Chapter 7
"Andrew, is she…" Tess couldn't bring herself to say the word as she approached with Sam, Adam and Gloria. But it was clear enough what had just taken place here. Andrew knelt on the cold, broken asphalt holding the still body of his best friend. He sobbed almost uncontrollably into her auburn hair and kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek upon it. Taking a few deep breaths, but not allowing himself to calm fully, Andrew glanced up at Tess and the others through glassy eyes. "She's gone, Tess. We were too late." He informed her in a pained voice as he allowed a completely new set of tears to spill over his cheeks.
Now Tess, Gloria, Adam and Sam had tear-filled eyes as well. "How can anything hurt so much, Sam?" Andrew demanded in a choked voice as he glanced back down at the beautiful face, which used to belong to his friend. "Well Andrew, we tried. Sometimes these things happen. You did your best." Sam attempted to console the sorrowful young angel, but it was to no avail. All their hearts were broken…including Andrew's. "She was my…my best friend."
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
How do I say goodbye
To what we had
The good times that made us laugh
Outweighed the bad
I thought we'd get to see forever
But forever's gone away
It's so hard to say goodbye
To yesterday
I don't know where this road
Is going to lead
All I know is where we've been
And what we've been through
If we get to see tomorrow
I hope it's worth all the wait
It's so hard to say goodbye
To yesterday
And I'll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It's so hard to say goodbye
To yesterday
And I'll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It's so hard to say goodbye
To yesterday
Andrew had carried his friend's body to an absolutely breath-taking spot in the Netherlands. Monica had always said it was her favorite place on Earth. Their surroundings were astonishing. Mammoth, echoing canyons surrounded them on every side and the sun-kissed desert sand lay smooth under Andrew's feet as he laid out Monica's body on the ground. He had loved her so much. Why did she have to go? Why couldn't he have gotten there just a few minutes sooner?
Tears tightened in the angel's throat again at the very thought of it. All he could keep thinking about was what Monica used to be like. Always laughing or smiling or making those silly, little observations of hers. What do they dream about, Andrew?" He recalled her asking him once. "Who?" He had replied unknowingly. "People. What do they dream about when they are not living their…awakeness?" She had questioned innocently. The very sound of the word had made Andrew laugh. "Awakeness?" He had repeated with a brief chuckle, but she had only given him a that's-not-the-point look. "You know what I mean." She laughed in return and the conversation that had followed was one Andrew would always remember.
Just the thought of the memory brought tears to Andrew's eyes yet again as he stared down at his old friend. He remembered the day they had met and all the memories that followed. Their dance at The Sign of the Dove restaurant, the day he had found her drunk at a karaoke bar, the time they had traveled to China on assignment together.
"I love you so much." Andrew whispered as he knelt in the sand and kissed his friend's temple lovingly. He then stood and, with one last look at his old friend, Andrew turned to leave. He didn't know what he was going to do without her. Being an Angel of Death, he witnessed things like his all the time, but it was just surreal until it happened to him. Like he had said to Sam, he couldn't imagine how it was even possible for something to hurt this much. But it did, and it was very real indeed.
But them something happened. Something that stopped Andrew's heart dead in its tracks. He had only made it a few steps away when a voice called after him. A voice so real and clear that Andrew wasn't sure if he had heard it at all. "Andrew." It called in a distinct Irish lilt he was sure he had heard somewhere before.