Monica is assigned to work as Santa's helper and she finds out a special letter that touches her heart. With Andrew's help, she sets off to look for its author and take him a message of love and hope. But will they ever find him?

Hello!

Just a short not to let you know that this story is part of the series with little Joy, but it's not the sequel for "Far from Heaven." The sequel is still being developed. :-)

The Christmas wish

(By Deyse Magalhães)

Part one

The huge shopping center was crowded with people walking along the corridors, searching for presents for their beloved ones on that busy week. Christmas shopping was more intense as the special day got closer and now, only two days before Christmas eve, it seemed that there wasn't enough space for everybody inside the shops. Children were, of course, the most excited ones not only with the presents they would receive but also with the beautiful displays, so full of colour and light that made their little eyes spark with fascination.

What those people and children couldn't see were the three angels standing in one of the biggest and coloured shop displays in that shopping center. While Tess, Monica and Andrew watched the passers-by, a closer look revealed that children were not the only ones enchanted with the Christmas decoration: the beautiful young angel, with auburn hair and a cheerful smile, also looked at her surroundings with the innocent excitement of the little ones. The miniature of a ski station, with cable cars going up and down the mountain all covered with snow and the many little houses on its base, with lots of small lights shining inside of them, had definitely conquered her heart and she imagined how it would look like inside the cabin where they used to spend their days off.

Monica loved that time of the year and couldn't wait to spend that very special night with her beloved friends (and the cheerful puppy dog who had been left in the cabin for 'security reasons', as the Irish angel said).

"I'm always happy when I'm working but the years pass and I can't remember a time when I'm happier other than Christmas time!" Monica exclaimed, with a pleased expression on her face and now looking at her two beloved friends. Also smiling, Andrew nodded his head as she kept on talking, "everything is so magic, so bright, so colourful, so... so..."

"Crowded!" the oldest angel interrupted, frowning again when a woman in a hurry to enter the next shop bumped into an old lady. It was then that Monica realised her dear supervisor wasn't in her best mood. She and Andrew exchanged a quick glance and looked at Tess, who frowned every time someone in a hurry passed along the corridor running to the next shop, eager to buy more.

"Oh... well, yes, I believe that people are pretty busy trying to find a special gift for their loved ones..." the blond angel spoke, in an attempt to cheer Tess up.

"Well, can't they walk slower? The shops aren't going to run away and shut their doors in five minutes! Besides, most of them are buying useless things and have no idea why they're doing it! I don't know what happens to the human beings at this time of the year, it seems that they are moved by some unconscious desire to spend more and more money and totally forget what they're celebrating!" Tess grumbled, looking at their surrounds with disapproval.

Monica pondered about her words and nodded her head a bit pensive, "Hum... well, I think you're right, Tess. They do seem a wee bit overexcited with the presents issue and all but this is the time when miracles happen, you know, and... we wouldn't have a job if all the human beings were perfect and didn't need to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas, don't you think so?"

While Andrew chuckled, proud to hear his beloved friend's words, Tess stared at her dear charge with her eyebrows raised and suddenly forgetting about the crowd around them, "When on Earth did you get so wise, Miss Wings?"

"Oh well, I have two wonderful friends, ya know, who I happen to love very much and they always teach me how to be a better angel!" she replied, happy to finally see something that resembled a smile on Tess' face.

Highly amused, Andrew bent his head and whispered, "She won, Tess!"

The oldest angel stared at him and her feeble smile disappeared, "We're not here for a competition, mister! And since Miss Wings here has mentioned 'our job', let's focus on our jobs then!"

"Is our next assignment going to be here, Tess?" Monica wanted to know, still marvelled at the surroundings.

"Yes."

"That's a lovely place to work at!"

"Yes... I have to agree it's beautiful..." the supervisor spoke, although less enthusiastically than her dear charge.

"One thing is for sure: kids must love coming in here! It's the most famous toy shop in this region!" Andrew added, also finding the decoration very beautiful.

"They do. After all the decoration helps to attract more customers." The supervisor pointed at a small and very beautiful house placed at the centre of the shop. Near the house, there was a mountain of letters. "Can you see that?

Monica's smile grew wider when she saw the little cabin, "It's Santa's house!"

"And are those letters really true?" Andrew wanted to know.

"Yes, they were all written by lots and lots of children who live in this and in the other towns nearby. The owner of this toy shop allows "Santa" to 'install' his workshop here so that he can organise and read those letters. All of them get a souvenir from Santa and some of them will be chosen to receive a special present."

"Oh but that's a lovely idea! This man must be a wonderful person!" the Irish angel spoke, happy to hear that. But Tess' face remained a not very enthusiastic one, "Well... we should not mix generosity with marketing strategy..."

Andrew frowned a little and looked at her with a questioning face, "Tess, is it my impression or you don't sound very happy about this assignment?"

"I'm afraid Andrew is right, Tess. I can sense some sort of... crankiness..."

The oldest angel turned her eyes to her dearest friends again, "Well, if there wasn't something wrong, then we wouldn't be here, right?" she asked, matter-of-factly.

"Hum... yes, you're right..." Monica agreed, not wanting to contradict her supervisor. "And I'm happy to know that our assignment will be here at this lovely shop."

"Well... yes, your assignment will be here, Miss Wings."

Somewhat worried, Monica turned her eyes from the shining ornaments to look at her dearest friends, "My assignment? You mean... You won't be working with me here?"

"No..." she replied, somewhat reluctantly to leave her 'angel girl' there. "Santa will need someone to help him organise and read all those letters and that someone will be you."

"But... what about you two?" the sad look in her soft brown eyes spoke millions of words and went immediately to the angels' hearts.

"Well... I'm... I'm afraid we'll have to wait until you finish your assignment, baby..." Tess spoke, revealing the reason for her cranky mood. Andrew frowned again, not pleased at all with the idea of staying away from the warm-hearted friend. He took Monica's hand and squeezed it, "Are you sure that they don't need me, Tess?"

"Do you think I'm getting old or something, mister?" she replied, now visibly upset with that question.

"It's alright..." Monica spoke, resignedly, "Is Santa's my assignment then?"

"Your assignment is to stay here doing your job as Santa's helper, selecting the children's letters, checking their addresses and their wishes."

Monica and Andrew exchanged a sad glance, not happy at all to be apart from each other and from Tess. He gently caressed her hair and gave her a reassuring look, "You'll do great, angel!"