The lesson
The trip to Salt Lake City would last two hours and it was usually a non-stop one. However, there was another terminal along the road and the passengers were slightly surprised to see that the driver started to slow down. The explanation was a minor mechanical problem, which would be solved soon. The only one who looked pretty worried about that piece of news was Edina. The kidnapper held little Angela in her arms and let out an impatient sigh.
"I wonder if this is going to take too long..." she said, as the baby girl in her arms threatened to start crying at any moment. The woman had changed her clothes and fed her before their trip started, and now she was wearing what had probably belonged to another baby who wore equal size: a pink jacket over a white blouse, pink sweatpants and white socks matching equally white shoes. Over her little head, a colourful woollen bonnet to protect from the cold morning air and also to disguise her.
"I don't think so. Perhaps they will just make some adjustments and it's good to stop, this way we can eat something, right little one?" the lady sitting next to her said, taking the baby's tiny hand.
Edina looked through the window as the bus finally stopped and her eyes scanned the area carefully, seeking for the presence of the police there. But apart from those who worked at the bus station and the passengers themselves, there wasn't any danger to her and "her daughter."
"Would you and little Kathy here mind to share the table with me and maybe have a sandwich and something to drink?" her bus companion offered, with a friendly expression on her face.
Edina tried to smile: she couldn't raise any suspects, otherwise someone might take her little daughter away from her again. "Yes... Sure, we'd love to, right little one?" while the baby pouted and rubbed her tiny hands nervously, she looked back at the woman, "I need to go the toilet, but I'll meet you at the bar."
"Oh, that's alright... would you like some help with the baby?" she offered, genuinely worried as a grandmother of three children would be.
"Oh, thanks, but that won't be necessary, I'll be fast..." Edina spoke, and moved away towards the ladies' toilet. But instead of entering the room, she started to walk away from the bus station and from the small café that was next to it. Nobody seemed to notice as the woman carrying the small child in her arms finally crossed the street and turned around the corner.
Edina had to disappear; there were people who wanted to take her child away from her a second time. She didn't believe it when the nurse at the city hospital said that her baby daughter had died with pneumonia a month earlier. That couldn't be possible as she had always been a good mother to little Kathy. What did those people at the hospital know? Why did they take her baby away from her like that?
But a walk in the woods to see the lake that Kathy liked so much revealed that very close to it there was a cabin and that her baby daughter was in fact living there. She had to take her back and move to a place where nobody knew them. She would raise Kathy and they would form a beautiful family all over again.
She was crossing a short bridge over a canal that intersected the main street of the small town she was in. Edina had to look for an inn to spend the night and maybe move to another small town on the following day. This way it would be much more difficult to find them. Angela's crying interrupted her reverie and she caressed her pink cheek. "Shh, little Kathy, it's okay. Mommy is going to take care of you soon, honey... shh... don't cry..."
"You're not her mother." A sudden voice, which held much sadness and despair, reached her ears. She looked ahead again and saw the young lady who she had to dope in order to take little Angela away from the cabin up in the mountains.
"No... Not you... You're not taking Kathy away from me again!" she said, pressing the crying baby against her chest.
"Angela is not your baby! You broke into a house and stole her away from me!" Monica insisted, walking towards her with slow steps.
"I didn't! She's mine! She's always been..."
"Your baby daughter sadly died a month ago, victim of pneumonia. You kidnapped Angela to replace what you've lost. And now you're trying to run away using the documents that belonged to your daughter so that no one knows what you did!" the angel said, and stopped walking, afraid to come any closer, but at the same time yearning to hold the little one again - Angela's chubby little arms were raised and begging for her mommy's ones, and this fact alone broke Monica's heart one more time.
"You're lying!" Edina's voice was now an angry one, and she looked at the running water of the canal right bellow them.
"I do not lie, Edina Saunders. And you know well the pain inside a mother's heart when she is torn apart from her child. Don't help to spread this pain... don't make the wee child that you keep in your arms suffer as much as her mother is suffering right now..." tears fell from Monica's sad eyes, and the anguish for Angela's safety was tearing at her soul.
"I am suffering! Don't you see?!" came another angry reply, and Monica dared to give some more steps.
"Stop! Stay where you are!" she warned, and came closer to the bridge rail. "I won't let anyone ruin my life for the second time!"
"This wee baby doesn't deserve to be a victim of your selfishness..." the Irish angel insisted, sensing she had to do something before the woman hurt the precious child.
Edina turned to look at the canal bellow the bridge and in that brief second, Monica gave two steps and grabbed Angela from her arms - the woman still tried to get her back and was ready to attack the angel when another voice came from behind her.
"Stop, you're under arrest, Ms Saunders!"
Two policemen were approaching her from behind, while Monica got the woman's attention. They caught her by the arms and finally handcuffed her. Andrew came right behind them and knelt down on the ground, where Monica cried incessantly, holding an equally crying and very scared Angela against her chest. With tears in his own eyes, he held them both in his large embrace, wishing nothing more than protect the two most precious gifts he'd been granted with.
"Father... thank You... thank You for one more blessing..." the angel of death whispered, kissing the top of Monica's head at the same time he caressed Angela's soft hair, wishing he could make them both stop crying.
"Our daughter... our baby, Andrew..." the Irish angel spoke, in between sobs.
"She's safe now, angel. She's in your arms, where she belongs..." he managed to speak, voice hoarse with emotion.
Monica pulled away just a few inches and caressed her crying daughter's face. "Shh... it's alright now, wee one... your mommy and daddy are here..."
When Andrew looked around them again, Edina Saunders had already been taken to the police car and was no longer in view. He helped Monica to her feet and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and gently led her back to the terminal, where a red Cadillac was parked and an anxious angel waited for them.
"Oh, Father, thank You!" Tess' conjoined her hands and looked up to the sky when she saw the three angels coming towards her. A few seconds later, they were all together again, in a warm embrace.
"I prayed so much for this little angel girl..." she said, cupping Angela's cheeks with both hands and kissing her forehead. The little one slowly calmed down, as now she knew she was with her family again.
"He was watching over her all the time... we all know that..." the blond angel spoke, taking Angela's tiny hand and kissing it. Only then Monica realised something and even felt guilty about it. She turned to Andrew and moved to place the little baby in his arms. "She's yours too and I know how much you want to hold her... I'm sorry..."
He shook his head, meaning that she didn't have to apologise for anything. Then, Andrew leaned forward and kissed her lips softly, briefly, before taking Angela in his own strong arms. When their equally dark green eyes met and the little one smiled slightly at him, he felt like she had just been born again. His heart was flooded with emotion and so much love he could never find the words to express his gratitude nor to describe what he was feeling. He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead, holding back the tears as she reached out a chubby little hand and touched his chin.
"Daddy missed you too, sweetie..."
Monica and Tess exchanged a moved look and the supervisor held her dearest friend tightly, like a mother reassuring her daughter that everything would be alright now. Exactly like Monica had done moments before.
X
A week later...
Sarah walked along the garden of her house, watching the flowers she had planted there a while ago, and observing how beautifully they were blooming. The woman was surprised with the fact that despite she had managed to grow the garden she had always wanted, there seemed to be something missing. She stood there for some time, thinking about the latest events in her life: her long time gone brother Alan coming back and asking for forgiveness, and the subsequent visit of an angel.
And it was then that a soft voice reached her ears, and even though it was a surprise she knew who it was from the start.
"Impressive how so much beauty can appear where there was only ice and stones before..."
Sarah turned around and saw Monica with a long white dress and glowing beautifully. There was a serene expression on the angel's face, and perhaps just a small hint of sadness deep buried inside her loving heart.
"I didn't expect you'd come back to me... Not after I refused to forgive Alan..."
"A long time ago I was taught that the first step towards forgiveness is that everyone deserves a second chance, a new beginning." She replied, with a gentle smile.
"I've been thinking about everything that's happened, since from the day Alan abandoned our mother and me and disappeared in this world, trying to find his own way... searching for a dream that even he didn't know exactly what it was." She sighed and lowered her head briefly before looking at Monica again. "It's not easy... not after all he's done, you know Monica."
The Irish angel gave a step forward and placed a gentle hand over her shoulder. "You are perfectly right, Sarah, it is not easy to forgive. But know that forgiveness is more about yourself than the other person. Your brother Alan made a terrible mistake and this mistake brought you much pain and suffering, which you keep inside your heart until this day. Forgiving him means letting go of these terrible feelings. It means replacing them by peace and compassion so that you can move on with your life free of so much bitterness and anger."
Sarah heard those words in silence; a lonely tear fell from her eye as the angel kept on speaking. "Despite your brother's moving away from your life, which now he truly regrets, you were strong and led a decent life. And now... now you have a pretty house, a loving husband and a beautiful wee daughter, and they love you so much, Sarah... And they deserve all the love that you can give them. Only love, as there's nothing more comforting than looking back and realising that you loved, instead of hated; that you showed compassion instead of revenge."
More tears filled the woman's eyes and they soon rolled down her face. "I saw my brother the other day in the park, but he didn't see me. I... looked at him for a long time wondering why I should forgive him, and now... listening to your words... Only now I realise what was inside my heart... all the sadness that I grew for all those years... I realised that when he appeared I didn't even give him a chance to speak..."
"You can give him this chance now..." Monica said, and they both heard the door bell ring in the front yard: it was her assignment's brother. "... and you'll be giving yourself a chance too." She concluded.
Sarah nodded her head with gratitude written in her eyes. "Thank you, Monica."
"Don't thank me," she said back, now with a broad smile, all the joy to finally have accomplished that assignment evident in her brown eyes, "I'm just a messenger."
The woman walked down the garden and reached the front yard, where she and her brother finally could look at each other's eyes. There was an awkward silence at first, but it was soon broken by Sarah's voice calling her brother's name; she opened the gate for him and for the first time in years, the siblings finally held each other.
Moved with emotion, Monica watched them for a couple of minutes, already invisible to humans. But once Sarah invited Alan to come inside her house, the Irish angel's image slowly faded away from the garden. Monica took the liberty to pick one of the many beautiful flowers planted there and then reappeared in a place located miles away. The smile that was on her face was gone even though her expression kept serene.
Still invisible to the human eye, she walked along the corridors of what seemed to be a hospital. The white walls reflected the coldness of the place and few people passed by. She stopped in front of a door and on the following second, she was inside the room. Edina Saunders was now lying in bed, wearing a white uniform and staring at an invisible point on the wall.
Monica approached her and knelt by her bed, and her glow was so intense that the woman finally moved her eyes to look at her: the angel was visible once again.
"You're... the lady who took Kathy from me..." she said, but without much reaction perhaps due to the medication administered on her earlier that day.
"No... the baby girl you took wasn't Kathy."
"But she could have been... she could have replaced Kathy... And you took her away!"
"Angela was mine."
"But I wanted her for me! And I could have if you hadn't appeared!"
"No... it would've been wrong, and one day, Edina Saunders, you'll understand that. One day, you'll find peace and realise that despite the loss of your baby daughter, you have to move on with your life too."
"Who are you after all?"
"I'm an angel..." she said, looking at the woman who tried to steal her wee Angela from her in the eyes. There was not anger or revenge in them, but it wasn't easy to stand there after all that had happened.
"An angel?" the woman's eyes fell for a brief second, as she was trying to process that piece of information. "You came here to punish me for what I did? Please, don't... I'm sorry... I... All I wanted was my daughter..."
"Oh, no! No, I'm not here to punish you!" she replied, genuinely feeling sorry for the woman. "I'm an angel, but I'm not perfect, Edina. I confess was angry at you for what you did. But now... Now I'm here standing before you to tell you that... that all I want is your recovering from your loss, and the terrible impact it has caused you."
"Have you seen my daughter? Have you seen Kathy?"
"No. But I've seen your future, and it's not going to be here." She placed the flower she was holding in Edina's hands. "I forgive you, and I'll pray for you, Edina Saunders. And know that your loving Father is watching over you and your baby daughter, who is now in His presence."
The slight smile on the woman's face was enough to make Monica's heart rejoice. It was because of Edina that she had found the right words to speak to her assignment. It was because of her that she herself could put into practice the meaning of forgiveness.
X
When the Irish angel returned to the cabin at the end of the day there was laughter coming from the living room. With a smile on her face, she tilted her head and watched from a distance, still in her angelic form, as Andrew entertained a very cheerful and smiling little Angela. They were sitting on the carpeted floor, in front of a warm fireplace lit up a while ago, when the night started to fall.
"Fwog, daddy... an' 'tepillar..." she tried to speak, which only amused Andrew even more. Monica could see the spark of joy in his green eyes, and it also brought her great happiness. Much had been said about her being the perfect angel to be assigned to experience motherhood, but if there was one angel who had certainly been created to perform the father role, this angel was her beloved Andrew. The amazing way he had with children and his gentle and protective nature, which she knew so well, were even more evident when he was interacting with the little ones - with that little one in special.
It didn't take more than a few instants for them to realise someone they loved very much was quietly observing them by the kitchen door.
"Mummy!" Angela spoke, immediately moving her tiny arms, and making Monica smile even more.
"Oh! Hullo, sweetheart!"
"Hey, look who's here! Your mommy arrived just in time to see the little surprise you have for her!" Andrew whispered in the little girl's ear, and then looked at Monica. "Stay where you are, angel... Someone here wants to give you something, and especially to show you something!" he said, before she walked over up to them.
Monica looked surprised, but highly amused. "Ah, a surprise, huh? Alright, let's see what this wee one has in mind for me!" she knelt on the floor and watched as Andrew deposited a small daisy in Angela's hand. "Here we go! Give it to your mommy!"
With his help, the little angel was placed on her feet, and before Monica's surprised eyes, Andrew slowly let go of Angela's small body and the baby girl stood on her feet without losing her balance and gave one tiny step towards her mom.
"Andrew..." the Irish angel whispered, with her eyes full of amazement and emotion.
"Call her!" he said, enjoying both the fact that his beloved Angela was giving her first steps, and also Monica's joy and surprise at that piece of news.
Moved with emotion, she opened her arms to the little girl. "Hey, my little angel... Come to me! Come here to mommy!"
Angela smiled broadly at her. "Mommy..."
"Come here, honey..."
A second later, the little one gave one more step towards her mom; and then another, and another...
"She’s walking!" Monica said, with emotion in her eyes.
Equally excited, Andrew nodded his head enthusiastically, "I found that out this afternoon... Go on, keep calling her!"
"Come here with mommy, my little angel!"
Walking clumsily and threatening to lose her balance at any moment, Angela finally shortened the distance between them and threw herself into Monica's arms.
"Oh, wee Angela! You walked! You walked!" she said, kissing the baby’s cheeks repeatedly.
Highly amused, Angela raised the chubby arm and showed her the white daisy she was carrying. "Fower..."
Monica and Andrew looked at each other: their little one would definitely melt the hardest of the hearts, and theirs as well. "A flower to me? Why, thank you, sweetheart!" she said, accepting the flower and kissing her tiny hand. Andrew joined them and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Just as adorable as her mother!" he said, kissing Monica's cheek.
She turned to him and looked deep inside his green eyes, with a spark of gratitude and always with much love. "I beg to differ! Her daddy is as much enchanting and he makes my heart skip a beat exactly like she does!"
He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb against her delicate white skin. "I can see there's much joy in those pretty eyes of yours, and although a great part of it comes from our little angel's walk, there's something else in there..." he said, placing a strand of hair behind her ear. "... perhaps a successful assignment?"
Monica leaned on his touch, treasuring every second of that blessed evening. "Probably more than that, you know, Andrew. Probably the joy to know that true love, forgiveness and peace walk together, and that they now fill my heart, and some humans' hearts as well... human beings that crossed my way in the last few days..." She caressed her daughter's soft hair for a moment and then looked back at him, "Sadness, fear and perhaps anger remain in the past now... they were all replaced by joy..."
Smiling, and happy to see the contentment in his beloved angel's face, he crossed the small distance between them and pressed his lips onto hers. It was a soft kiss, a reminder of how much he needed her by his side for the rest of his existence. But it then turned into a more loving caress, as they were both aware of how much they had missed each other during the last few troubled days. Andrew moved his hand to the back of her head, entangling his fingers through her hair and applying gentle pressure so that their kiss would last longer, as he knew he would never get enough of that sweet caress.
But it ended with the sudden baby giggle that reached their ears. Even before their lips parted, they started smiling. "We seem to have an audience..." he said, resting his forehead against hers, both laughing at the expression of curiosity on Angela's face.
"Yes, and I guess we might be entertaining this wee one!" Monica spoke, as he traced a line along her cheekbone and then started to deliver soft tiny pecks against her lips, "kissing her smile," which he loved so much.
She remained in silence for a few instants, both enjoying his tenderness and also reflecting about the latest events. "So much beauty came out of our meeting, a long time ago..." she finally said, as he looked inside her brown pools.
"It always happens when there's love involved." He pointed at his own heart, "And this angel's heart here... it holds so much love for you and for this little one that it could never be put into words..." he said, caressing her cheek.
Monica nodded in agreement, with the pensive expression that would always amuse him. "You're right... I've tried sometimes, you know... I mean, putting into words what I feel for you..." she let out a small sigh. "... but I guess I've failed..."
Chuckling, he brushed one more soft kiss against her lips. "You certainly haven't, my angel..."
He captured her smile with his lips once again while little Angela joined her tiny hands together, as if she was trying to clap her parents' romantic kiss.
X
Night feel silently in the cabin, and for the first time in many days the angels' hearts were filled with nothing but inner peace. Little Angela was finally back in their arms and now she was sleeping peacefully between her mommy and daddy, in their bed. Besides this, a woman at last forgave her long gone brother and they would spend the rest of his days by each other's side. And in the future, a childless mother would recover from her loss and help other mothers who had to face such tragedy.
With her elbow propped on the bed and holding her chin with her right hand, Monica watched as both Andrew and Angela slept serene right next to her. The beside lamp was the only source of light in the room and it allowed her to contemplate the ones she loved so dearly. The Irish angel had a permanent smile on her face and knew that she would never get enough of that image.
"Oh, wee Angela... as the days pass by I'm more and more certain that you came to this world to spread joy and love, my wee angel..." she whispered, gently caressing her daughter's soft auburn hair, so similar to hers, and then brushing a soft kiss on the little one's rosy cheek.
Then she turned to look at her beloved Andrew, and her smile grew wider: she was always happy to detect the smallest resemblance in Angela's and Andrew's traits, just like now. Their asleep faces were so similar and brought so much peace to her own heart! Besides, she was sure that Angela's tiny nose had an equal shape to her daddy's, even though Andrew always chuckled at that comparison.
Slowly, she reached out and stroked his short blond hair. "You mean the world to me... my whole existence, you know..." Just like she had done with Angela, and careful not to wake them up, she inched closer to him and kissed his handsome face.
It was then that she saw his lips curve into a slight smile, even though his eyes remained closed. "You can keep doing this... I'll appreciate it..." Andrew whispered, aware of her surprised face.
"I... I didn't mean to wake you up..." she said, blushing slightly as he opened his eyes.
Andrew captured her hand and kissed her palm, chuckling at her embarrassment at the same time he found it adorable. "You can wake me up like that anytime you want..." he said, still holding her hand in his. The blond angel moved slowly and crossed the distance between them and brushed his lips against hers.
Once that sweet kiss was over, they both lay down with their heads over their pillow, and looked down at their little one, fast asleep and safely tucked between them. Monica and Andrew looked at each other again, now both with a sleepy smile across their faces.
"I love you, Andrew..."
"I love you too, angel... Have a good night and only sweet dreams..."
"I know I will..."
x
To be continued