By Deyse M.
The sky above their heads changed with each tick of the watch in Andrew’s hand. Shades of blue, purple, yellow and orange melted into a variety of bright and endless colours, leaving the two heavenly beings who had been sitting at the edge of that cliff to wonder if God Himself was mixing those colours up for the new year that was starting on that day.
With his left arm permanently wrapped around his dearest friend’s shoulders, Andrew smiled as another stunned yelp emerged from the kind and sweet angel sitting right beside him. Monica was marvelled at the beauty of the sunrise and at the explosion of colours right before her eyes. Eyes that were shining with the excitement and fascination of a six-year-old who was watching it for the first time. Some clouds also danced in the horizon, joining the huge painting that had been formed about an hour before, when the angels arrived there. And Andrew was sure that soon his sweet friend would start to make funny associations with the clouds formation, which always caused him to laugh and to love her a tiny bit more.
“How long now, Andrew?” she asked, taking him out of his reverie and making him turn his eyes from the sky to look at her soft brown pools.
“About ten minutes, angel. You have to be more patent!” his voice had a teasing tone, that was for sure, but it could not hide the immense tenderness he always felt whenever she was close to him. She sighed deeply and rested her head on his shoulder, trying to follow his suggestion even though it was not easy to her – it would be the first sunrise of the new year and, for the first time in her existence, she would share it with her dear friend, the angel who was always there to listen to her, cast away her fears, wipe her tears and, in a way, to complete her existence.
Monica let out a contented sigh: angels had the mission to fulfil God's will and take His light to the ones in need. But they were also His children and the thought that they had been created only to accomplish assignments and be with humans in difficult hours was not true. No. Angels were also made with a multitude of loving sentiments, transmitted to other creatures by deep love and friendship, combined with a permanent sense of protectiveness, devotion and loyalty. Monica knew it was true whenever she thought about the wonderful friend sitting next to her.
The dear friend who had the idea of sharing the first sunrise of the year by her side. The one who woke up at 4 PM not only to prepare her breakfast but also to brew an extra bottle of coffee just for her, and who went up to that cliff to light up a fireplace even before she had woken up, so that when they got there she wouldn’t feel cold. The angel who caressed her hair and whispered tender words in her ear to make her open her eyes (slowly and a bit confusedly), and who had waited patiently until she finally regained full consciousness and remembered they had arranged to watch the sun to rise from behind the mountains. The friend who had arranged a thick blanket for her and insisted, almost with an authoritarian tone of voice, that she would dress more warm clothes than necessary, just to avoid the smallest risk of her catching a flu or feeling cold.
And then she also felt grateful. God’s timing was different from human’s, but due to her permanent visits to Earth, Monica learned how to segment her own existence in years and to count the many blessings her loving Father had given her. Blessings like Tess, her eternal “angel mother,” and like the blond angel standing by her side, patiently waiting for the sun to come out. Another year would start and along with it, many other assignments would come, together with new lessons – sometimes meant for humans, sometimes for angels themselves and, most importantly, with new blessings. And when she thought about the immense love she had for Andrew and Tess, the Irish angel smiled, as she knew it would certainly grow stronger, if that was ever possible.
Noticing how quiet the little angel by his side had been – and knowing her very well to know that ‘silent’ wasn’t exactly one of her qualities, Andrew gave her a slight squeeze in the shoulders and bent his head to look at her meek face. “Angel? Are you feeling cold? Do you want me to get you another blanket?” he straightened the quilt that they had draped on their shoulders, as the mountains were indeed very cold at that time of the year. Besides this, the small fire he had lit up was still burning and keeping them warm.
“Oh, no. I’m fine, Andrew.”
“Are you sure? The cabin was just ten minutes away, I could go there and bring another one quickly.”
“I think it won’t be necessary. I’m under the impression that these three coats, these two pairs of gloves and velvet pants, and those boots and woollen socks that you made me wear before we went out of the cabin are keeping me warm...” there was a clear hint of amusement when she said that, which caused him to chuckle.
“Hum... I don’t know... I still think one woollen hat is not enough!” he spoke, enjoying to hear the sound of her giggling very close to his ear.
“I was thinking, you know.”
“About?”
“About the fact that humans celebrate the new year at midnight but, according to the rotation movement of the Earth, the new year starts with the sunrise...”
His lips curved in a smile and he nodded his head, “Yes, you’re perfectly right, angel!”
“And it’s supposed to start with a sunrise anyway, isn’t it? After all, a ‘new year’ means a new journey, a changing, a sunrise, in a metaphorical way too... It’s more than a day on a calendar, you see.”
He kissed her forehead, “I couldn’t agree more! Tess is right about you: you’ve become a wise little angel!”
“I’m just telling you what I think... as I always do...” she blushed a little, aware of how patient and intently he would always listen to everything she had to say. “And... I also think that the sunrise can be brought by the ones we love.” Monica finally turned her eyes from the red and blue horizon and gazed at him with tenderness and a beautiful smile, “Tess is my sunrise... You are my sunrise...”
Moved with emotion, Andrew held her hand in both of his and placed it against his heart. “Monica... you probably have no idea of how much you mean to me, angel. Being an angel of death is undoubtedly an honour but sometimes, baby, it can be the hardest assignment an angel can do... I’ve seen awful things in my existence. I’ve witnessed how cruel and evil human beings can become and, for many times, I cried and felt my heart broken into pieces...”
She lowered her head and he could see from the expression on her face that she got sad. “It... it hurts to see you suffering...”
Andrew quickly cupped her chin up and made her look at him again, “But you have the power to make the sadness go away. Some time after we met I realised the Father had given me a wonderful present,” he gently traced a line along her delicate jaw and kept on talking, “Whenever I see you again, after a hard assignment, my world lightens up all over again, angel. You bring the sunrise to my soul...”
As he continued to speak, he watched as her eyes were immediately filled with tears and she blushed a little. “The innocent and warm hearted angel who I first met a few years ago is always there to comfort my soul whenever I need her... Your sweetness and the childlike excitement with which you see the world, Monica, are the best way to remind me of God’s love and that there’s good in this world. This kind soul of yours is like a precious treasure to me and... And I’ll never get tired of thanking you for being my eyes when I cannot see.” He grabbed her face with both hands and brushed a loving kiss on her forehead.
Overwhelmed with emotion, the Irish angel wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, “I’m so happy that you’re in my existence!” She let out a sob and buried her face on his shoulder, while her dearest friend stroked her hair, holding her tight and wishing that she would calm down a little.
“Shh... it’s ok, angel, please don’t cry...”
“I’m sorry...” he heard her small voice against the fabric of his coat. But Andrew couldn’t help chuckling – yes, there were times her sensitiveness would reach high levels (and it was one of the uncountable things he loved about her kind personality). Gently, he pulled away and made her look at him, “Shh... This cute nose of yours is going to get all red and congested if you don’t stop crying!” he joked, gently wiping her tears away, “And I won’t let you drink the mug of coffee that I know you’re eager to drink when we get back to the cabin, right before Tess wakes up!”
His teasing finally put a teary smile back on her face and she tried to stifle another sob, “Okay...”
“Coffee is always a good argument, isn’t it?” he asked, watching as she let out a small laugh. Andrew put some strands of hair behind her ear and inched a bit closer, placing a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. Then, he showed her his watch, “Well, I guess it’s time!”
“Oh, dear Father!” she replied, once again showing the childlike excitement that would always fill his heart with tenderness. Chuckling, the blond angel wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they turned their eyes to the sky: suddenly the multitude of colours became brighter and the first sunrays came from behind the mountains, crossing the horizon. Faster than a whisper, the sun light reached the top of the pine trees, the frozen lakes and finally the angels’ marvelled faces. Andrew gave Monica a light squeeze, “Happy new year, angel!” he spoke, in a very low voice.
“Happy new year, Andrew!” she answered, turning her eyes from the show of colours in the firmament to his face, placing a tender kiss on his cheek afterwards. Then, she returned her head to his shoulder and both watched as a white dove crossed the orange coloured sky of the new year.
The end
