A blessed love
Both angels sat at the edge of the ravine, with a breathtaking view right in front of them. Standing right beside Andrew, Monica rested her head on his shoulder, while he started to run his fingers though her hair, and the two watched in silence as the sky started to change its colour.
“It’s so beautiful...”
“Yes, angel, it really is. It’s times like these that I feel closer to God, even being here on Earth.”
“Me too. It seems that the Father is listening to our prayers and sending His blessings...”
Andrew nodded his head with a serious, almost sad expression on his face. “I know He’s listening... I just hope that, some day, he can send His blessing...”
The Irish angel turned her head to face him, immediately aware that there was something wrong. “Andrew? What is it? You’ve got sad suddenly...” she spoke, tenderly stroking his cheek. He sighed and looked deep inside her eyes, taking her hand and kissing her palm. “I love you so much, Monica...”
Those words caused a tiny smile to appear on her face, “You know I love you too, with all my heart and soul, don’t you?”
An equally small smile played on his lips, “I do, angel. I can feel it right here...” he said, pointing to his heart. “... and this feeling we share is so precious to me; so special that, sometimes, I wish... that we had a way to symbolise this bond. Sometimes, I wish we had something that could represent our love; that could be my way to say how much I love you over and over again, through all the eternity...”
As Monica heard his words, tears started to form in the corner of her eyes and, for a moment, she lowered her head. Andrew was quick to cup her chin and lift it up again. “Angel?”
When the Irish angel spoke again, she was already crying. “Yes... I am an angel... but I’m not perfect, you know... I have faults too...”
“I... I don’t understand...”
“What I mean is that one of my worst fault is to watch human beings falling in love, getting married and raising a family... and, for a split second, envy them...” She let out a small sob and held him tightly, burying her face in his chest. “And sometimes while I watch them... I just start picturing myself in their place... with you, Andrew.”
The blond angel closed his eyes and tightened his hold on her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. He too used to picture himself beside that little Irish angel, who he loved so much. He too longed for a day when the Father would bestow upon them one of the most important blessings two souls who loved each other could receive. And now, hearing her words, Andrew felt a surge of deep happiness to know that he and his beloved Monica shared the same dream.
Seconds later, she kept on talking, “I... I start to imagine what it would be like if we could receive a special blessing, such as being allowed to marry each other. Because, other than the Father Himself, there’s one and only creature in the entire universe I’d like to belong to...” Monica pulled away and looked at his green eyes, “And that one is you, Andrew.”
Lost for words, the blond angel lay the palm of his hand against her cheek, watching as she immediately leaned on his touch. “I’d never say this is a fault, angel... Much on the contrary: I’d call it a wonderful dream. And I have this dream too. There hasn’t been a single day I don’t think about it; there hasn’t been a single day I don’t pray for it to come true... To be able to say that, besides our creator, I belong to you...” He wiped away her tears and took her hands into both of his, “And I promise you I won’t give up! I’ll keep on praying that one day, you’ll be mine!”
With a broad yet tearful smile, she looked deep inside his green eyes, “I’ll keep on praying too. But I want you to know that I’m already yours, Andrew. This heart of mine belongs to you and it always will!”
“So does mine, angel.”
Their lips collided seconds later, in a slow, long loving kiss that just corroborated the loving words spoken by the two heavenly beings in that secluded part of Earth.
When they parted, Monica was quick to kiss his cheek and wrap her arms around his neck in a warm embrace, while he too held her tightly in his strong arms, desperately needing to feel that sweet closeness between them; both angels lifting one more silent prayer for their wishes to come true.
A long minute later, Andrew pulled away and kissed her lips once again. “Let’s go back now before it gets dark?”
“Oh yes, I love this place but I wouldn’t like to walk around in the dark, ya know...” she replied, still sniffling. He helped her on her feet, “So it means there’ll be no little angel running around huh?”
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a light squeeze, and the two angels returned to the same place where, one hour before, they had been observing the clouds. The sky was already getting dark when they arrived there and, to Monica’s surprise, they didn’t find only a pair of sandals and a white towel but, a big tent, with rollmats and pillows, a fire (that had already been previously lit up) and some food.
“Andrew, look!”
“I just hope it’s your coffee inside that thermos flask.” He replied, with a pleased expression. Standing on the tip of her toes, Monica placed a tiny kiss on his lips, “You and the Father are in this together, aren’t you?”
“Well... He did ask me to take a good care of his angel girl, didn’t he?”
X
After having a delicious dinner, prepared of course by Andrew, the two angels lay down by the fire to watch the sky, fully covered with sparkling stars.
“... The Andromeda Galaxy seems more visible than never...” Monica said, looking at the sky with marvelled brown eyes and snuggling close to Andrew.
“Yes... We’ve been blessed with great weather today, the sky is so clear.” The blond angel spoke, softly running his fingers through her hair.
Monica turned to face him with a somewhat suspenseful and serious expression upon her meek face, “Andrew...”
“Yes, angel?” he replied, looking back at her.
“Remember when you taught me about the stars and the galaxies?”
Chuckling with some amusement, he placed some strands of her hair behind her ear, “And how in the world would I forget about one of the best moments we spent together, huh?”
Hearing that, her smile returned and, after he had placed a kiss on the top of her head, she kept on talking, “Well... When you told me that the Andromeda galaxy is formed by thousands of stars but, because it’s so distant, they all look like one, I found it similar to us, ya know...”
“To us?”
“Yes... You and I are two different angels but I feel that our souls are so deeply connected that we seem like one...”
The cute way she had said that – as if she was revealing a big, well hidden secret, combined with her loving and sincere words, caused his heart to practically melt and the blond angel tightened his hold on her with emotion evident in his green eyes.
“Oh Monica... You’re so precious, angel...” he said, kissing her forehead and tenderly stroking her cheek.
“I didn’t tell you that then because at that time, I didn’t know that... that I was in love with you...” watching as she was slightly blushed when she said that, Andrew chuckled even more amused, and inched his face closer to hers, “Well, in that case I have to tell you a little secret about that night...”
“What secret, Andrew?”
“While I was there, teaching you about the stars and the galaxies; watching as your eyes were shining with enthusiasm to learn all those things, suddenly I felt like telling you something...”
“Telling me what?”
“How much I loved you, angel...”
“Really?” her smile was such a happy one that it seemed it was the first time he had said those words. with his heart filled with tenderness, Andrew touched her nose with his finger, “Yes, Monica. It’s been a long time I’ve been carrying this feeling for you inside my heart... As a matter of fact, although I didn’t notice it at first, I started loving you since we first met...”
Somewhat ashamedly, she sighed lightly, “Even with me being so unkind to you?”
Laughing, he brushed a kiss on her forehead, “You know I find you quite cute when you get mad, don’t you?”
Monica gently lay the palm of her hand on his face, so that he could bend his head a little, and then kissed his cheek. Soon afterward, his smile turned into a mischievous one. “And... I have another little secret to tell you...”
“Another one?”
“Yes... right now, I feel like doing something I didn’t have courage to do at that night...”
“Doing what?” she asked, innocently.
“This...” their faces were only a few inches from each other and he just had move forward to press his lips against hers. Their kiss was sweet and slow, full of emotion and of the deepest and purest love in the whole universe. And, a long minute later, that long loving kiss turned into soft little ones.
“We had so many happy moments together in the past...” she said, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms.
“Yes, that’s true. And we’ll have many more, angel, I promise!” he replied, lovingly brushing his thumb on her temple.
“I know we will...”
Andrew’s gentle caresses and the fact that she felt so comfortable in his arms caused her eyelids to grow heavier and the little Irish angel couldn’t help yawning.
“It looks like all that caffeine is finally losing its effect, huh?”
She smiled, slightly blushed, “It wasn’t that much...”
“Three large cups and an entire thermos flask weren’t much?”
Blushing with some embarrassment, she lowered her eyes for a second, “well, you drank a wee bit of it too...”
“Yes, half cup! And I was surprised with the fact that you actually offered me some!” Enjoying to hear her giggling, he added, “If Tess knows how much coffee I let you drink she’ll kill me!”
“She won’t! I won’t let her...” Monica inched closer and kissed his cheek and his lips one more time.
“Hum... a protector?”
“Yes...” her eyes were almost closing, and, as she said that, the little Irish angel fell into a deep sleep, resting her head over his chest. Andrew watched her for some moments and the memories of the explosion nearly a month before, came back to his mind – he had been so desperate knowing that that warm hearted creature was badly hurt and suffering with pain.
The blond angel tightened his hold on her protectively, and kissed the top of her head. “Oh Father... I keep on asking things from You but I cannot forget to thank You for healing this angel who I love so much and to allow her to come back to my arms... I was so afraid to lose her and now I’m just so grateful for holding her tight in my arms again. Thank You for making it possible...” he whispered, and kissed the top of her head. It was true he wanted a special blessing upon the love they both felt for each other – which was holy too. But just being able to hold her again and to hear her laugher was already enough to fill his existence with joy. “She herself is a gift to me, Father. A very special gift; the most precious blessing you could ever give me and for which I’ll be eternally grateful.”
He finished his prayer and continued to stroke Monica’s hair, unable to sleep and then miss one more second at her side. The night air was getting cold and the fire started to become extinct. Carefully, so that she wouldn’t wake up, Andrew gathered the Irish angel in his arms and carried her to inside the tent. He was specially careful to place her head on a soft pillow and covered her small form with a warm quilt, and then, he lay down by her side and also grabbed himself another pillow. But, only a few moments later, Monica stirred and, without opening her eyes, muttered one single word, “Andrew...”
“I’m here, sweetie...” he whispered back, watching with his eyes full of love, as, little by little, she inched closer to him, until she had abandoned her pillow and found his chest, returning to the same position she was outside. With infinite tenderness, he accommodated his beloved angel in his arms and covered himself too. Then, he placed another loving kiss on her forehead, “Sleep well, my angel. I love you.”
X
When Monica woke up on the following morning, Andrew wasn’t in the tent any longer. The little Irish angel stretched out and changed into a long white sleeveless dress and never cared about putting her sandals on. She left the tent hoping to find her beloved Andrew preparing breakfast but there wasn’t any sign of him nearby.
“Andrew?” she called, but there wasn’t any reply. Frowning with concern, she looked around her and suddenly an idea crossed her mind.
Monica went to the ravine where she and Andrew had watched the sunset on the previous day, imagining that he was probably waiting to watch the sun rise, and it would be soon. Walking along those vast green fields with a gentle morning breeze disarraying some strands of her auburn hair, she was a real vision of an angel and it didn’t take her too long to find her dearest friend, as he was kneeling on the same place they had been sitting on the day before, as she had predicted.
With a meek smile upon her face, the Irish angel knelt right behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her cheek against his. “Good morning!” she greeted, brushing a gentle kiss on his face. Returning her smile, he took one of her hands and kissed it and then motioned her to sit opposite to him. “Good morning, angel. These are for you.” he said, giving her a small bunch of delicate flowers. Monica took them in her hands and smelled their sweet perfume, “Oh... they’re lovely! Thank you!”
“You’re more than welcome.” He replied, kissing her cheek. It was then that Monica noticed there were some tears in the corner of his eyes and her smile vanished immediately, being replaced by a worried gaze, “Andrew? have you been crying? What happened? Were you called away on an assignment? Are you going now?”
The blond angel couldn’t help chuckling at the sequence of questions and quickly put her heart at ease, “Angel, angel, calm down; you have nothing to worry about! These... are happy tears...”
“What? But... why?”
“Come here, let me hold you for a moment...”
She immediately threw herself in his arms and held him tightly, wondering about the reason why he was crying. The blond angel for himself buried his face on her shoulder, intoxicated with her sweet perfume and only a minute later, feeling the concern that was still lingering in Monica’s heart, did he pull away. He grabbed her face in both hands and placed a tiny but tender kiss on her lips and then took her hands.
“Andrew, what is it? Did something happen? Have you been called away on an assignment? You can tell me, please...”
“No, angel. I’ll stay here with you until the end of the day as planned.”
“So...”
“I’m happy because today, when I woke up, I came here to watch the sunrise and say a prayer thanking the Father for one more day at your side.” Watching as she started to relax, he kept on talking, “It’s been a long time I wanted to make you a question and... when I got here, something happened... Something that showed now it’s finally the right time for this question to be made...”
“What question, Andrew?”
He squeezed her hands and looked deep inside her brown eyes, “Monica... angel... Yesterday you said that you dreamed about the day we would be together, joined for the rest of eternity with the Father’s special blessing...”
“Yes, and I promised you that I’d pray for this day to come; I know that the Father is listening to us, and I trust that He’ll answer to our prayers someday if this is really the right thing... and I’m sure it is...”
The blond angel let go of one of her hands and stroked her cheek with tenderness. “I love you so much...”
“I love you too, Andrew...” she replied, still confused. Then, the blond angel reached inside the pocket of his jeans for a small velvet box and showed it to her. “What is it?”
“A present... and a blessing...” he answered, watching with nervousness as she stared at him in shock and surprise, “Please, open it...”
The Irish angel opened the box and found a beautiful ring, with a sapphire sparkling with the sun that was rising from behind the mountains. “Andrew...” her voice came out almost as a whisper and tears quickly filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks a second later. With her heart pounding loudly in her chest, she looked into in Andrew’s green eyes searching for the answer to the question she didn’t even dare to voice.
And, aware of the turmoil of thoughts in her mind, he spoke again. “This small gift was here when I arrived and I’ve heard His loving words whispering to my heart and answering to my prayers...”
Sobbing, she covered her mouth with her hand, shedding more tears, “Andrew... Andrew... is it really true?”
“Yes, angel, it’s true... Listen to your heart... You’ll hear the same words I’ve heard...”
She closed her eyes for a few moments and then nodded her head, with a tearful smile on her face, “Yes... I’ve heard them too...” turning her eyes to the sky, she spoke again with gratitude, “Thank You, Father... Thank you so much...”
Then, she looked at her beloved friend with so much love inside her heart that it brought even more tears of emotion to her eyes. Andrew wiped them away with gentle fingers, and then took her free hand in both of his kissing her palm with tenderness. “My heart is so full of love now, angel, that I feel the most blessed creature in the universe...”
“So do I...”
“Monica... Will you give me the honour to spend the rest of the eternity by your side? Would you let me be part of your existence and let me love you every single day... forever and ever?”
“Oh Andrew... I love you so much...” she reached out and lay her hand against his cheek, softly stroking his face, “You know that the answer to your question will always be ‘yes’...There’s nothing in this whole universe that could make me happier than spending the eternity at your side; than having the blessing of your love...”
“Then I can say my world is complete...” he said, looking into her sparkling brown eyes. Holding the beautiful sapphire ring and with infinite tenderness, the blond angel took her right hand and placed the ring they had both received from their loving Father in her finger. Then, he brought her hand to his lips. “I promise I’ll make you happy every second of your existence, angel.”
“That you don’t have to promise, Andrew. You already make me happy...” she tilted her head to the side, eyeing him with all the affection in her heart reflected on her face, “... you always have. And, as I said before, I trust you with my very existence – it belongs to you now, other than the Father.”
They inched their faces closer and their lips collided in a loving, affectionate kiss, full of emotion and with a pure, true and blessed love. Without breaking that sweet caress, treasuring the sweet flavour of her mouth, Andrew wrapped one arm around her waist and started to run his fingers through her auburn locks with his other hand, setting her firmly in his strong yet so gentle arms.
And feeling his soft and delicate caresses, Monica found herself in the safest place in the entire universe, in a place where she could feel only love and joy filling her heart and her soul. She lay one of her hands on Andrew’s face, stroking it as softly as she always did, whereas she wrapped the other arm around his neck, wishing that that moment could last forever and, for a few seconds, wishing selfishly that the blond angel would never go away from her again.
Completely unaware of everything else around them and not wanting that sweet moment to end, the two heavenly beings continued to kiss each other, only parting for a few seconds, just enough to catch their breath – one of the very few perks of being in human form now.
Some minutes later, after filling her face with lots of kisses, Andrew cradled her in his arms once again, holding her tightly and resting his cheek on the top of her head, never tired of inhaling the sweet perfume that came from her hair. Listening to his heart beats, Monica looked at the ring in her right hand once again and let out a contented sigh. “I know we shouldn’t get attached to objects but, considering that it was the Father Himself who gave us this ring and considering what it represents I can’t stop looking at it... It’s so beautiful, Andrew.” she said, both angels facing the sun that had come out from behind the green mountains.
“Yes, it really is, angel.” He replied, holding her hand and also admiring the piece of jewellery, “But you’re way more beautiful!”
She looked up, grinning at him and he didn’t miss the opportunity to lay another soft kiss on her lips.
“We have to tell Tess... I guess she’ll be so happy for us.”
“I’m sure she will...” he nodded, tenderly combing her hair with his hand, “And there’s also one very important thing we have to do...”
“Set the wedding date!” she completed, with a broad smile upon her face, and tightened her hold on him.
Chuckling at the excitement with which she had said that, he nodded “Yes... Any suggestions?”
“Hum... I don’t know... It has to be on a day that all our friends aren’t working...”
“Well... I was thinking... What about... today?”
Giggling, she shook her head, “As much as I would love to celebrate it today, I don’t think our friends will all be available, Andrew. Not even Tess knows about it!”
“Ok...” he said, rolling his eyes with mock impatience. Giggling even more, the Irish angel reached out and placed a kiss on his cheek, “What about in two weeks?”
“Nope; too long...”
“Andrew...” the tone in her voice wasn’t upset, but a worried one, as she really wanted her friends – their friends, to be there with them on that important occasion.
Amused, the blond angel kissed her forehead with tenderness. “I’m joking, angel. Whatever you decide is perfect for me... In fact, the most important is that it’s perfect for you, Monica.”
She kindly objected, shaking her head. “I want it to be perfect for the two of us, Andrew...”
“I have no doubt it will be, sweetie. I love you with all my heart, with all my soul. And, as Tess said, the Father never condemns true love; much on the contrary, He blesses it. Our love is a blessed one, Monica.”
“Yes... it’s a precious gift that I’ll treasure for the rest of the eternity...”
They inched their faces closer and, once again, shared another sweet loving kiss, sealing the most beautiful feeling a living creature could have inside her heart: the purest and deepest love.
To be continued.