During their stroll in the park, now under the beautiful sunset, Andrew was more careful than ever with his sweet-mannered friend. In their last outing, on the Ireland seashore, he had pushed her spirit up to some great effort and Monica felt weak and tired. This time, however, the angel of death measured her every step, and deciding that she had already covered enough distance, he elected to make the spot under an oak tree their final stop. And he could not have chosen a better place: it was at the top of a small slope and from there it was possible to see that a music concert was about to begin.
"This is why spring and summer remain to be my favourite seasons, you see, Andrew." She started, once they were again comfortably seated. "Everything is so joyful and vivid and there always seem to be music filling in the air..."
He nodded in agreement. "You're right, angel. Human beings have always celebrated summer as a time to bond and enjoy each other's company."
Monica leaned against him and rested her head over his shoulder, making the blond angel to automatically hold her as the music started. Andrew lifted his prayers asking their Creator for Monica's healing so they could return to that very spot and enjoy Nature's wonders and each other's company in a more complete way.
Meanwhile, dark thoughts kept on haunting his spirit: the seriousness of Monica's condition, the pain she was under and how long she would remain there. And although the angel of death tried to deny it even to himself, Dr Richards's evident enchantment with her did bother him terribly - he had been almost rude to her a couple of hours before just because of her interest in whom was assisting her. Plus, in his most hidden thoughts, Andrew resented the fact that this man was doing everything he could to save Monica, while all that was left to him was to sit and wait. All the doctor's care, attention and protectiveness had always been Andrew's job, not Richards'. That man would never be able to understand the complexity and beauty of Monica's soul, her thoughts and feelings...only Andrew had that privilege besides the Father Himself.
The angel of death had a firm belief that his dearest friend was on an important assignment and that, once it was totally fulfilled, she would wake up and have her health quickly restored, so that the contact with Richards was brief and the angels could move away to another assignment, far from that town, far from that man.
A gentle tug in his arm took him out of his reverie and made him look down at his beautiful friend. "I was wondering something..."She said, with a smile, sparkling brown eyes gazing up at him with expectation as the music kept on playing.
"And what is it, angel?" He replied back, also smiling at her, his dark thoughts left aside for a while.
"May I have this dance?"
Despite the implications of that request - dancing would perhaps mean more effort to Monica, Andrew could not help chuckling at the way she was inviting him. "I thought things are the other way around!" He joked.
"I suppose they are but the music is so beautiful that I felt the urgency to do justice to it right now!"
"Monica..." He started, but if there was something Andrew was positively sure was the fact he was unable to deny Monica almost anything. "It'll be only one dance..." He raised his index finger and gave her a warning look, which she knew was a feeble attempt to set limits for her request.
And his utmost care and evident love did touch Monica's heart deeply. She knew how he had been suffering, how much any angel of death would suffer if assigned to take another fellow angel Home - so far she had never heard something like that could happen. She was Andrew's dearest friend, a companion in so many difficult or joyful moments and watching her suffering over a hospital bed was certainly extremely painful to him. But he was there, trying his best to bring her some relief. The blond angel was more than a soul mate: he was her warden, and his actions would forever be etched in her heart.
