-Mandy's Apartment; December 23 (later that evening)-
Mandy sat in the armchair in her living room, a cup of coffee beside her. The charred star sat on the table beside her coffee. She stared it uncertainly. Andrew appeared beside her.
"I know what you're thinking." He said
Mandy jumped. "How did you get in here?" she asked
Andrew revealed himself to Mandy. She cowered slightly as the orange glow lit the room.
"I am an angel, Mandy, sent to you by God."
Tears built up in Mandy's eyes.
Andrew continued. "He wants you to know that He did have a purpose for you to pull Faith from the fire that night. Do remember what we talked about after I told you Faith wasn't going to live much longer?"
"Yes," Mandy answered
"God watches you, Mandy. He knows how alone you've always felt. And that's why you pulled that little girl from the fire."
Andrew picked up the star. "He knows the things you took from the building that night will never be made what they were before. But He knows you have the power to reconstruct what they once stood for. God loves you so much, Mandy. And He loves Faith, too. Which is why He sent you to be the one to rescue her from what might have been her death."
Tears were streaming down Mandy's face. "Am I supposed t-to adopt Faith?"
Andrew smiled. "No one can tell you that you do or don't have to, that is a decision that rest with you, and you alone. But God has revealed to you His purpose, Mandy. He has given you the torch. It is up to you to decide where you and Faith shall go from here."
Mandy looked down, tears still streaming down her face. When she looked up again, Andrew was gone.
She looked at a picture on the stand. It was of her and her parents when she was about eight years old. Mandy sighed. She picked up a notebook that was also on the table and began writing.
Dear Dad,
Sometimes I want so much to return to the simple, carefree, days of my childhood. I sometimes want to go back to a place where Mommy's kisses healed hurts instantly, and Daddy's presence vanquished the things that scared me. I want to go back to a place where children played in magical forests and dreamed of being kings and queens, where there was no darkness, only light, and little girls didn't die.
Mandy ripped the page out of her notebook and threw it away. She looked back at the charred star on her table. She wiped her eyes, stood up, grabbed her coat, and walked out the door.
-Adoption Agency; December 23-
Monica stood talking with Mandy.
"Are you ready to sign the papers, Mandy?"
Mandy nodded at Monica, who set a group of papers on the desk beside them. Mandy sat down, picked up a pen, and began to sign the spaces Monica had indicated.