Epilogue
Richard and Mary Ann were the first to arrive to Natalia's room after the nurse called them. The ballerina was waking up, her dark eyes open and scared as she couldn't talk with the tube in her throat. "Wait, honey," her father told her, "I'll take this out, ok?"
The three angels looked from the door while Richard took the machine away from her daughter. She coughed a little and her mother gave her some water. "I'm sorry, mom" the girl murmured with a hoarse voice. "I'm sorry, dad."
"We know everything, baby," Mary Ann said. "We'll help you go through all this, but please, you have to accept the transplant..."
"I will," she said and looked at the door, where the three angels were waiting. "Two angels convinced me that I have to." Andrew, Monica and Tess smiled at hearing her.
"Angels?" Mary Ann asked surprised.
"Whoever they were, God bless them!" Richard said.
"Come on, babies," Tess told the younger angels. "Let's leave them alone." They walked along the corridor and then the older angel suggested, "Andrew, don't you think someone here deserves a big moka latte?"
The blond angel hold Monica closer to him. "Oh, yes, Tess, she really deserves it!"
The following days passed like a dream for Monica and Natalia, though they didn't talk to each other. The ballerina had had to take a higher dose of chemotherapy so her bone marrow was destroyed, while Monica had to get a dialysis everyday to be ready for the mother cells collect. Andrew stayed by her side during all the procedures, carefully stroking her swollen little hand where she got the catheters.
And there was someone else waiting for the transplant day to come. The afternoon before, Mike knocked at the door of his classmate's room, carefully using the gloves and the mouth cover the doctor instructed him to wear as Natalia's immunity was low because of the chemotherapy.
"Mike" the girl greeted him. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, and to wish you the best luck for tomorrow, from me and from everyone at the ABA."
She reached for his hand. "Thank you."
Mike took a seat over the bed and gently kissed her hand. "I'm so happy you're doing this..."
Natalia looked at him questioningly. "What?"
"Taking the transplant..." The boy took a deep breath before continuing. "I want to have time."
"Time for what?"
"Time for showing you how much I care about you." Natalia opened her mouth in surprise but she couldn't say a word. Mike smiled sheepishly. "I do, Natalia, I care a lot about you and I want to be able to show you how much. You don't know what was for me to find you lying unconscious... I prayed so hard for you to live... And now I won't miss the chance I've gotten." He took her hand to his lips again and then stroked gently her cheek. "You don't have to do anything but allow me to show you, all right?"
A single tear crossed Natalia's cheek though she was smiling. "Thank you, Mike," she murmured.
"You don't have to thank me anything, baby. I'd do anything you want me to..."
They spent some more time talking and making plans for the future months. They both knew hard months lied ahead for her, but now she was not alone. Someone was there for her besides her parents, just as Monica had promised her, and the expectation of new sweet moments to live gave the ballerina an extra desire to get through the transplant and survive the leukemia. At the end, when Mike was about to say good bye, Natalia asked him a favor. "Mike, before you go, could you please call Andrew? I think he must be with his girlfriend."
"Natalia..." Mike felt somehow upset even if Andrew had always been kind with him.
"It's nothing about that, I promise. I'd like to talk to Monica, but I know she can't come. Please?"
Even if she was scared of needles, Monica hadn't complained much about being pecked once and again. This time, it was time for her to have the IV attached for the marrow harvest the next day, so Andrew held her and buried her face in his chest while the nurse introduced the needle in her already sensitive left hand. "I promise this is the last one," the nurse apologized and smiled at Andrew in compassion when they both heard the muffled sob Monica released at feeling the needle getting into her vein.
The blond angel helped Monica to lay down again and kissed her forehead. "You've been brave, baby," he murmured and wiped away the tears that were running from her eyes. "And after tomorrow, I'm planning on pampering you for a long time."
"You will spoil me," she replied smiling.
He couldn't help but smile and gave her a light kiss on the lips. "I don't care, I have all the right." He was tucking her in bed when a light knock at the door made them turn, and Mike appeared on the room.
"I hope I'm not bothering you..."
"Oh, no, Mike, it's ok. Come in," Andrew answered.
"I... I came to ask you a favor, Andrew," Mike said. "Natalia wants to see you before the operation."
Suddenly there was an uncomfortable silence between the three of them until Monica broke it. "Go, Andrew. I know this is hard for all of us, especially for you two, but you have to go. I'm ok."
The angel of death kissed her hand again. "You're right, angel. I'll go."
This time another soft knock alerted Natalia that someone was at her door. She smiled weakly when she saw Andrew coming. "Thanks for coming, Andrew," the ballerina started and offered him a seat with her free hand. "After all I've done, the first thing I want to do is to apologize."
"It's not necessary..." Andrew began but she stopped him.
"It is. I gave you a really hard time and I know I have no excuse. And now, after all I made, Monica still will save my life... I don't know what to say." Some tears had appeared in her eyes and were now crossing her cheeks. "Could you please forgive me one day?"
Andrew moved form the chair to her bed and swiped at her tears with his thumbs. "We don't have anything to forgive, Natalia. You're human and humans make mistakes... and so do angels sometimes." Hearing the giggle he was looking for, he cupped her face tenderly. "Monica and I are happy that you chose life instead of death."
"Will I see you again if I survive the transplant?" Her voice revealed a clear note of fear.
"I don't know, but I think so. I can tell you God didn't give you another chance to take it away so soon. You'll have a new life tomorrow, Natalia, and you have to remember you've been especially blessed once and again, ok?" Natalia nodded weakly still crying. "God bless you, little one," the angel said kissing her forehead.
The girl grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him on the cheek. "Will you thank Monica for all this?"
"Of course I will," Andrew said smiling.
Normally afraid of darkness, Monica had never feared a sunrise more than this one. She was awaken since very early but tried not to disturb Andrew, who was sleeping more or less calmly seated on a chair and leaning over her bed. When he finally woke up, she had long ago forgotten about sleeping. The first hours of the morning passed in Andrew's attempts to make her relax, but her hand clutched his tightly when Richard, Tess and two young men appeared at her door with a stretcher ready to carry her to the OR.
"Monica, I really want to thank you for this," Richard told her. Sensing her fear, he continued, "I know I don't have a way to repay you for saving my daughter's life and the only one thing I can do is to promise I'll be especially careful with you. All the procedure is quite uncomfortable, to say the least, but I'll do everything with even more care so the discomfort will be minimal, ok?"
"Will you be there, Tess?" Monica asked with the tone of a little girl.
"Of course, baby, I'll assist Dr. Harris."
"And you'll be back in less than you expect, sweetheart," Andrew said kissing her lightly on the lips.
"Ok." Monica let them take her to the OR and saw how another doctor adding a medicine to her IV. She was aware they were counting the time, but soon everything was black for her and she lost conscience of anything around...
The next thing she'd remember was that she was standing in the middle of a forest where trees had yellow and red leaves and there was a slightly cold breeze. "A special present from the Father," whispered on her ear a male voice that he recognize at once. "We have about one hour while they harvest the bone marrow."
Andrew took her hand and leaded her to a spot she recognized at once as the place where Tess had found them and had told them about the assignment. They took a seat on the ground; he leaned against the trunk and she cuddled in his lap. "I hope you don't mind I chose the book again," he told her showing her The Sonnets by William Shakespeare. "There's one I picked up for you..."
"Why is my verse so barren of new pride?
So far from variation or quick change?
Why, with the time, do I not glance aside
To new-found methods and to compounds strange?
Why write I still all one, ever the same,
And keep invention in a noted weed,
That every word doth almost tell my name,
Showing their birth, and where they did proceed?
O know, sweet love, I always write of you,
And you and love are still my argument;
So all my best is dressing old words new,
Spending again what is already spent;
For as the sun is daily new and old,
So is my love still telling what is told.
When they realized time was out and Andrew knew they had to go back. "I promise you'll see me when you wake up," he told her kissing her lovingly.
And so it was. When Monica opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were Andrew's green eyes full with the love she always found there. "Hello, sleeping beauty," he greeted her.
"Hey," she murmured still half asleep.
"You have visitors," Andrew told her, and Adam and Tess came closer to her bed.
"Hello, beautiful," the other angel of death told her.
"Hello, baby," the supervisor said. "I'm so proud of you!"
"How did everything go?" the little angel asked fighting not to fall asleep again.
"Perfectly well, baby," Tess answered. "They got the bone marrow and the mother cells. Natalia will get them today and tomorrow."
"Great... OUCH!" she couldn't help but shout when she tried to move and her hip grazed the mattress.
"Don't move, baby!" Andrew was quick to soothe her and to wipe away the tear that came unbidden to her eye.
"Andrew is right, angel girl. You have eight punctures in each hip. I'm afraid that will hurt for a little while..."
Monica sighed deeply to stop complaining.
"The Father knew why it was you the donor," Adam said reading in her gesture. "Any other angel wouldn't be so brave. This is only one proof of your strength, Monica, the strength we three admire on you..."
Monica blushed slightly. "I don't feel too strong right now to be honest," she chuckled weakly.
"Why don't you try to sleep, baby?" Tess suggested. "The anesthesia must be still hitting on you."
"Ok... Will you be here?" she asked drifting off to sleep.
"I won't go anywhere," Andrew replied stroking her cheek delicately and squeezing her hand.
Mary Ann heard the sound of steps coming closer and she smiled when she turned and saw the three angels walking towards her. She had been standing on the corridor, watching through the window at the room where her daughter was getting the mother cells.
Monica was limping slightly and Andrew had his arm around her waist to help her. "Oh, Monica, how are you?" she asked to her ex assistant.
"I've just been released," the little angel answered. "How's Natalia doing?"
"She's doing great! If there isn't any complication, she may leave in four weeks..."
"I see..."
"I guess you're going home to rest?" the doctor asked.
Andrew and Monica chuckled before answering. "Most definitely!" she replied.
"I want you to pamper her a lot, Andrew," Mary Ann said taking Monica's hands. "She deserves that and much more!"
"I will, ma'am!" the angel of death assured her.
"Good morning," Mike interrupted them at the moment.
"Hello, Mike," Mary Ann said. "You came to see Natalia?"
"Yes," the boy said blushing slightly thought the big bouquet of white roses he was carrying spoke for itself. "I know she can't have those with her, but at least she can know I brought them..."
"That's very sweet from you!" the woman said. "I'm meeting Richard in a minute to know what's new. You want to come with me?"
"Of course!"
"Ok, then, let's go. Bye Monica, Andrew, Tess..." Mary Ann said hugging each of them.
They hugged her and shook hands with Mike too. When the blond angel shook hands with his ex student, he leaned down. "Next time, bring them red," he said referring to the roses, and blinked an eye in complicity.
Mary Ann and he saw the angels starting to walk away and they turned to go to Richard's office. Suddenly, Mary Ann remembered she hadn't said thank you again... but when she turned around, the angels were nowhere in sight...
THE END
BTW, I didn't say this before: I took the short tale at the beginning from Ernest Hemingway's First forty-nine short stories and the sonnet from William Shakespeare's Sonnets. The songs are The Rose by Beth Middler for the one of the title, and for the ones at the party, The lady in red by Chris De Burgh and Strangers in the night by Mel Torme.