up to the kitchen. In the back door, which Monique had carefully locked, there was a small entrance, made especially for animals to pass through, and that’s exactly what the puppy did.

But due to her extra weight, result of all the care that Monica, Andrew and Tess had with her, the chubby animal got stuck. Barking and moaning now with some annoyance, Joy used her tiny pawns to push herself out of the hole, and after a lot of effort, the witty puppy finally managed to come out of the house.

Joy ran clumsily along the yard up to the front door and never stopped barking, as if calling desperately for help. And, fortunately, help was sent by Divine intervention: Tess was driving her Cadillac along that neighbourhood for the second time in search of the little puppy.

"I don’t think we’ll be able to find her here, Rafael. We’ve already been in this street some time ago!"

"Well let’s go back to the main street then; Joy must’ve followed it..."

The younger angel had hardly said that when they heard several puppy barks in the distance, and they were very familiar to them.

"Listen!" the supervisor spoke.

Rafael pointed out, "It’s coming that way..."

Relief filled their souls when both angels saw the little black spaniel puppy barking loudly in the sidewalk and Tess didn’t waste any time in gathering Joy in her arms.

"Oh baby! I’m so glad to see you!"

"Thank God she’s ok!" Rafael exclaimed, and both turned their attention to David’s house.

"It’s on fire, Tess... somebody may need help!" the younger angel spoke, and quickly ran over up to the door, knocking on it with full force many times, "Hey! Is anybody there? Can you hear me?"

But the way Joy barked facing the house soon made it clear that something was wrong inside the house, "I guess she was in that house, Rafael..." Tess concluded, "And the people who took care of her must be still in there..."

Using all his strength, Rafael hit the door until he managed to put it down: the fire had spread fast and he crossed the cloud of smoke to see if there was anybody alive in that room. A minute later, the angel returned, carrying an unconscious David in his arms.

"He’s still alive, Tess. There’s nobody else inside!" he said, coughing.

"Dear God!" she exclaimed with surprise, seeing her friends’ assignment lying on the ground.

"Apparently he found Joy and brought her to stay with him... And we both know this is not a coincidence."

"Yes... And we both also know who set fire in that house..." the older angel spoke, as they heard the noise of the firefighters and ambulance sirens.

*

David received the first aids and the effect of the tranquilliser started to cease. Besides, the young man hadn’t inhaled too much smoke, and regained consciousness half hour later.

"So... you both saved me..." he said, sitting inside the ambulance, still a bit dizzy with all that had happened, "Rafael, I was about to go there at the mechanic shop and complain about my car with you and Andrew! Now I owe you my life!"

"Well, I’m glad I could redeem myself!" the young angel joked.

Then, David turned to his right and saw Joy in Tess’ arms, "So... I guess she found her real mom..."

"Well, actually I’m her grandma... but that’s a long story. I’m glad that I found her and that, in the process, she could help to save your life, baby!" Tess spoke, and Rafael was quick to introduce her. "David, this is my friend Tess."

"Nice to meet you, Tess."

"Nice to meet you, too, David."

"And what’s her name?" he wanted to know, pointing to the little dog.

"Joy."

"Joy... yeah, sounds quite appropriate!" he joked, ruffling the animal’s soft black fur.

The firefighters finished to put out the fire inside the house, which, thanks to the angels and to the brave little animal, hadn’t been entirely damaged. David received the first aids and, as he wasn’t seriously hurt, the paramedics let him go. There was an expression of relief on his face as he watched the men work. "I’m glad Joy managed to get out and that Erika, my girlfriend, wasn’t here... I wonder what happened though..."

Tess and Rafael exchanged a glance and the young angel started to speak. "David, there’s something you need to know..."

"What is it?"

"Well... maybe you should ask Erika who caused this fire..."

"What? Erika? Why? What are you talking about?"

"We don’t have much time, baby, tell him the truth..." Tess spoke, glancing at her watch with some worry, and Rafael nodded his head, "David, we know that you’re a fugitive, that you escaped from prison an year ago."

"What? How... how do you know that?"

"We also know that, on the night you escaped you saw it when Edward Evans stopped his car to help those two children who were already dead on the road..."

The young man felt his head spinning with those words; a perplex look on his face.

"How come you both know that only Erika is supposed to know it; did she tell you this?"

"No, she didn’t. But we also know that she’s been helping you to get away from the police, that she’s got you a false ID, that you both have been travelling around the country, from city to city, for a year, and that you were planning to elope once again tonight."

"God... I don’t know what to think!"

"All this time, Erika has been helping you to keep a lie. And with a terrible consequence: the life of an innocent man!"

"No... she... she’s just afraid that I go to jail and we can never be together..."

"David have you already asked yourself why Rafael, Andrew and Monica have been the only friends you have made since you escaped from prison? Have you stopped to think that your car breaking down exactly at the night you would elope wasn’t a mere coincidence? And neither was the fact that Rafael and I were passing by at the exact moment your house was on fire? Even finding Joy and keeping her with you had an effective consequence!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Monica, Andrew, Rafael and I were sent to help you..."

"You were sent? Who sent you?"

"God." Rafael replied, "We’re all angels..."

A beautiful glow involved Rafael and Tess, causing David to give a step back with surprise and awe.

*

Monica’s cries echoed through the dark mountain together with the loud crashing thunders for long painful minutes, and they were immediately replaced by her crying when Andrew’s body was violently thrown in front of her. During the beating, the evil creatures under Monique’s command, had been careful not to let the Irish angel come closer to her dearest friend and, although she nearly ripped off the pair of handcuffs in her wrists, her efforts were useless. Only when the demon ordered them to stop did they allow Monica to gather what was left from Andrew in her arms.

"Andrew? Andrew? talk to me! Please, talk to me!" she begged, not even knowing where to touch him, as now his injuries were more serious than never. She had never seen him so badly hurt before, and the pain in her heart was such that she thought she would die in tears and sobs.

"Andrew, please, please, answer to me... please, show me a sigh that you can listen to me... please... please, talk to me! Show me any sign that you’re still here..." she carefully checked to see if he was still breathing and placed her hand on his neck: his heartbeats were almost inexistent but he was still breathing. "Oh Andrew... Why did you have to do it?" she sobbed, tenderly stroking his hair, "I want so much to have you close to me... Please..."

"He’s a tough angel, I must admit it!" Monique spoke, enjoying each second of the angels’ suffering, "Unfortunately, it’s time to stop this, my presence is being requested some other place..."

Gathering all her courage, Monica raised her head and stared at the demon, "I want to make a deal with you..."

"A deal?" she spoke, as surprised as her apprentice, who had been watching everything."

"Yes... I have something to propose you..."

"And what kind of agreement could an angel possibly propose to a demon?"

Monica turned her eyes back to Andrew’s wounded body and faced Monique again, "I want to change places with him..."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Give me his injuries, I know you can do it. Give me Andrew’s wounds and make him return to his previous condition."

Laughing out loudly at Monica’s offer, Monique turned to her (rather shocked) apprentice, "You see, Erika? When you think they have done the most stupid things with their existence, they surprise you by doing something even more idiot!"

"She can’t be serious... you ... you can’t be serious! You don’t really mean to change places with him, he’s practically dead!" the young demon spoke, moving closer to Monica.

"Yes, I am serious, Erika. Andrew is my friend and I love him so much you can never imagine..."

"Oh gosh, not this talk again!" Monique grumbled.

"Do it, Monique. You’ve always wanted to destroy me; you won’t lose anything if you do what I’m asking!"

She became slightly pensive of a few seconds and finally nodded her head, "Yes... You’re right, I won’t. And it’ll be a pleasure to do what you’re asking me this time! Hum... I never thought I’d say that myself!"

Monica took Andrew’s hand and placed it against her heart. "Andrew, please forgive me..."

Little by little, her skin became covered with scratches and wounds and she felt a sharp pain all over her body. Then, she collapsed right next to Andrew and fell unconscious.

The blond angel, for himself, regained his consciousness seconds later and panic crept over him when he saw Monica lying lifeless beside him. "Monica! Monica!" he cried, immediately sitting on the ground and placing his hands on her small shoulders. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest at the image right before his eyes: Monica was so badly hurt that, for a moment, he thought she was dead. "Monica! Monica! Answer to me! Please..." a weak movement of her chest rising and falling told him she was still alive. With his eyes shining with tears and deep anger, he glared at Monique, "What did you do to her?! What did you do to Monica?"

"I did exactly what she asked me... I gave her your wounds!"

"No..."

"Yes, I’m telling the truth! Erika can prove it, tell him Erika!"

"It’s true... she asked to change places with you..." the young demon confirmed. With a miserable expression on his face, Andrew looked down at Monica, "Angel... no... how could you do it? You shouldn’t have done it!" he cried, gathering her in his arms.

"Well this conversation is fascinating but I must be going, you know. There’s a life to be taken at any minute and I can’t miss it! Hum... I didn’t tell your dearest friend but I had something else in mind before she asked me to change places with you..." she turned to the creatures that were surrounding them, "Take them to the cave! After all, as much as I like seeing her all beaten up and practically destroyed, I wouldn’t risk having you two going around, even in a place like this. You angels are better off locked inside a cave so that you can die together."

A few minutes later, Monica and Andrew were taken to a cave in the foot of the mountain and thrown in its interior. The blond angel sat down on the ground, always holding Monica in his arms, cradling her with all the love and care he could muster, and placed her head up against his heart. That was the last image of the angels Erika and Monique saw, as the evil creatures started to block the entrance of the cave with stones. Andrew watched as they did that task and in a matter of minutes, it was finally closed.

"At last I managed to catch her!" Monique spoke, and looked at Erika, "You see? That’s the essence of being evil; of being a demon!"

The apprentice didn’t reply this time; she kept on looking at the cave instead.

"Now I have an execution to watch! Edward Evans’s death will be in all the newspapers tomorrow!"

Inside the cave, Andrew placed a feather like kiss on Monica’s forehead and gently stroked her hair; every little action carefully planned, not to cause her even more pain than she was already feeling, and, for a moment, he was grateful that she was unconscious.

"Father... Please, help her... Help your angel... send her healing, because she’s seriously hurt... I can stay here for the rest of eternity but please, I beg You, find a way to take Monica out of this place... Finish what I’ve started... Save this angel who I know belongs to you but who I can’t help calling mine... I love her so much..." he prayed, with tears pricking his green eyes.

*

David stared at Tess and Rafael right in front of him with disbelief and shock, "Angels? You mean you’re angels?"

"Yes. And I we were sent here with a message from God." Rafael replied.

A long minute later, he lowered his head with shame and regret, "I did everything wrong... He’s disappointed in me... I’m a failure..."

Tess shook her head, "God doesn’t make mistakes, David. And He know exactly what He was doing when he created you; all His children are brought into this world with a purpose and He had and still has a special plan for you..." there were tears in the young man’s eyes and, humbly, he bowed his head, "I’ll do whatever He asks me if I can have His forgiveness..."

"So I guess you know what you need to do, right?" the younger angel spoke, watching as he nodded his head.

"Yes... The life of an innocent man is in danger because of my omission..."

"And Edward Evans doesn’t have much time, he’ll be executed in 20 minutes." Tess added.

"At midnight of a Halloween night..."

"No he won’t!" the young man spoke, "I won’t let that happen!"

All of a sudden, they head another voice in that deserted street: "David..."

It was Erika, who stared at her boyfriend and at the 2 angels in disbelief. At first, he was happy to see he again, and walked over to her, taking her hand. "Erika! I’m so glad to see you! and I’m so relieved that you didn’t get hurt, sweetie!"

"What... what’s happening here?" she asked, her eyes never moving from the angels.

"She knows pretty well what’s happening here!" Tess spoke, accusingly.

"No! I don’t!" Erika replied, with annoyance, and David found that tone of voice quite strange.

"The house caught fire... I... I don’t know how that happened, how it started..."

"A fire?" she spoke, now really surprised.

"Yes. I almost died here, I couldn’t wake up despite Joy’s barks... Rafael and Tess saved me..."

"Oh no..." she whispered.

"Erika what is it?"

"Her plan has failed; that’s what happened!"

"Her plan? Wait a minute, have you met before?" the young man wanted to know, now really confused.

"No... but we’re always ready to fight against the one she represents!" Tess said, glaring at the demon. And, before David could make another question, Erika gave a step closer to the angels, "You have no right to accuse me just because you’re angels!"

"You know who they are?"

"Yes, David, she knows! Because all this time, we’ve been trying to stop her from destroying your life!" Tess said, and looked at him, "David, Erika is a demon!"

"What?"

"She’s a demon, an apprentice, I must say, because we all know who is monitoring her: Monique, a more powerful demon than she is!"

David shook his head. "C’mon you guys, you can’t be serious!"

"Why do you think she wanted to stop you from going to the authorities an tell them the truth? She wanted to destroy Mr Evans life and having you to live with the death of an innocent in your conscience!"

"No! We were going to live together! We would raise a family together... Tell them, tell them the truth, Erika!"

She looked at him with sadness in her eyes, which suddenly turned to red ones, scaring the guy. "They’re right, David. I’m a demon."

"What? Oh God..." he spoke, with disgust, backing away from her. And that reaction brought a strange sensation of sadness to Erika.

"And everything that’s happened here tonight is connected to her actions!" Rafael completed.

"I... I didn’t know it would happen! I didn’t know Monique would do something like this!"

"Yes, you did!" Tess replied.

"No, I didn’t! Monique asked me to... to put some medicine in his juice so that he could sleep and wouldn’t go to the police to tell them the truth!"

"You did this, Erika? How could you?"

"I thought I’d be protecting you, David!"

"Protecting me? I almost died here!"

"Monique deceived me! She said nothing would happen to you!"

"I trusted you, Erika! You were the only one person who I trusted in this entire world!"

"I was trying to help you!"

"And all this time you were digging my own life sentence!" he motioned to the red Cadillac, "Tess, Rafael, could you please take me to the state prison? I need to fix a terrible mistake before it’s too late."

"Yes, baby, we’ll take you there."

"David, let me explain..."

"Stay away from me, Erika! Go back to the darkness where you belong, I don’t want to see you again!"

They got inside the Cadillac and left the place afterwards.

Erika, for herself, remained in the same place, and maybe for the first time in her existence, a single tear made its way down her cheek. What she didn’t know was that Monique was near them, hidden in the shadows, and watched as David left to the prison with the angels. "Damn it!" the demon cursed, with a red shining in her eyes and with a hoarse voice, "What were these two doing here? How could they get here before the house was on fire?"

She took a short breath, trying to calm herself, and then finally spoke, "Well, if I can’t destroy the 2 men, at least the 2 angels will die... And I guess I’ll have to make that cave collapse as fast as possible!"

*

Inside the cave, in total darkness, Andrew rested his forehead against Monica’s and only interrupted his prayers to check on her; her feeble heartbeats seemed to be about to stop at any minute.

"My angel... Please, don’t be afraid. I don’t know how or when it’ll finish, but one thing is for sure: I won’t leave you... I know that the Father wants us together, that’s why He gave us this beautiful friendship. I know that He won’t take you away from me... So I’m not afraid of what’s ahead for us to face because, in the end, we’ll be together again... I don’t care about whatever I have to go through... For you, Monica, I’ll do anything..." he whispered, and kissed her forehead, carefully holding her and stroking her cheek.

Andrew continued to pray inside the dark cave, cradling Monica in his arms, holding her as if she was the mot precious thing in Heaven and on Earth. And for him she indeed was.

All of a sudden, the blond angel heard a small noise, coming from the total darkness that surrounded them and, instinctively, he held Monica even closer to him. "Who is it?"

A second later, the light of a gas lamp, the same gas lamp he accidentally had dropped in the dark river, illuminated the place and he was surprised to see who was holding it: Erika.

"What do you want?" Andrew asked, with some anger at the demon. "Didn’t you see enough suffering? Do you want more?!"

Quietly, she gave some steps closer to the angels, looking at them with anguish in her eyes.

"Don’t you dare coming any closer! If you try to do something to hurt Monica more than she already is I swear you’ll have to face me first!!" he threatened, with fierce protection and also with anger.

"You do love her, don’t you?" Erika said, in a low voice, and with a turmoil of different thoughts going on her mind.

"More than you won’t ever understand..." he answered, looking at Monica’s pale face with a mix of sorrow and tenderness.

"You came here, you faced the darkness and the creatures... you accepted to be beaten to death to protect her..."

"And that is nothing compared to what I’d do for her. I’d accept to give my existence to spare hers a hundred times, Erika."

Those words, along with all the love and sincerity in his eyes caused some more tears to roll down on her cheeks. The blond angel raised his head and, when he saw her crying, he was surprised. "Is it my imagination or are starting to understand what this is all about?"

"I did something terrible, Andrew! with you and Monica, with an innocent man and... and with David! And he almost died because of my actions!"

"Evil always leads to destruction and sorrow, Erika. That’s the first lesson you need to learn... Monique isn’t your friend, she’s a dangerous demon and all she wants is to spread evil around her, no matter who will suffer."

"Yes... she lied to me... she said David would be fine... I thought we... we could even stay together... But now he knows the truth and he doesn’t want to see me again!"

"Do you love him?"

"Yes! Yes I do! I hadn’t realised it yet until..."

"Until?"

"Until I saw you and Monica and how much you both love each other... up to the point of giving your own lives of each other..."

"Erika, there’s no greater love than giving your life for somebody..."

"Yes, now I know you’re right cause now I know I would give my own life for David!"

"Are you being honest in what you’re saying?"

"Yes! I wanted a chance to make things right, I really want to do something good...even if I have lost David’s love... if I can redeem myself somehow, then it must be now!"

The blond angel stared at her with a puzzled face and she kept on talking, "Come with me, I can take you and Monica out of this place."

"You’re saving us?"

"No... I’m saving myself..."

He stood up holding a weak Monica in his arms, "You know you can die because of this, don’t you?"

"I’m doing the right thing, that’s what matters the most now... Maybe... God can forgive me... and if at least He does, then I’ll be in peace."

"He knows what you’re doing, Erika... And I’ll make sure that David knows that too."

Suddenly, they felt a tremor and the cave started to collapse. "Come with me!"

They ran along the cold stony tunnel, protecting themselves form the rocks that fell from the walls. Andrew lifted a silent prayer for help while he tried to shelter Monica from being hit by the stones. The blond angel was even more surprised to see how the initially shallow cave became a long endless tunnel; it was as if the light of the gas lamp opened a way ahead of them, through the darkness.

Finally, they arrived at the exit and Andrew was twice surprised to see that they were on the road he had followed to get there. A bright light suddenly started to glow at the end of the road, obfuscating even Erika’s eyes and causing Andrew to smile.

"We’re getting out of here, angel!" he spoke, close to Monica’s ear.

But, at the same time, thousands of evil creatures appeared opposite this light, at the beginning of the road. Monique was leading them and had an angry expression on her face, "Go and take them! I want them dead! The three of them! This betrayal is gonna cost you, Erika!"

With an impressive velocity, the creatures marched towards the two angels and the young demon, who turned to Andrew, "Go! Get away from here you two!"

"Come with us, Erika!"

"I can’t..."

"Of course you can, the Father’s light will shelter you!"

"You have to go now, Andrew, an I need to stay and stop them as long as I can, otherwise you won’t make it! Go now!" Erika shouted. Loud thunders and intense lightning crossed the skies and the wind started to blow stronger than before. Andrew would like to stay and help Erika but there was somebody else who needed him desperately: Monica’s existence depended on him and he had to be fast if he wanted to save her. "May God protect you, Erika." He said, and ran towards the light.

The young demon took a deep breath and faced the evil creatures and Monique. "God... I know I don’t deserve Your love and protection but... if there’s a chance for me... please use me to do something good..." she prayed; her eyes became red and suddenly the dead trees along the road were ripped from the ground and thrown against the diabolic beings. But Monique’s eyes also showed the same red colour and the trees were soon removed from their way. Erika’s reaction was immediate: the wind changed its course and started to blow against the evil army. Seconds later, it changed its course again, now blowing against Erika, almost knocking her down. She turned around and saw it when Andrew finally disappeared into the bright light at the same time the demons moved closer to her, "Help me, Father..."

*

Andrew and Monica reappeared in the same dark alley where the Irish angel had initially been captured, and when he looked around him, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank You Father!"

"Andrew?"

He immediately recognised Tess’ voice from behind them and turned around. "Tess! I brought her back, Tess!" he said, with tears in his eyes.

Also with her eyes filled with emotion, and shedding some tears, the supervisor placed her hand on his cheek, "I knew you would, baby!"

"But look at her, she’s hurt, she needs treatment!"

"Yes, and that’s why I was sent here: you two are hurt and your healing will be away from here, it’ll be at Home."

*

Andrew, Monica and Tess reappeared in a very different place: it was a vast green field, covered with green trees and fragrant flowers. It was day already and the warm sun crossed the bright blue skies. There were just a few white clouds, forming some "funny forms’, as Monica used to say, and no sign of rain. A gentle breeze was blowing against their faces while Tess and Andrew walked along the grass; the blond angel carrying a still hurt and unconscious Monica. He too was still hurt but at least he and Monica were clean again and that pleasant and beautiful scenario alone produced a sensation of inner peace.

Their clothes had changed too: now Andrew was wearing beige jeans and white T-shirt, while his two angelic friends wore long white dresses. They stopped under the shade of a huge oak tree, where a white towel and lots of cushions had been carefully arranged, and were a small chubby dog was anxiously waiting for them and happily greeted the angels.

"Hey, little one..." Andrew greeted her, watching with amusement as she moved from his feet to Tess’, wagging her tiny tail. "This little baby here has had a lot of adventures herself. I’ll tell you later," the supervisor spoke.

"I’m curious to know about it!" Andrew said, and, kneeling, he carefully placed his dearest friend on the white towel, while Tess arranged the cushions so that the little Irish angel could rest her head. The little dog whimpered when she saw her "mom’s" wounds and realised she wasn’t conscious. With a sad look in her tiny black eyes, Joy licked Monica’s face and snuggled closer to her, resting her head over the angel’s shoulder, like a loyal guardian who would remain by her side until she got better.

"She’s deeply hurt, Tess..." Andrew spoke, taking Monica’s hand into both of his and with a worried look in his eyes. The supervisor took Monica’s other hand, also with great sadness to see the angel she loved like a daughter so badly hurt. "I know... I cannot even start to imagine what you both have been through..."

"Monique captured us when we were escaping and I was beaten exhaustively by those evil creatures who serve her."

"Oh dear Father! Don’t tell me that!"

"I wanted to spare Monica’s life as much as I could but at a certain point I couldn’t stay conscious any longer and... Monica proposed Monique to give her my wounds."

"Oh angel girl... my angel girl! She has such a wonderful heart..."

"We were taken to a cave and I thought I’d lose her, Tess..."

"God..."

"But then something amazing happened: Erika showed up and saved us."

"Erika?"

"Yes. And she stood there, facing the demons and Monique so that we could escape. I don’t know what happened to her then. But I do know that she’s not a demon anymore, there’s good in her."

"Yes... yes..." the supervisor replied, listening to a silent message she had just received. "Angel boy I’ve just been told that I need to go back to Earth..." she reached out and stroked his face, "And He’s also telling me that our little angel girl here will heal and you too, baby, by His own Grace. And He asked you to stay here with her."

"There’s no other place I’d like to stay, Tess."

"I know that baby. I’ll be back later."

Andrew watched as the older angel went away and after she disappeared he turned his eyes to Monica. "I’ll be here, beside you my angel, until you get better, I promise." He spoke, kissing her hand and placing it against his heart. The blond angel stroked her hair, brushing away some lose strands that had fallen on her face due to the light breeze and watched her for long minutes. Then, feeling his own body aching with pain, he lay down next to her and placed a feather like kiss on her cheek, "I love you, my angel. And we’re in the Father’s arms. Now rest."

*

In a state prison, David watched as the first sun rays shone inside his cell. Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes for some moments: a flashback started to play in his mind. Suddenly, he heard a voice, which took him out of his reverie.

"He is taking care of you, baby, don’t be afraid." It was Tess in her angelic form. The young man nodded his head. "I know. I can feel it inside my heart. And you wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t true!"

She smiled and approached him, "Edward Evans has just been released, and thanks to you!"

"That’s great news, Tess. Thanks for telling me that!"

"And you hold on to your faith to go through the days ahead!"

"I know. This doesn’t scare me that much. I made a mistake and I have to face the consequences."

"So I assume that this trace of sadness I see in your eyes has another reason to be there..."

He lowered his head, "Erika... I never thought she could betray me like this... I thought that all she wanted was to destroy me!"

"Well, so I’m gonna tell you a story that has just happened."

"About her?"

"Yes. About how she risked her own existence to redeem herself from all the despair, pain and deception she has inflicted in you and in those around her."

"She... she risked her life? You mean she is..."

"I don’t know..."

"Oh God..."

"But when there was no more hope for two angels she was the one to save them."

*

The light that Andrew had followed to leave the dark territory where evil spread all over was still shinning when Rafael arrived there. The angel walked along the (now deserted) road that crossed the land for some minutes, examining his surroundings, when suddenly, he found what he was looking for: Erika was lying lifeless near some stones, badly hurt, maybe more than Monica. Frowning with concern and with his dark eyes filled with compassion, he knelt beside her, "Father, I hope it’s not too late..."

After they had settled under the shade of that huge oak tree, Monica and Andrew fell into a deep sleep, beaten by exhaustion and by the emotional stress of the previous dark night. During this time, a miraculous change started to happen: little by little, their wounds started a fast healing process. Of course it was still possible to see them, and they were still painful, especially for Monica, but their aspect was better only a few hours after they had arrived there.

Andrew opened his eyes and the first thing he did was to turn his face to look at Monica. Despite the healing that was occurring, she still looked weak and pale. The blond angel sat up straight and took her hand into his, kissing her palm. He carefully examined her arm, which had been hurt by one of the evil creatures at Monica’s command, and saw that the cut wasn’t as nasty as it was before. Then, he sighed deeply and brushed away some strands of hair from her face, chuckling to see Joy’s sleeping form, practically grabbing Monica’s shoulder with her little pawns, protectively like a loyal guardian.

Suddenly, he heard a low whimper and his heart started to pound faster with apprehension when Monica made the first movements, turning her head and opening her eyes a second later. And the initially fearful expression on the Irish angel’s face, probably caused by the memories of the previous awful hours, was replaced by a wide smile as soon as she lay her eyes on Andrew.

"Monica? My angel?"

She didn’t say a word; instead, gathering all her strength, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a warm embrace.

"Hey, hey, ease there, Miss Wings!" he spoke, as she winced with pain with that small movement. He carefully held her, aware of the wounds she had all over her body, and returned the embrace, making her sit for some moments and always running his fingers through her hair.

Monica rested her head on his shoulder and, even weak and in pain, she kept her embrace for long minutes and started to cry. He wanted to tell her to stop; he wanted to assure that everything was alright now and that they were safe there, but he couldn’t. First because he was sure that she knew all this. And second because he too felt tears in the corner of his eyes and all he wanted to do at that very moment was to hold her tight and cry of joy together with her.

Only some time later, when Monica started to sob, did he speak again, in an attempt to calm her. "My angel... you need to lie down... you’re still weak..."

"You were in my thoughts and in my prayers all the time..." she finally spoke, never releasing her hold on him.

"I never doubted that, Monica. And be sure that you were in mine."

"I know..."

He pulled just a few inches away to look at her face, and stroked her cheek, "God... it’s so good to see you talking to me again... Now I only need that same big smile you had on your face when you opened your eyes..."

A wide, yet trembling smile, like the one she gave when she woke up, appeared on Monica’s face, together with the many tears that were still falling from her eyes. "Hey, here it is! Keep it with you, ok? I’m gonna need it later!"

"Ok... I will..." she replied, as he helped her to wipe away her tears.

"I’m gonna help you to lie down again, ok? You still need to rest a lot! Besides... there’s somebody here who is eager to hug and kiss her ‘mom’!" he spoke, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. And, at the moment he placed Monica back in the pillows, Joy practically jumped on her chest and started to cover the angel’s face with lots of tiny kisses, causing Monica to giggle.

"That’s it, good girl!" Andrew said, also receiving wet kisses from the excited little animal. "She stood here by your side all the time; protecting her mom like a lion!"

"I know that..." Monica stroked Joy’s soft fur and kissed the top of her head. "I never doubted of how brave our wee one is!"

The spark of happiness in her eyes caused his heart to melt and, still sitting beside her, he gently soothed her hair, "How could you do it, Monica? How could you risk yourself so much?" his tone of voice was a serious, yet, caring one.

"I guess I should be asking you the same thing..."

"I could’ve lost you, angel."

"And I could’ve lost you... When... When I saw you so badly hurt I got so desperate... you shouldn’t have done that, Andrew!"

"And watch Monique hurt you? No..." he shook his head. "Nothing in the world could cause me more pain that seeing you suffering or not having you here by my side, Monica. For you, angel, there’s nothing, I said nothing I wouldn’t do. You can be sure that these arms here will always be your shelter."

With a tearful smile on her face, she reached out and stroked his face, "Could you do something for me, then?"

"Sure..."

"Can you hold me? I’m sure you’ve been doing it since we got here but I’ve missed that cause I was unconscious and that’s not fair!"

Smiling, he lay down beside her and waited until she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Then, the blond angel passed his arm around her own small shoulders, being extremely careful not to hurt her, and kissed the top of her head. Little Joy, for herself, lay down between the two angels and they remained like this for a good time, falling asleep lulled by the gentle breeze that was blowing across the vast field, spreading the pleasant perfume of wild flowers in the air.

*

Rafael knelt next to Erika and touched her face: that light contact caused her to whimper and the angel to sigh with relief: she was alive. "Erika? Can you listen to me? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, the young demon opened her eyes and saw Rafael’s glowing form standing in front of her. "You’re an angel too..."

"Yes, I am. And I was sent here to rescue you!"

"... at least my suffering will finish..." she said, with a weak smile.

"No... I’m not that kind of angel... I’m a caseworker, like Monica."

He took the young demon in his arms and started to walk back towards the same intense light that had guided him there, and finally left the dark territory.

Rafael and Erika reappeared in the dark alley where Monica had been captured and where Tess was already waiting for them in her Cadillac. "C’mon baby, put her in the backseat and let’s get to the hospital before it’s too late!"

Ten minutes later, the 2 angels arrived at the biggest hospital in town and Erika was soon placed in a stretcher and taken to the ICU. Rafael and Tess were told to wait while the doctors took care of her.

"I just hope she gets better, Tess. When I got there, in that... place... and saw her lying on the dirty ground so badly hurt... I felt so much compassion for her soul, even knowing what she is..."

"Correction: who she was, baby!"

"You mean she’s not a demon anymore?"

"No. That young lady had a noble, courageous attitude when she walked out on Monique and, consequently, the one she represents, to help two angels of God and try to redeem herself from the evil she had inflicted in some people’s lives. And she didn’t think, not even for a moment, about how dangerous it could’ve been, not even the possibility of losing her life could stop her from doing what was right."

"Yes, I see. And I guess that’s another reason why I feel sorry for her." Rafael spoke.

"Besides, it’s far too clear that she didn’t mean to hurt David; at least not intentionally."

"You mean she realised she actually loves David?"

"Yes, that’s it."

"I bet all the disappointment he felt when he found out she was a demon caused her to act like that."

The supervisor shook her head. "No, it was something that happened right before that."

"Really? What was it then?"

"She spent most of that night watching as Monique tortured Monica and Andrew; she noticed how much those two babies love each other and I’m pretty sure she witnessed how much Andrew was willing to sacrifice his existence for Monica, as well as how Monica was willing to sacrifice her own existence for that angel boy. Their special friendship, which comes from the Father Himself, made that miracle come true!"

At that moment, a doctor made his way through the corridor up to them. "Excuse me, you’re the ones who brought that young lady, right?"

"Yes. My name is Tess, this is my friend Rafael."

"I’m doctor Perkins." He said, shaking hands with them.

"How is she doctor?"

"Well, I have to be honest with you... her condition is critical. She’s in a coma and my colleagues and I are treating her wounds, she’s broken some ribs and her arm; and she has many injuries all over her body."

"Oh poor child..." the older angel said.

"Are you related?"

"No... we found her next to the road, but we would like to stay here and pray for her," Rafael answered.

"That’s very kind of you, son. And yes, please pray for her, she’ll need all the help we can get."

Monica was sitting on a white towel under the shade of a huge oak tree, enjoying the soft breeze that never stopped from spreading the perfume of thousands of flowers and the warm sun that shone through the blue sky, and, most importantly, enjoying to play with little Joy. Andrew had left for a while, right before she woke up, and during this short time, the little chubby dog had entertained her "mom" by playing with the cushions, running clumsily to fetch a small ball made with a series of knots in "somebody’s" shoe laces or by visibly enjoying when Monica tickled her roundish belly.

The Irish angel was exactly doing this when Andrew reappeared, chuckling to see such image. "And now you find it funny, right?" he spoke.

"Well, you both deserve it for all the times you did this to me! It’s her turn now!"

He shook his head with amusement, "Well, concerning me you can forget about it, cause there are two distinguished angel categories: the ones who tickle and the ones to be tickled. I am in the first category and you are in the second, Miss Wings!" he replied, watching as a slight indignant expression appeared on her face.

"I am sure this can be changed someday! Besides, look at this wee baby, she’s enjoying it!"

He knelt right beside her, kissing the top of her head, and gave her a small bouquet with delicate flowers.

"Oh, they’re lovely!" she exclaimed.

"I have something else to give you... I mean, to give back to you..."

"What is it?"

The blond angel reached inside his pocket and showed her the gold necklace with a gold angel pendant liked to it, his Christmas present for her and which had almost been lost some nights earlier.

"Oh Andrew!"

"The clasp was fixed. Allow me?"

"Please. I didn’t like to be away from it for such a long time." He put her hair aside and placed on the delicate jewel back around her neck.

"Well, it’s back to its place again."

"Thank you... Can we go for a walk until the lake? I’m a wee bit tired of staying here, you know."

"Are you sure you’re feeling alright?" the look on his face turned into a more concerned one.

"Yes! The cuts on my feet have disappeared already!" she spoke, showing him the soles on her small feet and contracting her toes, causing him to chuckle. "Besides, I’m feeling much better, Andrew, and I think we should go down to Earth to..."

"Hey, hey, hey! You said you wanted to go for a walk until the lake and that’s all you’ll get; nothing else!"

Smiling cheerfully, she sighed deeply and nodded her head obediently, "Ok... I’ll behave myself!"

"Good." He stood up and helped her to her feet, "Are you really sure?"

"Yes! Let’s go, I need to walk around barefoot, I miss that!"

"Well, I guess I’ll have to do that too..." he said, with a mock upset glare, accusingly showing her the ball of knots she had made with his shoelaces for Joy to play – after the little dog had ripped them off his shoes herself. "Something strange happened with my shoelaces!"

Unsuccessfully trying to hide her smile, she took the playful chubby dog in her arms and hugged her tightly, "Mommy and daddy have to buy you some new toys, right wee one?" she received lots of kisses in reply. Then she turned to Andrew, "She’s such an adorable wee baby!"

Then, watching as he rolled his eyes and knowing that he wasn’t really upset, she grabbed his hand, "Now let’s go! I want to see the lake!"

*

In prison, David walked from one side to another inside his cell, running his fingers through his hair. All of a sudden, Rafael showed up in his angelic from. "Rafael... I... I was waiting for you or Tess... I need to know..."

"How Erika is?"

"Yes!"

"I found her and Tess and I took her to the hospital... but I’ll be honest... she’s deeply hurt."

"Oh no! No, not Erika!"

"She’s now in human form, once she helped Andrew and Monica and spoiled Monica’s plans, she lost her demon status and became a simple mortal. And in consequence, she’s exposed to all sorts of dangers a human being is."

"She’s so vulnerable and fragile..."

"Yes. She’s in a comma and the doctors are treating her injuries, which were many."

"Oh God..." some tears formed in the corner of his eyes and he sat down, staring at the ground, "The way I treated her when we last saw each other... I shoved her out of my life, Rafael! I told her awful words!"

"Angry words said when you knew all the truth about her; but not entirely true, I’m sure."

"No! I didn’t mean them, I was angry with her; I was still taken aback by the entire truth but... The truth, the real truth is that I love her, Rafael! I love her so much! We were making plans, we... we even talked about marriage!"

"And I can assure you that these weren’t in Monique’s original plan and that Erika was being honest with you then."

"What do I do now?" he asked, finally raising his head.

The young angel stepped closer to him and placed his hand over his shoulders, "Pray."

*

Two days later, at the city hospital, Tess was standing next to Erika’s bed, in the ICU, with her hands conjoined and praying. The girl’s condition had remained the same since she had arrived there and the doctors were doing everything they could to save her. All of a sudden, Erika moved her hand, interrupting the old angel’s prayers.

"Erika? Baby?"

A low whimper was her reply, followed by a movement with her head.

"Oh Father! She’s getting out of the comma!" the supervisor exclaimed.

*

"... I’m really enjoying coming here everyday, you know, it’s one of my favourite places here in Heaven..." Monica spoke, sitting on a rock, resting her head on Andrew’s shoulder and watching as the water run over their feet.

"And I’m really enjoying to see you’re getting better each and every minute, my angel. In two days we’ve been here, the wounds and injuries on your body have practically disappeared!" he spoke, absentmindedly playing with a lock of her hair.

"And the same happened to you, Andrew! I’m so glad that the Father performed this miracle with us..." she said, with a rather pensive expression on her face, which he didn’t miss.

"But there’s something else on you pretty little head, right?"

Monica looked at him with a smile, "Well... now that we’re practically healed I guess we should go back to Earth, Andrew. I am worried about Erika... Tess said she’s in critical condition and I’ve been praying for her so much!"

"Yes, me too... She practically gave up herself to save us; not even for a moment did she fear facing Monique and all those evil creatures so that I could go out of that place with you."

"I want so much to see her..."

"So you two better move your angel butts cause you’re going to Earth right now!" another voice came to their ears and they turned around to see Tess standing right behind them.

"Really Tess? Can we go there? can we see Erika?" the Irish angel asked, already on her feet and all excited.

"Yes!"

*

The doctors were finishing to exam the young lady who had miraculously got out of the comma, surprising even themselves and the nurses at the hospital.

"I’m really impressed, Erika. There are very few people I see returning form the deep comma you were in."

"... would you say it’s a miracle then, doctor?" she asked, with a low and weak voice, but also with a smile upon her pale face.

"Yes. That’s the best explanation I can use to describe it!" the man said. "I’ll come back later, ok? you try to rest as much as you can."

When he left the bedroom of the ICU, the girl closed her eyes for some seconds, lifting a prayer of thanks not only for her recuperation but also for the second chance it represented in her life. but, all of a sudden, she heard a familiar voice and opened her eyes.

"Hello, baby, we’re all glad to see you’re getting better!"

Tess, Monica, Andrew and Rafael, all of them in their angelic form, surrounded her bed and, seeing all the angels together caused her smile to grow wider.

"Monica... Andrew.... you’re safe..."

"Yes, we are, and it’s thanks to the Father and to you!" the Irish angel spoke, taking her hand.

Then, the young lady turned to her left, "Tess... I guess I felt your presence here with me all the time..."

"Yes, baby, that’s right. I stood here by your side praying for your recovery."

"Thank you..." then, she looked at Rafael, "And you are Rafael, right?"

"Yes. I guess we all first met in a rather disastrous night!"

"Rafael was the angel that rescued you from that dark place." The supervisor explained. Erika’s eyes grew wide, "Oh God! Really? Then I own you my life! Thank you so much!"

"No... Don’t thank me, Erika. Thank God; He’s the One who you own your life to."

"Yes, you’re right... But I should also thank you because you were the angels He sent to help me, to rescue not only my body but also my soul. When we first met, I didn’t realise that. Please, forgive me."

"You don’t need to apologise, Erika."

"Not with words, because you already apologised with your actions." Monica and Andrew respectively said. She looked at them two angels and nodded her head. "See what you two were capable of doing for each other... It was all the love in your hearts that made me act like that..."

Watching as they exchanged a moved glance, and as Andrew placed his hand over Monica’s shoulder, she lowered her eyes for a moment. "At least you two are together..." the young woman spoke, with sadness evident in her eyes.

Filled with sorrow for Erika, Monica looked at an equally sad Andrew again, and after at Rafael and Tess, and, to her surprise, their two angelic friends smiled mysteriously.

A month after she had got out of the comma, Erika was finally ready to leave hospital and start a new live as a secretary in the car workshop where Monica, Andrew and Rafael worked, as they were leaving soon.

Tess, Monica and Andrew went to the hospital to pick her up and when the young woman stepped out of the building, the morning sun rays touched her face, causing her to smile. "Of Father, thank you..." she whispered.

"There’s a bag of clothes in the car and you have a small apartment rented not far from here." The supervisor spoke.

"I don’t know what to say..."

"Well you’ve just said everything when you crossed that door, baby!"

Monica placed a supportive hand over her shoulder, with a cheerful expression on her face, and then looked at her two dearest friends somewhat anxiously, "Can we go now?"

"Sure!" Andrew replied, enthusiastically. They got into the red Cadillac and Tess turned the motor on.

*

Half hour later, the oldest angel stopped the car in front of a prison building and Erika’s smile was replaced by a worried frown. "What... What are we doing here?" she said, her voice trembling with apprehension.

The Irish angel looked at her questioningly, "Don’t you think there’s someone you should visit?"

"He doesn’t want to see me again..." the girl replied, feeling the presence of tears threatening her eyes.

"That’s what he said in a moment of anger..." Andrew interrupted her, "But don’t you think you should listen to what he has to say to you now?"

"I’m afraid..."

"I cannot believe someone who faced the darkness and the evil to save two complete strangers is afraid..." Monica said.

They walked along the corridors of the building up to a meeting room, where Rafael and David had been sitting for some time. When the officer opened the door and Erika entered, together with the other angels, the young man stood up and walked over to her. No words were spoken between them, but the tight, almost fierce embrace the couple shared, spoke a lot.

"Erika... I’m so... so terribly sorry for the things I said to you at that night... I’m so terribly ashamed of them right now..."

"And I’m sorry for everything I did to you... the trouble brought to your life... for every lie I told you... I’m the one who’s ashamed now..."

"It doesn’t matter anymore, sweetie!" he pulled away just a few inches to look at her face, "When Rafael told me you were in hospital, so badly hurt... when I was faced with the possibility of losing you, I realised I loved you a lot more than I myself knew!"

Those words caused two big tears to fall from her eyes, "So... Do you still love me? Do you still accept the love I have to give you?"

He gently wiped her tears away, "I am the one to make that question; I am the one who has to ask you for your forgiveness and for you love..."

He knelt in front of her and held her hand, "Would you please, give me this honour?"

Erika shed more tears and, sobbing, she also knelt on the floor. "My forgiveness and my love? There’s only one of these two things I can give you... my love for you, Dave. That’s what saved me; that’s what made me a real person. I cannot forgive because there’s nothing to forgive. Nothing. Everything bad that has happened was only a bad dream, a nightmare that is already over. I love you, Dave. I love you with all my heart."

"I love you too, Erika. God, I love you so much..."

And then they shared a loving kiss, sealing all the love and affection both felt for each other maybe from the first moment they had met, almost a year earlier, and which not even the most evil creatures could destroy.

And, being such a sensitive little angel, the inevitable happened: Monica started to cry with that moving and emotional scene. Andrew was quick to give her a handkerchief and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him and kissing the top of her head. Gratefully, but not less calm, she buried her face in his chest and continued to cry.

Although they were a bit ‘emotionally stronger’ than the Irish angel; Andrew, Rafael and Tess exchanged a contented and equally moved look: it was far too clear that the love David and Erika shared was so strong that it had managed to defeat the most dangerous threat in this world: evil itself.

****

"Joy, how in the world did you manage to get there?!" Monica spoke, finding the little puppy dog trapped in a stone far from the bank of the lake she and Andrew had been visiting in the last few days. After David and Erika’s meeting at the prison, the two angels had been given some more days off and decided to spend most of their time in Heaven, at the same spot they had stayed to heal their injuries.

When they finally found their ‘precious baby’, Andrew chuckled at the worried look on Monica’s face and, knowing that the water level was just a bit over her knees, he sat down on a stone and crossed his arms. "Well, there she is!"

"She needs help!" the Irish angel spoke, looking at him with a pleading face. but her dearest friend didn’t make any movement. "Well, the last time I ‘rescued’ our precious baby, I ended up all covered with mud; so this time it’ll be her mom to do the rescue!"

Monica stared at him slightly indignantly, "Oh... But this is a lake, the water is crystal clear..."

"Another reason for you to do it, my angel!"

Even more annoyed, she sighed deeply, "Very well then!"

Then, she entered the lake and walked carefully in the puppy’s direction. Highly amused, Andrew was unsuccessfully trying to hold his laugher as his dearest friend stepped clumsily in the water. Joy, for herself, stopped barking and was suspiciously eyeing her mom coming closer to her. With the water level over her knees, the hem of her long white dress became wet, causing it to be a bit more difficult to walk.

"You’re a very naughty wee angel puppy sometimes, you know?" she exclaimed, hearing a feeble bark in reply. But when the angel came closer to Joy, she stumbled into one of the many small stones in the bottom of the lake and lost her balance, falling in the water a second later.

Being so protective of the little angel, Andrew’s smile was immediately replaced by a worried frown and, feeling terribly guilty, he stood up and rushed towards Monica, who remained on her knees, now completely wet.

"Monica? Monica did you get hurt?" he asked.

"No..." she spoke, hiding a mischievous smile upon her face, "Just a wee bit wet!" and then he was taken by surprise with the sudden splash of crystalline water right on him. "Hey!" he exclaimed, taken off guard with that sudden attack.

"And if mommy gets wet, daddy gets wet too!" she spoke, never stopping to throw water on him.

The sound of her laugher put his heart at ease a second later, reaching his ears like a pleasant melody. "Oh yeah? You asked for it, mommy!" With a smile back on his handsome face, Andrew splashed her in return, now listening to her squealing and Joy’s excited barks.

"But what the heck is going on here?" Tess’ strong voice echoed through the air and the two younger angels stopped that little ‘war’ when they saw her glaring at them with a stern expression on her dripping face. And when they realised they had accidentally splashed the supervisor, Monica and Andrew looked at each other without knowing what to say.

"Tess..."

"We..."

"We were..."

"I know exactly what you were doing! Setting a bad example to my little baby girl!" she stormed, and looking at the small puppy – who had the most innocent face in the world, "Come here with grandma, baby! You don’t need to watch this!"

And surprisingly, the chubby little dog got into the water and moved her tiny paws, swimming until the bank of the lake and causing her ‘parents’ to stare at each other with shocked faces.

"I thought she was in trouble! I didn’t know she..."

"Spare me from your feeble excuses, Miss Wings!" Tess replied, gathering the chubby dog in her arms.

"But Tess, she was..."

"No ‘buts’, Mr Halo! And... if you think you’re gonna get into my car like this to spoil my upholstery, you’re way too mistaken!" she walked away from them with the naughty little dog in her arms. Monica and Andrew looked at each other and on the following second, burst into laugher.

*

"I’m glad that Monica, Tess, Andrew and wee Joy are visible tonight! They’re so beautiful!" Monica spoke, sitting on the back seat of Tess’ Cadillac, next to Andrew. After the little mess at the lake, they had changed into warm clothes and Tess finally agreed to lend them her ‘baby’ so that they could go back to Earth and watch the stars at that pleasant night. He had turned the radio on and while they listened to some soft music, they studied the starry sky, like they always did whenever they had some free time.

"Very well! I can see you didn’t forget "the angels’ constellation" that was created about a year ago during our last days off! I’m glad for..." but his sentence was suddenly interrupted by aloud sneeze. A rather guilty expression appeared on Monica’s face, as she knew exactly what had caused that, "Oh, Andrew... I’m so terribly sorry... I... I didn’t expect you to get a flu, you know..."

He crossed his arms with a mock upset expression on his face. "You cheated me in order to attract me to that lake! You and that equally mischievous baby of yours!"

Finding his annoyance rather funny, she tried to suppress a smile, "Aw... She just wanted to play with us a little! And... Andrew, she’s your baby too!"

"Well, that kind of behaviour she certainly didn’t get from me!" he replied, looking at her face and having trouble to keep his fake grumpy mood.

With a cheerful smile, she kept on talking, "But don’t you love us just the same?"

That question defeated him, "Well... you’re changing the subject here, Miss Wings!"

Then, the little Irish angel couldn’t resist any longer and wrapped her arms around his neck, in a tight warm embrace, and placed a tender kiss on his cheek, "Will you forgive me?"

"Hum... I don’t know..." he had an adorable look of indecision in his eyes. Giggling at his ‘lost puppy’ face, she abandoned the back seat for a moment.

"Then wait here..."

Now with a confused frown, he watched as Monica opened the glove compartment, picked up a small present box, and returned to her previous place, "... I had bought it before I... well... before we had that little incident in the lake, but it can also be an apology..."

Surprised and deeply moved with that lovely attitude, Andrew stopped his little game and gently lay the palm of his hand on her cheek, "Monica... angel, you shouldn’t have done that, I ..."

"Oh but of course I should!" she gently objected, "You’re the one who is always saving and protecting me, the one angel that has always the right and kind words to reassure me... I just wanted to say thanks..."

"Monica, you’re my dearest friend... you know that everything I do for you comes from the love I feel right here in my heart and that you don’t have to give me anything in return except this pretty smile upon your face, don’t you?" he spoke, with a serious face and yet tender look in his green eyes.

"I know... but I wanted you to have this with you so that when we’re not together you can think of me."

Now chuckling as if he had ever needed an object to think about that beautiful little angel, he hugged her tightly and placed a loving kiss on her forehead. "Let me get this straight... so that’s a kind of reminder that somewhere out there there’s a certain gorgeous and adorable angel girl, with a lovely smile, a charming accent, a warm heart and the most gentle soul I’ve ever known, huh? Ok, I guess it can help me!" he spoke, with a playful tone in his voice, and, happy to hear her giggling, he opened the box: it was a beautiful sterling silver ball point pen.

"So... did you like it?" Monica anxiously asked, watching as a content smile appeared on his face.

"Monica it’s gorgeous! It’s really beautiful!" he said, truly happy with that small gift. Monica heaved a sigh of relief. "I thought it could also be useful in some of your assignments..."

"It’s a really good idea, Monica and yes, I guess I’ll need it very soon. I’ll keep it with me forever." He placed a tender kiss on her cheek and then stroked her face with tenderness, "Angel... have you any idea how much I love you?"

"Hum... looking back at the last few years since we first met I guess I have..."

He inched closer and held her tightly in a warm, big hug. When they finally pulled away, he kissed her forehead and reached for his pocket watch. "Let me show you something... Can you see the second hand of this watch?"

"Yes..." she said, with the same smile but not fully understanding what he was trying to say.

"There isn’t a single moment it moves that I’m not thinking about you, angel, you can be sure of that."

Monica’s smile grew wider and, this time, it was her who hugged him tightly, "I love you too."

Smiling, he pulled away just a few inches to check on his watch again, "And, well, I have something to give to you too... It’s not a present but some things I wanted you to know and now it’s time..."

Confused all over again, she watched as he reached out and turned the volume of the radio up. "Now listen carefully, ok?"

"Well... ok, then..." Monica answered, still intrigued with what he had in mind. The radio program they had been listening to was the kind of show in which the audience could phone the radio station and ask for a song, offering it to someone special. They heard as the radio presenter started to read the message.

The Irish angel’s eyes grew wide in surprise and she looked at her dearest friend with excited brown eyes. "That’s us?"

"Well... yes..." he answered, chuckling at her childlike excitement. "I was looking of a song to play for you and then I found this one and, considering everything we’ve been through some weeks ago, I thought the lyrics would be quite suitable."

The little angel’s smile grew wider as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder bringing her closer to him. "Now listen."

"Ok..." she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

[i]"For You I Will" (by Monica)

When you're feeling lost in the night,
When you feel your world just ain't right
Call on me, I will be waiting
Count on me, I will be there
Anytime the times get too tough,
Anytime your best ain't enough
I'll be the one to make it better,
I'll be there to protect you,
See you through,
I'll be there and there is nothing
I won't do.

I will cross the ocean for you
I will go and bring you the moon
I will be your hero your strength
Anything you need
I will be the sun in your sky
I will light your way for all time
Promise you,
For you I will.

I will shield your heart from the rain
I will let no harm come your way
Oh these arms will be your shelter
No these arms won't let you down,
If there is a mountain to move
I will move that mountain for you
I'm here for you, I'm here forever
I will be your fortress, tall and strong
I'll keep you safe,
I'll stand beside you, right or wrong

I will cross the ocean for you
I will go and bring you the moon (yeah, yeah)
I will be your hero your strength
anything you need (I will be..)
I will be the sun in your sky
I will light your way for all time
Promise you
For you I will

For you I will, lay my life on the line
For you I will fight, oooooh
For you I will die
With every breath, with all my soul
I'll give my world
I'll give it all
Put your faith in me (put you're faith in me)
And I'll do anything

I will cross the ocean for you (I will cross the ocean for you)
I will go and bring you the moon
I will be your hero your strength
Anything you need
I will be the sun in your sky
I will light your way for all time
Promise you (Promise you)
For you I will, I will, I will, I will,

I will cross the ocean for you
I will go and bring you the moon
I will be your hero your strength
Anything you need, (Anything you need)
I will be the sun in your sky (yeah, yeah)
I will light your way for all time
Promise you (I promise you)
For you I will (Ooooh)
I promise you
For you I will [/i]

The melody died little by little and when Andrew pulled away to look at her face he saw that she was crying. "Oh Andrew.... It’s beautiful!"

"Yes, but it’s not supposed to make you cry!" he said, smiling and gently wiping away her tears.

"I can’t help crying, you know that!" she replied, and he nodded his head understandingly.

"Yeah I know this kind loving heart of yours pretty well!" he cupped her chin so that she could face him, "These are just some of the things I’d do for you, my angel. And no matter what happens, no matter how hard an assignment is or the danger it involves... No matter how difficult the situation you’re going through is, one thing you can always be sure of: I’m here for you, Monica. I’m here forever."

"I know... in fact, I know that very well, more than I’d like to know..." she placed her hand against his face, "And you can be sure I will always do the same for you.."

"I guess now it’s my turn to say that I know that..."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose. Then, the little Irish angel buried her face in his chest again, still sniffling.

"Monica sings beautifully... Quite ironic, isn’t it?"

"Hum... not really. I’d say it all depends on the point of view..." Andrew spoke, softly running his fingers through her perfumed hair.

"What do you mean?" she raised her head to look at him.

"She can sing beautifully but... it’s your voice that touches my heart, angel!" he said, touching her nose and smiling tenderly at her. With a tearful smile, she tightened her hold on him and the two angels remained in a pleasant silence, enjoying being in each other’s arms, listening to the beautiful songs and watching the lovely night sky, covered with thousands of bright stars. They lifted a silent prayer of thanks for receiving the most precious gift the Father could give them – their friendship, and watched, with contented faces, as a white dove cooed and perched on the hood of Tess’ Cadillac.

The end.