You’re In My Heart
Andrew was sitting at the edge of a wooden dock and looking at the ocean. The placid and still waters, together with a beautiful sunrise, brought to his heart some of the peace and comfort the blond angel was looking for, although it was still possible to notice a trace of sadness in his bright green eyes.
Suddenly, another angel came from behind him. Monica was barefoot, wearing a long sleeveless white dress and her auburn locks were flying up in the air with the gentle breeze that blew from the sea. A beautiful smile appeared on her meek face as she quietly came closer to her beloved friend and, although she didn’t notice it, he too gave a short smile, but remained motionless, secretly agreeing to play her game.
Monica knelt behind him and gently covered his eyes with her small hands, causing Andrew’s smile to become twice broader. Then, he covered her hands with his own, softly rubbing his fingers on their back, “I cannot imagine who this is...” he spoke, enjoying the sound of her small giggle. But the Irish angel remained in silence and didn’t release her hold on him, “mmm... ok, can I have a clue?”
Finding his request rather fair, she bent down and placed a tiny kiss on the top of his head and waited for his reply.
“I... I’m not sure yet... I want another clue...”
Giggling again, she inched forward and now kissed his cheek.
“I guess I have a slight suspicion about who this must be... but I still need a final clue...”
“Keep your eyes closed...” she whispered into his ear.
“Okay...” he happily obliged her. Then, Monica uncovered his eyes and, sitting right in front of him, grabbed his face with both hands. Then, she inched forward and pressed her lips against his, in a loving kiss. She felt one of his arms automatically encircling her waist while his other hand started to stroke her hair; and both were lost in that sweet, slow kiss for a long minute.
When they finally pulled away, just a few inches from each other, Andrew stared at her with a mock surprised expression on his face, “Monica?!”
The tone in his voice and his face only caused her to laugh and, pleased to with this, he kept on talking, “I would never guess it was you!” he said, although his smile was dimmed by the sadness the blond angel was carrying inside his heart.
“When Tess told me you were here I came as fast as I could! The Father was so wonderful in giving us both a day off! I’m so happy!” she said, gently caressing his handsome face.
“Yes, He is really wonderful. After all, He gave me you...”
Only then did Monica realise the sadness that he was trying to hide from her and her smile faded away, “Andrew? What is it? Is... is there something wrong?”
He lowered his head for a moment and held her hand in both of his, “It’s... I... I just needed a break, that’s all...”
“Is it any of your assignments?”
Andrew sighed and looked at her again, now placing some strands of her hair behind her ear, “You can really see inside my heart, can’t you?”
“Well... I guess that’s because I love you...”
A short smile appeared on his face and he leaned forward, placing a tender kiss on her lips. “You know that the same goes to you, don’t you?”
“Yes... Tell me what happened...”
He sighed and looked at the ocean, still trying to cope with his emotions and with the great sadness that had taken place inside his heart, “Adam and I, together with many others angels of death, were sent to this school...”
“Many others? To a school?”
“Yes... It was a terrorist attempt, Monica... Hundreds of people died, most of them were children...”
The Irish angel’s eyes were immediately filled with tears and with the same sorrow her beloved Andrew was feeling. “Oh Andrew, I’m so sorry!” she said, placing her hand on his cheek.
“The ones who died were trying to escape from the criminals... All of them were shot. And the ones who survived saw their friends being murdered right before their eyes. Not to mention that the terrorists kept them hostages with no food or water... Many of them got sick and the conditions inside the school were some of the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Now Monica’s tears were falling from her eyes as she kept on imagining the children’s despair and the scenes he was describing. The blond angel finally turned his head to face her again, “What kind of human being is capable of doing such thing? Or can we ever call those people ‘human beings’?” he spoke, now with anger in his voice.
Monica wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as tightly as she could; feeling sorry for what he had just told her and for him. Thankfully, but still miserable, he also held her for dear life, as if trying to get faith and strength from the warmth of her arms.
They remained in this embrace for long minutes and this time, it was Monica who started to stroke his short blond hair, while he buried his face on her shoulder.
Only some time later, did she break the silence. “I’m so sorry for what you saw, Andrew. My heart is crying with yours and I’m sure that the Father’s heart is too... But remember who we are and Who we serve...”
“You know... sometimes there seems to be a lot more evil than good in this world.” There was some disgust and frustration on his voice. She pulled away just a few inches so that she could look into his sad green eyes.
“You know this isn’t true, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know it... But I don’t feel it... At least not right now...”
Noticing the bitterness in his words and in his soul, she gently arranged some strands of his short hair which was dishevelled by the wind and then brushed a tender kiss on his cheek.
“May I ask you something?”
“Of course...” he spoke, gently and lovingly tracing the outline of her delicate face with his fingertips as if committing to his memory every inch of it.
“Could you come with me? There are some places I want you to see...”
“Sure.”
They stood up and Monica held his hands.
Still in their angelic form, they came to Earth and the Irish angel took him on a journey through hospitals and many institutions all over the world which helped people in need.
Their last stop was at a big white country house, built up a long time ago and surrounded by green trees and many flowers. Monica never released her beloved friend’s hand and led him to take a closer look at the construction.
“My last assignment was here. This house was built in the fifties by a rich man who lost his two sons in the war. In a moment of great pain, he decided that, if he couldn’t bring his children back to life, he would help to keep other children living. This place is an institution that takes care of children with cancer.”
At that moment, he noticed that they were in their human form, as their clothes had changed and a seven-year-old boy soon came towards them. He was carrying some small daisies in his hands and it was possible to see that he was under treatment, as a blue cap hid his hairless head. As soon as he came closer, a big smile appeared in his face, “Hey Monica!”
“Hullo, Jeremy! How are you doing today?” the Irish angel replied, kneeling in front of him and also smiling cheerfully.
“I’m great! We’ll have ice cream for dessert and tomorrow we’ll have a party cause it’s Carol’s birthday! She’s gonna be quite old now, ten years old already!”
Monica and Andrew looked at each other and smiled. The boy looked at Andrew and his face turned into a serious one, “Is he your friend?” he asked.
“Yes, this is Andrew and I brought him here today especially to know the shelter! Andrew, this is Jeremy, he’s one of the 50 children that take free treatment against cancer here.”
“Hey Jeremy!” the blond angel greeted, smiling friendly. But the boy didn’t seem to like his presence very much.
“Hi...” he replied, without much enthusiasm. Only when he turned back to Monica did his smile came back to his face, “This is for you!” he spoke, giving her the flowers.
“Oh they’re very beautiful! Thank you so much, Jeremy! I loved them!”
“I knew you’d like them! Well... now I gotta go, it’s almost lunchtime. Will you come to visit us again?”
“Yes, whenever I have an opportunity!”
“Yay!”
“Now go and take care of yourself, ok?”
The boy nodded his head a bit sad and, before he left, he hugged the Irish angel, “Bye Monica!”
As they pulled away, he merely looked at Andrew, “Bye...”
“Bye, Jeremy!”
The boy went back to the house and Monica turned to Andrew, “This house has been here for five decades and only God knows how many children have been saved.” She held his hand again and squeezed it, “There’s evil in this world, Andrew. But we can only fight it with love; and we need to have faith and trust that the Father always has the power to transform something terrible into something wonderful, like this place.”
The blond angel’s eyes were sparkling with gratitude and love, “Monica... I... I don’t even know how what to say... I don’t even know how to thank you...”
“You know you don’t have to thank me for anything!”
Placing the palm of his hand on her cheek, he smiled, “Oh yes, I do. You have no idea how wonderful my existence is when I remember that you’re by my side.”
“I can say the same. But I’ll ask you something: whenever you feel sad with all the injustice and evil that exist in this world, let the Father’s love heal you...” also smiling, Monica placed her hand on his heart, “...keep His love right here and I’m sure you’ll feel better.”
He took her hand and kissed her palm, “I’ll do that, I promise you... But there’s something else I’ll keep right here inside my heart and that I’m sure will always fill my soul with joy...”
“What is it?”
“You.”
Then, he grabbed her face and brushed a gentle kiss on her forehead and another one on her lips. With a cheerful look, and also some tears of happiness threatening to fall from her sparkling brown eyes now that her dearest friend’s sorrow had vanished completely, Monica wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly.
“You’re so precious to me... you have no idea how much!” Andrew whispered, burying his face into her auburn hair and feeling her sweet perfume.
“That’s exactly what you are to me, Andrew. And I promise I’ll never let you feel sad, never!” she gently pulled away and took his hands, “Let’s go for a walk? The afternoon is so beautiful!”
“Sure.”
“Besides, I love this place. This was one of my favourite assignments, you know.”
“Yes, I can see that.” The blond angel replied, not missing the contentment on her face, and then his smile turned into a mischievous one, “And there’s something else I just noticed...”
“What?” she asked, innocently.
“That little buddy has a crush on you!”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise, “Oh, he does not!”
“Of course he does! Look, he even brought you flowers!”
“Jeremy is a sweet wee boy! When I was here on assignment, he used to give me flowers everyday!”
“Hey! You didn’t tell me that things were on this level!” he replied, with a mock upset expression on his face, which only caused her to laugh. Pleased to hear that sound, Andrew continued to talk, “Not to mention that he wasn’t all too pleased to see me with you!”
“Well, that’s because you’re a stranger and it takes some time for wee children to get accustomed to another adult’s presence!”
“ ‘get accustomed to another adult’s presence’?! The little guy was making eyes on my angel girl!” he spoke, shaking his head in total disapproval, and Monica couldn’t control her laugher. “And I tell you something: since he obviously has a preference for older girls, he’d better try to befriend Carol tomorrow on her birthday!”
Then, he looked at his beloved friend, who was still laughing uncontrollably, and smiled again, “But you know what? I don’t blame him... After all...”
They stopped walking and Andrew wrapped an arm around her waist, while placing some strands of hair behind her ear, “...you’re the sweetest and most adorable creature I’ve ever met in this entire world!”
“Nooo, that’s you!” she kindly objected, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms, “Besides, although I think you are totally mistaken about that sweet little boy’s feelings, I’d say he has no chances with me, as I’m already committed to a certain angel, who I happen to love very, very much...”
“ ‘Committed’?... well... I like this word... And this angel is really blessed for sure!”
“No, I’m the one who is blessed to have him in my existence...”
They leaned their faces closer and finally shared a sweet loving kiss, which lasted for a long moment; their souls once again frozen in time and filled with a great joy.
“I love you... forever...” Andrew whispered, when they finally pulled away, and kissed the tip of her nose. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and they continued to walk along the small brick road in that beautiful countryside area, until they disappeared together some time later, as a white dove cooed and crossed the blue sky.