Chapter One
The following week did little to make Kayla feel any better. She had once again been thrown into the evil forces of chemotherapy, causing her to feel tired and nauseated most of the time, but even worse than that was the heaviness of her heart.
Monica had died. That truth kept going through her mind over and over again and she was having trouble comprehending it. She considered herself a "baby Christian", her faith in God still being something relatively new to her, and just knowing how strong Monica's faith had been and that she had still lost her battle to survive, was doing little to help Kayla trust Him. She knew that in reality, there was little else she could do, but surely Monica had believed that God would heal her and Kayla couldn't help but to feel that He had let her down.
A soft knock at her door disrupted her reverie and she looked up to see Jordan peeking in at her, a devilish grin on his handsome face. Kayla had met him last week on her way back from chemo when he had nearly collided with her wheelchair due to not being able to see around the huge clown nose he had been wearing. His surprised and embarrassed expression had struck her particularly funny and he had chattered with her as she had been wheeled back to her room. He volunteered in the Children's ward several times a week, coming up with new ways to entertain them and to make them forget temporarily that they were sick.
"You can come in, Jordan," She smiled in return, watching as he came over and sat down in the chair beside of her bed.
"How are you feeling today, Kay?" He asked, leaning back in his chair as he steadily met her eyes. Ever since literally bumping into her a week ago, an easy friendship had begun to develop and he enjoyed checking in on her once he was finished with the kids.
"Only one more round of chemo to go," She replied, trying to sound optimistic and enthusiastic, though she was feeling anything but those things, "Then another battery of tests to find out if it did any good."
"Well, I have a great feeling about it," He quipped, clearly sensing her discouragement. She had finally confided in him two nights ago about losing a friend to the same disease that was ravaging her body, and he was not about to let Kayla give up now.
She grinned and shook her head, "Jordan, you have a great feeling about most things, I only wish it was contagious."
"No, I'm serious. I think you are going to get good results this time. Besides, I'm getting way too attached to you for you to do anything else but get better," He teased, throwing a wink her way.
"What did you do for the kids today?"
"We had a sing-a-long," He sensed her desire to change the subject and allowed it, "You should join us on Wednesday. You'd have a great time."
"We'll see," she replied noncommittally, having no idea how she would be feeling two days from now and unable to feel as if she could make plans that far ahead.
Jordan was quiet for a moment as he stood up to leave, but he hesitated and turned back to face her, "You know, Kay, you still have plenty of life left in you to live, but you have to take it. Sitting back and waiting for something terrible to happen isn't going to solve anything, nor make you feel any better. Yes, you lost your friend, but that doesn't mean you are going to die."
She fell silent, gazing down at her blanket as her fingers picked at invisible lint balls on it, "Maybe you should go." She stated finally, still choosing not to look at him, though there was no anger present in her voice.
"Maybe I should." Jordan agreed softly, though he hesitated for a fraction of a second before exiting her room.
"He's right, Kayla." The young human's head snapped up at the sound of the Gaelic voice and she gasped as she saw Monica standing beside of her bed, engulfed in a beautiful, warm light. Her friend looked healthy and completely at peace and Kayla blinked several times in order to try and clear her vision from what she felt certain was a hallucination.
"Don't be afraid, Kayla," Monica spoke softly, a loving smile on her face as she looked at her friend, "I'm an angel and God sent me with a message for you."
"An angel?" Kayla repeated, trying to make sense of this, "God makes people into angels when they die?"
"No, I was always an angel, Kayla, and was sent here to complete a special assignment; special because it was unlike any assignment I've ever had before, but in this case an angel had to experience human death in order to show someone else how to live. You."
"I…I don't understand…"
"Jordan was right, Kayla. You're giving up because of what happened to me, but every illness with every person is different and only God knows the plan for your life. What I do know is that God isn't finished with you yet, Kayla, and that there is still life here to be lived, but also know that on the other side of this life, there is also life with Him." Monica told her gently, her own eyes twinkling with tears as she remembered the many times she had questioned the Father's plan while she had been so sick, "I was afraid as well as an angel had never died before, but before that happened, I placed my existence in His hands and that is what He is asking you to do now."
"I'm going to…get better?" Kayla uttered weakly, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that her friend was an angel as another thought struck her, "Tess and Andrew…are they-?"
"Yes, they are angels as well and my dearest friends."
Seeing the glimmer of sadness in Monica's dark eyes, Kayla realized the truth, "You haven't seen them since…" Seeing her friend shake her head sadly, she continued, "They were heartbroken, Monica. They miss you and….so do I."
"I miss all of you too," the little angel consented, trying to push aside her sadness, "But if it is in God's plan, I will see them and you as well again, but in the meantime, God and I want you to fight this, Kayla and put your trust in God."
"I will," Kayla whispered, feeling a peace rush over her as she said those words and she smiled and repeated with more confidence, "I will." Seeing Monica smile through her tears, the human looked at her hopefully, "As I don't know when I will see you again, I just wanted you to know what a good friend you have been to me and is it acceptable to hug an angel?"
A small giggle escaped the angel's lips, as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around her friend, "Perfectly acceptable."
*****
Andrew walked aimlessly down the now deserted street, unable to focus his thoughts on anything other than his best friend. It had been a week and he had not heard one word from her nor the Father about when she was coming back and when he would see her again and it was wearing heavily on him.
Though he now understood what Adam had been trying to show him, he still couldn't deny the fact that he missed Monica terribly and his heart longed to see her again, now free from the disease that had caused her human form to wither and die. He missed the mischievous sparkle in her dark eyes and the sound of her Irish lilt that had always reminded him of a beautiful song that only she could sing, and he wasn't sure of how much longer he could last without seeing her.
"I miss her too, baby," Tess assured him as she appeared and fell in step beside of him.
"How much longer, Tess? How much longer until we are going to be permitted to see her?" He asked, trying to remain calm, but feeling all but that in his heart.
"I don't know, Angel Boy. The Father hasn't said anything to me yet, but we know she is all right and that is the important thing."
"But I don't feel all right!" He burst out as he stopped walking, "Angels aren't supposed to die, Tess, and Monica did! I know she is fine, but I'm not."
"We just never knew that angels could die, baby," the older angel told him firmly, knowing that this outburst was out of character for him, "It wasn't that they weren't supposed to die, but that we didn't know it was a possibility. We'll see her again when the Father says that we can."
Though Tess' words were firm, Andrew could still see the sorrow in her eyes and he knew that it was tormenting her every bit as much as it was him. Letting out a soft sigh, ever the comforter, Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "You're right, Tess. I was letting my emotions take over my common sense for a minute. The Father's plan is perfect, but I guess I am just anxious to see her when she hasn't been suffering."
Tess nodded her head in agreement as well as in understanding, "That makes two of us then, Angel Boy. That makes two of us."