In a small white room at Summerlea Hospital for Suicidal Teenagers, 17-year-old Laura Tucker sat behind her best friend Sarah Nell, braiding her friends' long red hair. They listened to their favourite CD on Sarah's CD player as Laura completed the braid.
"Thanks Laura." Sarah smiled as she stood to face the mirror on the wall. Laura didn't move, she only stared motionless at the wall as Sarah looked at her new braid.
"It's a little crooked, but it's still cool. Do you mind if I just leave my hair down? I really just wanted to see how it might look. Is that okay?" She asked as Laura remained silent. Sarah turned and looked at her best friend. Laura was obviously distracted and as Sarah let her long hair out of the braid, she joined Laura on her bed.
"Hey Laur. What's up?" She asked quietly as she put her hand on Laura's shoulder. The two girls had been best friends for almost a year. They had met at the hospital after Laura's first suicide attempt, but they had become best friends in no time.
"Nothing. I was just thinking." Laura replied as her gaze shifted and she stared out the window at the clear blue sky. Sarah puckered her brow.
"About what?" She asked curiously. Laura sighed sadly.
"Well, don't you ever get sick of this place? Being locked up? Constantly being watched?" She asked as she turned to face her friend. Her eyes were misty as she spoke, trying to hold back her tears.
"Yeah Laura, I'm sick of being here, but we put ourselves here. These people are just trying to keep us alive. That's their job." Sarah said. Laura sighed as she leaned back against her pillow. Sarah knew she was thinking about her mother. She could just tell.
"It's not my fault I'm here. Everyone keeps saying we put ourselves here when we tried to end our lives, but I can't accept that. It's God's fault that I'm here! He's the one who made my mom have cancer. He's the one who took her away from me. My mom was my best friend and without her, I didn't want to live, so I tried to kill myself. God drove me to suicide and that's why I'm here!" Laura cried out as she looked down at the scars that still resided on her wrists from her suicide attempt the previous year. Sarah put her arm around her best friend and squeezed her.
"Laura, I know you miss your mom. I'm sure she misses you too, but you can't blame God. Bad things happen everyday. They can't all be God's fault." She tried to reason with Laura, but Laura just shook her head.
"God took my mother and left me all alone. I will never forgive Him for that!" Laura said as she looked at the picture beside her bed of her and her mother.
Laura's sadness was seen not only by Sarah, but by four angels, unseen by the two girls, who were standing in the same room. They watched closely as the two girls shared with each other.
"Well, angel babies. Here we are. Our next assignment." Tess announced to the other three angels, Monica, Tonya and Andrew.
Tess was an older angel with dark skin and a wonderful singing voice. She was Monica's and Tonya's supervisor, always making sure they stuck to their assignments and not make a mess of things, as angels sometimes do.
Monica was a case worker angel, who was always given assignments by God to fulfill on earth. She was nearly middle age, but was beautiful, not looking a day over 30, had she been human. With long, flowing auburn hair and fair skin, she truly was a beautiful creature, created by God.
Andrew was the angel of Death. Mostly, he was brought into assignments to bring humans Home after their deaths, but sometimes, he was there for extra help. He didn't always know when God would take another person to Heaven, so Andrew just had to wait for God to tell him.
Tonya was the youngest angel, and the smallest. She was also a caseworker, given assignments for earth. Had she been human, she would have been in her mid-teens. She loved being an angel, and being able to serve God in a special way.
The four angels continued to watch the two young girls, saddened by the topic of conversation.
"Tess? Why would somebody want to commit suicide? What would drive a human being to take their own life?" Tonya asked as she couldn't understand the pain these girls must be going through.
"Well angel baby, it's a sad thing for humans. What happens is, they see so much pain today and it's so thick that they can't even see tomorrow, so they kill themselves to stop the pain." Tess explained. Tonya sighed sadly as Monica put her arm around her.
"Is that why we're here Tess? To give these girls a hope for a tomorrow?" Monica asked.
"We're here for Laura. I know what you're thinking, and you're right. All of the girls in this hospital need an angel and they will all have them when they need them, but Laura really needs an angel right now, and that's why you're here angel baby." Tess smiled as she looked at Tonya.
"Me?" Tonya asked. Tess nodded.
"Well, okay, but I have one question. If we're only here for Laura, then why does there need to be four angels? I understand why you need to be here Tess. To make sure everything's okay, but if Laura is my assignment, why are Andrew and Monica here?" Tonya asked, wondering why everything seemed so different this time.
"You just worry about Laura, angel baby. There are more people here that need our help, but that's not for you to worry about. This assignment will be harder than you think. You need to focus on Laura, because that girl is still suicidal and it's your job to make sure she doesn't do anything." Tess explained. Tonya nodded.
"Alright, now how do I do that?" She asked.
"You move in with Sarah and Laura and become their roommate." Tess replied. Tonya puckered her brow.
"You mean...become a suicidal teenager?" She asked. Tess nodded.
"It's the only way you'll get close to them. They won't listen to anybody else." She explained. Tonya stared at the two girls and prayed to her Father to give her the strength to endure her assignment.