Vacation VIII: Faith and the mystery of the summer secret I

Suddenly a dim light filled the room and Tessa could see. The first thing that came into sight was the figure before her. When she saw it, or her, rather, it was like looking into a mirror, they were identical. She was afraid and she backed up a little. Tessa could see the look of fear in the girl's eyes and it comforted her a little bit. She was not as dark as their surroundings were. The girl stepped forward slowly. She put her hand out in front of her in Tessa's direction. Without thinking, Tessa did the same and their hands met. In that instance there were two spectacular flashes of light. Tessa began to shine with the bright loving light of God. The girl was covered in a black aura. A shock ran up each of their arms and after a second each yanked their hand away from the other.

"Who, who are you?" Tessa asked.

"Who are you?" The girl insisted, causing Tessa to realize that their voices were also remarkably similar. "Are you an angel?"

Tessa nodded slowly. "And you're a… you're a…"

"Demon? No, I'm a demon in training, and I'm bad at it, I don't want to do it. I want to do good."

"How, why…"

"Because I was kidnapped from a family of angels when I was a baby. And that's what I was created to be, an angel."

"So was I, Hanna." She said, letting the name slip.

"You're my sister, aren't you?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Yes!" Tessa said, as she began to cry.

"Oh praise God for you!" Tears came to Hanna's eyes as she ran into Tessa's arms and the twins hugged. At that moment an intense light shone upon them, and they were out of the dungeon, out of the house, and by the looks of it out of Cape Cod altogether. They were dressed in long, white flowing dresses. This light was a good light, a peaceful light but it was also very powerful and extremely intense. The girls had to shield their eyes from it. Tessa smiled her heart touched deeply, her soul ecstatic, because she knew they were in the very presence of the lord.

………………..

"Are you okay, angel girl?"

"Yes. I just wanted to have another baby."

"I know you did. I did too. Do you know why…"

"I was too upset to care why, I was just trying not to cry."

"It's okay, angel."

"No! No! No! It's not okay! It's not okay!" She began to cry once more. He cupped her face in his hands and firmly pressed his lips against hers.

They broke apart; all that could be heard was her breathing. Tears streamed down her face. He brushed her cheek with his thumb. All he wanted was to make her feel better, and he knew words couldn't do it. He knew that words would keep her thinking. Before she could speak, he kissed her once again. She felt a little overwhelmed by him. She was not in the mood for this. She didn't feel in the least bit sexy, she felt overburdened and sad. But she would have to admit that what he was doing to her did feel nice, which is why she let him continue. She felt his soft lips against hers, his hands gently running through her hair.

"No Andrew, I don't want…to…" She spoke breathlessly.

"Yes, yes you do."

"Yes I do!" She cried as their lips met again.

He rolled over on top of her and in a sense pinned her there. Slipping his hands under her top, he ran them up her bareback. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Mommy!" They heard a voice call from up the stairs.

"It's Tessa and Hanna's bath time." She said sitting up, "It's Sophie's bath time, and I mean, Sophie."

"I know what you mean." He said, taking her in his arms and simply hugging her.

"I miss my little girl. What happened to her Andrew? What happened?"

"She's okay, she's okay."

"No Andrew, really. I know she's not okay. I know what she is. I know that they've turned my beautiful little cherub into a demon!" She sobbed into his chest. "I just want to see her anyway. I want to know what she's like. She's our blood Andre, I can't help it."

"I know, I want our baby back too."

"And Tessa, oh poor Tessa, she deserves to know! It's her twin sister! Her identical twin sister!"

"I think she already knows Monica."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because our Tessa's a very smart girl. And because she and Zoë have perfected the art of listing to us every night after we put them to bed."

"That's true."

"I think…" He began. "That she can feel it."

"I see what you mean?"

"You know, that still haunts me. Sometimes I don't think about it at all, but sometimes it just plays in my head over and over and over again."

"What does?"

"When she was taken and you had gotten Tessa back. She was safe in your arms and Monique had Hanna. And she was crying so hard and screaming for me. She was screaming bloody murder and I just couldn't get to her!" He buried his face in his wife's hair, and he cried. "I feel like it's all my fault. And whatever she's been through and whoever she is, is all my fault!"

"It is not your fault Andrew!" She practically shouted through her tears as she moved his head so she could look directly into his eyes. "This is Monique's fault. You know that."

"Yes, I know that Monica. But there are some things a father feels stronger than a mother does. And one of those things is the importance of protection. I lost my ability to protect her when Monique took her from us."

"That's God's job, not yours."

"I know that now."

"He has a purpose in this, we have to keep telling ourselves that."

"I know, I know."

"Here," she said grabbing a tissue off of the nightstand, "dry your tears, we have to go to Sophie."

"Everything will, be okay, angel girl. Everything will be okay, in his time." He kissed his wife softly.