A 'Touched By an Angel' Story

By: Yvette Jessen

Twelve-year-old Celine Davis stood in the front of the auditorium as the introduction to her audition piece started and she began to sing the first two stanzas. In the audience a number of teachers sat and listened as her haunting voice drifted through the room.

"OK, stop," Janet Munson, the choir director, shouted over the music and waving her hand irritably as though Celine had overstayed her welcome and it looked as though she was now intending on throwing the young girl out of the audition.

"But, Mrs. Munson, I haven't even gotten to the chorus yet," Celine objected as her soft blue eyes sought the cold gray eyes of the teacher. "That's the best part."

"We wanted a sample, and we got one, now step down so the next person can audition," the teacher said, her voice cold and stilted, causing a tremor of fear to curse through the shy young girl and eventually she walked over to the piano where the accompanist sat and when she reached him, he handed her the music and she turned to leave. As she did, she could see how the teacher had turned around and started to address another girl, her voice much kinder and friendlier.

"OK, Lisa, it's your turn, honey."

Celine came down the steps and as she passed Lisa, the other girl looked at her. "You needed a lot more practice, anyway," she said smiling wickedly. "Just keep in mind, your last name is not Dion."

The young girl could feel the tears of humiliation brimming from under her eyes, but she held back from crying and simply walked dejectedly back through the auditorium and outside. Once the door closed, Celine allowed the tears to stream down over her face, the emotions overcoming her and she spoke to the stillness. "They'll never give me a chance, not in a million years. If they did it would be because a miracle happened," she whispered sadly as she sank down to the ground.

Music was the only thing she felt like she was any good at, and singing was like breathing to her, it was such an important part of her, but when she looked around the cafeteria of the middle school, she could do nothing but sigh deeply. No one really cared about her singing, not when Lisa Peterson was around.

Lisa was not only the most prominent girl in the choir, but she was also the daughter of the head of the district music supervisor, so naturally, she got all the breaks because of her mother's status. No one had any nerve to deny Lisa the solos or the chances to sing for plays and things, simply because of who her mother was.

Celine, on the other hand, was considered a nobody, even though she had a few friends in the choir, no one really said that she had talent, so she had long since given up on ever making any major steps with singing, simply because no one wanted to hear her. She thought it was a wonderful chance to join the choir at the school, but when she met Mrs. Munson, she realized that the teacher immediately showed that she did not like her and treated her as though she was a thorn in her side. Today, she somehow felt shoved aside and insignificant.

She stared down at her clothing, her father could not afford to buy her new things, so she was stuck wearing the clothing that her cousins could no longer fit into, outdated, and although comfortable, she often felt like a reject from a 'Brady Bunch' episode. She reached inside her pocket and pulled a photo out, it was of her older brother, Richard. Everyone knew of him, he was a star on the high school track team, the most sought after boy in school, but when she looked at herself, all she could see was a nobody.

"Is she our new assignment, Tess?" Three angels suddenly appeared and were all watching the young girl with the utmost compassion in each of their eyes. No one could see them, not even Celine, but they were there watching her.

"Yes, Miss Wings, her name is Celine Davis, she's 12-years-old and a very talented singer, the only trouble, no one here will give her the chance to show the world what she is capable of doing, so she has yet to emerge from that cocoon of hers," Tess replied as she looked at the third angel who was standing a couple of steps away from her and Monica.

"Don't tell me that something is going to happen to her, Andrew," Monica said softly.

The Angel of Death shifted his weight uncomfortably. "No," he said holding his hands up. "I was sent here to help you with this assignment." As he spoke, he flashed his friend a toothy grin causing her to smile.

"It looks as though I have my work cut out for me, then," Monica said softly. "The wee girl seems as though she would rather be anywhere else than where she presently is. What will I be doing?"

"You're going to be an assistant choir teacher," Tess said.

"Excuse me?" Both Monica and Andrew looked at Tess in complete surprise. Neither of them said anything about Monica's singing abilities, or lack thereof. Although they all knew that the pretty auburn headed angel loved to sing, they also knew that she was not like Tess when it came to music, but they would all have to attest to the fact that there were very few humans or angels who could sing like Tess.

"Tess, do you even know what you're saying?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, Angel Boy I do, and if you don't mind, take your bucket and get on with your assignment," Tess said and handed the Angel of Death a mop and he looked down to see a bucket on wheels filled with soap was now next to his feet. One more step, and he would have surely fallen into it, either that or tripped over it. "You'd better get with it, Mr. Halo or else you're going to loose your job."

Andrew finally looked down at his clothing and noticed that rather than being dressed in beige pants, and a white shirt and matching jacket, that he now wore jeans and a dingy blue denim colored button down the front shirt. On his head, he wore a baseball cap with the school's mascot embroidered on the front. "I'm a custodian?" He asked, but when he looked up, he could see that he was now in human form, Tess and Monica were both gone and he began to push the bucket towards the closet where the cleaning supplies were kept. "This is just great," he muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" A voice emerged and he looked into the blue eyes of his assignment. Celine Davis had apparently gotten up off the floor and had walked over to him when she had heard him mumbling to himself.

"Oh, uh, nothing," he managed to utter but his eyes met her own and he could not deny the traces of sadness that lurked in the recesses of her eyes. Looking away and sighing deeply he started to roll the bucket towards the closet, but accidentally stumbled and lurched forward. Celine reached out and helped to steady him.

"Are you OK?" she asked weakly once he was no longer wobbly on his feet and had not fallen into the bucket.

"Sure, I'm fine," he said. "I'm just not used to these having wheels, I guess."

"My name's Celine," she said softly and she smiled weakly at him.

"Andrew," he finally managed to speak and began to roll the bucket towards the entrance to the auditorium.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you, Mrs. Munson is a witch about things like this. She hates it when her auditions are interrupted by the cleaning crew," Celine said softly shrugging her shoulders. "I think she hates them about as much as she hates me."

"Why would she hate you?" He asked as he stopped walking and turned to face the young girl.

"I don't know, I could never figure it out, but I'd suggest that you be careful around her, she's not a very nice person," she said softly. "I know you're probably new around here, I've never seen you before, so that's why I'm telling you this."

"Well, thank you for the warning," Andrew said softly.

"No problem," she replied.

"I always knew that you kept the cleaning crew from doing their job, Celine. Of course, you fit in better with them than you do with the real talent of the school," an arrogant sounding voice emerged and she looked up to see Lisa Peterson was now standing near the entrance to the auditorium and the girl carried a smirk on her face. "Guess who just got the starring role in 'My Fair Lady'?"

Celine stuffed her hands in her pockets and without saying a word; she walked slowly away.

"You'll never make it as a singer," Lisa shouted after the girl. "Just like this bozo will probably spend the rest of his life changing toilet paper rolls in the boys bathroom. I guess it's only natural for two losers to hang out with each other and become friends."

With that the girl stalked away, but not before Andrew had glanced up and his compassionate eyes met those of Celine. She turned and ran away and he could only watch as she disappeared through the doorway, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Shaking his head sadly, he wheeled the bucket and mop through the cafeteria and began to clean the tiled floor near the front entrance of the school building. All the while, he could not get the hurt look out of his mind that Celine had on her face as she had left.

*****

Celine walked slowly down the street in the direction of where she lived with her father and brother. Her mother died when she was four and although she could barely remember Christa Davis, she was often told that she took after her. As she walked through the park, she tried to get the painful feelings suppressed before she would arrive home. The last thing she needed was to unload on her already overburdened father. She simply did not want to show her father how upset she was.

As she looked around, she could see the other children playing, most of them dressed impeccably. She sighed deeply as she stopped for a moment and watched them before continuing to walk in the direction of the run-down building where she lived.

Going to school in this district was so hard sometimes, she often thought sadly. Mostly because the majority of her classmates came from wealthier families, and they could have everything they wanted. She, on the other hand, had to wear old, outdated clothing, and even her tray lunches were paid for by the district because she came from a poorer family and her father couldn't even afford to pay for her lunches at school.

As she climbed up the stairs to her father's apartment, she could hear singing from out in the hallway. This was something new, simply because most people around this area did not usually sing gospel style music, most of them probably didn't even believe in God.

Celine stopped walking and for a few minutes, she simply listened. It sounded like the voice of an African American woman and this left her to wonder if the woman sang in a church choir or something because the music was really nice. She continued to listen to the moving words of the song as it drifted out into the hallway almost beckoning her to knock at the apartment door where it originated.

When the woman stopped singing and started again with 'Amazing Grace', a song Celine knew and recognized, she listened for a few minutes and then she, herself, began to sing as well, trying all the while to harmonize with the alto voice of the woman, her soft soprano voice almost a third higher in pitch.

Moments later, the young girl closed her eyes as the words to the song she was singing started to get to her emotions; but within seconds, the door opened and the woman who had been singing had stopped and was now standing the hallway listening to the harmonizing of the young girl out in the corridor. Celine continued to sing until the woman's voice emerged and brought her crashing back down to Earth.

"You're pretty good," the woman said. "It's nice to have a neighbor that loves to sing as much as I do."

Celine shrugged her shoulders, but her face flushed crimson when she realized that the woman had actually heard her sing, but didn't appear to want her to stop and instead was trying to bring her out of her shell.

"My name's Tess," the woman said and offered the girl a warm smile.

"Celine Davis," came her almost shy answer.

"Well, Celine Davis, I'd say you have talent. How old are you?"

"12," She said softly.

"Did you ever have any sort of vocal training?" Tess asked.

"No, my dad can't afford it," Celine said softly. "Besides, no one around here cares about my singing anyway, so it would probably be a waste of money for me to even try."

"I don't know about that, baby," Tess said. "What would you say if I offered to coach you a little bit? A few days after school, and I'm sure you'll feel much better about your ability, and it would be fun for me too, because I just love good gospel music."

Celine shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so, my dad can't afford it."

"Who said anything about money?" Tess asked. "I'm talking about you, me, my friend, Adam, at the piano, and an afternoon of making music. It would be a lot of fun, and maybe you can teach me a few things."

Celine looked into the kind eyes of the woman and after a second, she nodded. "It's either that or math homework." She paused and offered Tess a weak smile. "OK."

"Great, we'll start tomorrow afternoon at four," Tess said and walked slowly down the hall and descended the stairs leaving Celine standing in the hallway. All the while the angel was humming, but as soon as she saw Tess disappearing downstairs, she smiled weakly. It would be nice to have someone to sing with, she thought to herself, and since it doesn't cost anything, Daddy can't object to it, at least she hoped he wouldn't.

*****

"You did what?" Matt Davis shouted at his young daughter after she had come into the apartment and told him that she had agreed to meet Tess the following afternoon and would work with her on singing.

"Daddy, I made a new friend and we're going to sing together, that's all," Celine said softly.

"You have your homework to tend to, and I want you here to take care of things while I'm at work," he said angrily. "You know you have to pull your weight around here."

"I know, and I will, but I want to sing too," Celine said softly.

"That's why I agreed that you could sing in the choir," he said. "You do your singing in school and…"

"Yeah, that's just great," she said crossly interrupting him. "I only sing in the choir where the director hates my guts and people like Lisa Peterson can belittle me and treat me like the scum on the bottom of someone's shoes. I can't do that, Dad, I'd rather quit choir all together than to be told that I can't sing with someone who actually tells me that I have talent," Celine said softly, the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

"Come on, Pop, let her sing, I think between the two of us, we've got things squared around here," Richard came into the room and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out a carton of milk and began to pour himself a glass. As he returned the carton to the shelf it belonged on, he looked at his father. "Besides, track season just ended, and I'll be around here and can help out a bit."

Celine looked gratefully at her 15-year-old brother and smiled weakly at him. "Thanks, Rich."

"Hey, don't sweat it, kid, I know you got talent, and one day you're going to show the world," Richard said softly as he ruffled her hair. "Isn't she, Dad?" He looked at his father with a look that clearly said what the answer should be.

"Yeah, sure," Matt said, but Celine could see the disbelief in her father's face.

Instead of speaking of the singing any further, Celine opted to completely change the subject to something that might please her father. "I guess I should get started with my chores, huh?"

"Yeah, I think you should" Matt said. "Then you need to get busy on your homework and then go to bed."

"Yes, Sir," she said softly and walked down the hallway in the direction of the bathroom. She was smiling weakly when she thought about the coming day when she would get to work with Tess.

*****

The following day, Celine walked into the choir room for her last period rehearsal. She could see the other kids were sitting on the risers and all of them appeared to be ready. She managed to take her place before the last bell rang and once it did, she watched as Janet Munson entered the room, her cold gray eyes scanning the room and narrowing when her gaze landed on Celine.

The young girl looked briefly away and was grateful when the teacher's new assistant walked in some seconds later, somehow distracting the teacher from looking around the room scornfully.

"OK, crew," the woman began to speak as her steel gray eyes were still scanning the room. "This is Monica, she's the new assistant, and she'll be taking care of things for us today while I work with Lisa on her part for the play."

"Hello," the angel eventually spoke once Lisa and the teacher disappeared into a practice room. Her sympathetic brown eyes looked around the room as soon as the door had closed, and immediately the kids began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Typical," one boy muttered.

"Why is that?" another student asked.

"You know the story, Mrs. Munson may be the best choir director this school has ever seen, and we may win awards for the school, but there's really no question as to where her loyalties seem to lie," a girl in the alto section complained.

"OK, everyone, why don't we get started," Monica said trying to break into the chattering of the kids, but her voice went ignored when one of the boys spoke up in the teacher's defense.

"Oh come on, guys, she's not that bad."

"That's because you're one of her 'choir babies', Peter," one of the boys in the tenor section said sarcastically. "If one of us 'nobodies' were to even try to make something of ourselves here, Mrs. Munson would have us out on our ear, either that, or she would try to sabotage it or somehow give it to Lisa."

Monica glanced over and could see that Celine just sat there saying nothing. It was obvious to the angel that the young girl was afraid to say anything, and from what she had witnessed the day before, it was probably a realistic fear that seemed to rage through the thoughts of the sixth grader, and Monica offered her a sympathetic smile.

She finally clapped her hands; this action causing the kids to stop speaking. "Now, listen everyone, I'm new here, and I think the best thing to do is get started. Gossip isn't going to change anything, but perhaps we can do something to show the people in this school that each and every one of you has a wonderful God-given talent."

"Have you ever directed a choir before, Monica?" Peter asked, looking at her as though she had just admitted to being a large, fluffy marshmallow.

"Well, no," the angel answered honestly trying to ignore the rudeness in the boy's voice. "But everyone has to start somewhere."

The boy's brown eyes rolled, but eventually he looked around the room. "OK, guys, I guess we'd better give her a chance and see if she can measure up."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Monica said, her voice calm. "Peter, isn't it?" As the boy nodded, she indicated that they needed to stand up to do their warm-up.

As soon as they were standing, Monica started them out with a warm-up exercise. "You have to not only have your voice warmed up, but your entire body has to be ready to sing," she explained as she demonstrated that she wanted the kids to start moving their necks and arms in order to relax the muscles.

Within ten minutes, the choir was warmed up and she began to flip through the music that had been selected for the group. "Let's see, what is your favorite song to sing?"

"We always liked doing the one called, 'The Road Not Taken' which I like," one of the girls said.

"Yes, that one's really wonderful, but Mrs. Munson doesn't let us sing it anymore," Celine finally broke her silence.

"Shut up, Celine," one of the boys snapped. "If you tell her that then we won't get to sing it at all, and I really like that one, too."

"No, she has a right to speak," Monica said softly. "Just because Mrs. Munson doesn't have you sing this song, doesn't mean that I won't allow it. If you like the song, then you will sing it wonderfully, and that is reason enough to give it a try. Everyone, please take out 'The Road Not Taken' and we'll see how it goes."

"What about Mrs. Munson?" Celine asked weakly.

"She's working with Lisa, so we will sing this song, and see what happens," Monica said confidently as she went over to the piano and managed to give the four tones where the song would begin. "OK, now, everyone hum your first note. Sopranos…OK, good, and now the altos…tenors…good, good, and now the basses." She cut them off, and within seconds the choir began to sing the famous Robert Frost poem, which had been set to music.

Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

Yet be one traveler long I stood

And looked down the other as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

They continued to sing the song through to the second verse, but eventually Janet Munson had come out of the practice room and she looked at Monica angrily before addressing the choir. "I said we're not singing this song."

"But, Mrs. Munson, it sounds so pretty," Celine objected before she could even stop the words from emerging from between her lips.

"And I say we're not, Celine," the teacher snapped. "Now, everyone pass in this song, and Celine, you're excused from the rest of the rehearsal."

"But…" the young girl's voice trailed.

"No buts, out right now," Janet snapped and the young girl climbed down from the risers and walked dejectedly towards the door.

"Mrs. Munson, please don't make Celine leave, she's a very good singer, and…" Monica's voice trailed as Janet looked at her.

"Monica, I'm in charge here, and what I say goes, and I say she goes," her cold eyes landed on Celine, and she pointed to the door. "Out, or I will have you suspended."

Celine's eyes met those of Monica, and after a few moments hesitation, she grabbed her books and slowly left the room.

Monica wanted to follow her, but she was told that she would have to stay and help with the rehearsal. She sighed deeply as Janet collected the rest of the scores for the song, and threw the copies on top of the piano.

Once she returned to the practice room, Monica looked out at the children. One of the girls looked as though she was going to cry, and some of the other kids just looked angry.

"You see, I told you," Peter said bitterly. "Mrs. Munson hates that song."

"Is Celine going to be OK?" One of the girls asked. "I don't like her that much, but what Mrs. Munson did was really mean. I mean; it wasn't even Celine's fault."

Monica shook her head not knowing what to say. Her mind was not centered on the reasons behind Janet Munson not liking this song, but rather, they were centered on where and what was happening with Celine.

*****

I know she hates me, Celine thought sadly as she felt the tears streaming down her cheeks. She was walking through the school, her eyes constantly on the ground and she was looking for a place to hide from the world. Janet Munson had kicked her out of the choir rehearsal, and though she knew that she was supposed to go to the principal's office, she didn't. Instead, she found herself watching as Andrew stepped out of the janitor's closet and without thinking, she walked towards the now opened door and went into the small closet sized room.

As she sat down on the ground in the corner of this room, she looked out through the half-opened door all the while wondering if she would get caught there, and hoping that Andrew wouldn't come back until after the bell rang and she could leave without being discovered and sent to detention for wandering the halls of the school during class. She rested her head in her lap and sighed deeply.

It was hopeless, she thought sadly to herself as she closed her eyes and allowed the tears to fall. The only thing she loved was music, and now she lost it simply because the choir director could not stand to even look at her.

Sighing sadly, she managed to pull the three sheets of paper from her notebook and looked down at the copies of the piece of music her teacher so despised. Celine had made a photocopy of the song simply because it was her favorite, and for some strange reason, this song made her feel strangely connected to her dead mother.

"Hello," a voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked up and could see that Andrew was now in the closet and was towering over her.

Instead of speaking to him, she meshed herself against the wall in hopes that he would not see her and leave, but instead, he sat down on the ground right next to her and rested a firm, but gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be afraid, Celine, I won't tell anyone that you're here," he smiled at her.

"Thank you, Andrew," she said softly.

"Is everything OK?" He asked gently.

"I'mI'm so sorry about yesterday. I couldn't stay and listen to Lisa speak so cruelly. I mean, it's no secret that she is not a nice person, but she had no right to humiliate you like that," Celine said softly. "It's just that I wanted to defend you, but…" her voice trailed and she looked up at him.

"You don't need to feel obligated to defend me, Celine," Andrew said softly. "You're not responsible for what she said or did."

"Perhaps not, but it was horrible what she said, and it was so mean," the girl spoke. "It makes me so mad sometimes, but I'm a coward and can do nothing about it."

"I wouldn’t say you're a coward," he said gently.

"Yes, I am, and it bothers me because the only reason Lisa gets everything is because of her mom," Celine said softly.

"I'm not sure I follow what you're saying," he said.

"Lisa's mom is the head of the district's music department, and she's also Mrs. Munson's best friend. I mean; everyone knows that it's no secret as to why Lisa gets all the starring roles in plays or the best solos, and stuff here. She doesn't have to be the best singer, but because of her mom, somehow she gets everything. That's why I think she's so arrogant, because, somehow people here think she can do no wrong."

"I don't know, there's more to life than just having a nice singing vice," he said gently. "Look at you, you're a pretty girl, you are kind and generous. You look out for other people and you seem to be someone who knows what it means to be a good friend."

"But, I don't have a good voice, is that what you're saying?" She asked weakly.

"Listen to me, Celine, I haven't heard you sing yet and I would like to sometime, but I will tell you this, if you love music and enjoy singing, then that will emerge with the emotions you have when you sing. If you think you're the greatest there is, then you are singing for all the wrong reasons. I believe that you are not singing for the wrong reasons, and I think you know that as well."

"I try not to, it's just that I love to sing, and whether or not I'm good at it, well that's something for the other people to determine," she said. "Around here, it's hard because I know that the only way I will ever get a chance to really sing would be if I were to do it outside of school."

"Why don't you then?" Andrew asked softly. "If you love to sing, Celine, then you should have a chance to do it, but you shouldn't base your abilities on what people like Lisa or Mrs. Munson think, if you believe that you're good at it, or that you love it, then just sing."

"It's funny you should mention that, because I met someone yesterday after I left here, and she wants to sing with me," Celine began. "The weird thing is, I'm still in the choir, and Mrs. Munson hates me. She kicked me out of the class today because I told her that I liked a certain song. I guess she was just looking for a reason, and me speaking up about what I felt gave her that reason."

Andrew smiled sympathetically and reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"What am I doing, I barely even know you and yet I'm telling you all of this?" She muttered to herself. "I'm sorry, but now you must think I'm totally pathetic."

"No, I don't," he said softly. "In fact, I'm glad that you're talking to me about it."

"Perhaps, but I really shouldn't be burdening you with this," she said softly. "You're like Mrs. Munson's colleague or something, and who's to say you won't go and tell her what I said here?"

"Who's to say that I would break your confidence?" Andrew asked softly, but when she did not offer an answer, he reached over and squeezed her shoulder once again. "You have my word, Celine, I won't speak to Mrs. Munson about any of this, I want to be your friend, and help in any way I can. I know that the other kids might tease you for hanging around with a custodian, though."

"I think you are a friend, Andrew, and I don't care what they think," Celine said softly. "But still…"

"You wish they would just leave others alone and not judge them," he finished her sentence for her.

"Yeah, but I guess wishing for that is like asking God for a miracle. It's just something that won't ever happen," Celine said softly as she shook her head.

"Oh, you never know, maybe it will," Andrew said and smiled at her. "Maybe God has already heard your prayer and He is waiting for just the right moment."

Celine stood up as the bell rang indicating the end of the school day. "You probably have to get to work now, huh? I'm really sorry if I kept you from anything pressing, but I do think you're a nice person, and I appreciate you listening to me."

"That's OK, you know you can always come talk to me," Andrew said. "I'll always listen."

"Thanks," she got up and at the door she glanced around to see if anyone was watching the closet. When she saw no one in the vicinity, she emerged from the room and took off running in the direction of the glass doors located at the front of the school.

Andrew was left still seated on the floor when Monica came inside. The Irish angel sat down in the spot, which Celine had vacated. "You talked to her?" She asked once she looked into Andrew's concerned face.

"Yes, she's a very kind-hearted girl, Monica. She defends the underdog even though she considers herself to be the biggest one of them all," Andrew said softly, and after a few moments of silence, he finally looked at his fellow angel and asked the question that had been bothering him since he had found Celine sitting in the closet. "What happened in the choir rehearsal that brought her to this closet?"

"Janet Munson kicked Celine out of the rehearsal just because she said that she liked a certain song," Monica said softly. "I don't understand, Andrew, I was sent here to help Celine, but somehow I wonder if I was also sent to help Janet as well."

"What else happened after Celine left the rehearsal?" Andrew asked.

"We didn't get any singing done, if that's what you mean," Monica said softly. "A number of the kids were really angry at Mrs. Munson for having taken her anger out on Celine. After the bell rang and I was leaving, I noticed that Janet had come out of the practice room and was shredding the original copies of 'The Road Not Taken'. I don't understand why, the song is really lovely, and the children not only enjoy it, but they also sing it very well."

"Well, Celine may have left you a clue as to why. Look," Andrew pointed and when Monica looked, she saw that three photocopied pages were lying on the ground next to her. "It looks as though this slipped out of her notebook when she got up to leave, so maybe this will give you some sort of idea as to why this song has suddenly become taboo."

Once he had handed her the music, he stood up and stretched out before heading outside to begin working.

Monica sat and could do nothing except stare down at the music that Celine had inadvertently dropped.

*****

At four, Celine arrived at the door to Tess' apartment and before ringing the doorbell she patted her hair into place and hoped that it would not totally obvious to her new friend that she had been crying since leaving school. She rang the bell and when the door opened, she looked up and backed up slightly when she saw a tall man in a beige suit standing before her.

"Hello," he said and smiled. "You must be Celine, my name is Adam, and I'm a friend of Tess."

"Hi," she smiled weakly and when he stepped back from the door she was able to come into the apartment. "Is she here? I mean; she said I should come at four."

"Mm-hum, she's here," he said smiling. "Come on in."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"So you're Tess' new protégé, huh?" He asked, his gray eyes twinkling.

"I don't know about that, I heard her singing 'Amazing Grace' yesterday and tried harmonizing a little," Celine said nervously as she waited for Tess to come out into the living room. When she finally did, Celine smiled. "Hi."

"Hello," Tess smiled. "Well, Adam, Celine, let's get the show on the road. What is your favorite song to sing?"

"I don't know," Celine offered, I like so many songs, but…" her voice trailed and she smiled weakly uncertain if she was really in the mood to sing, but afraid of saying something that would disappoint her new friend.

"Why don't we try 'Amazing Grace' again?" Tess suggested.

"OK," as she started to sing, she could feel that her energy was still not in the song, and she stopped in the middle of it.

Tess, recognizing that Celine looked unusually sad that day stopped singing as well and rested a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "Is something wrong, Celine, you don't look at all happy?" Tess asked. "Would you like to talk about it, I've been told that I'm a good listener?"

"No, it's nothing, I guess I just don't feel like singing today," she said softly. "Can we get together tomorrow afternoon? I know it's Saturday, but I have too much on my mind right now, and I'm not sure I'm in the mind-frame to sing."

"Of course, honey," Tess said softly as Celine walked towards the door. "If you need anything, feel free to come by, OK?"

"Thank you," she said softly and with that Celine left the apartment and stepped out into the hallway. Once she closed the door, she ran up the stairs until she stood at the front door of her apartment and began to fumble with her keys. When she dropped them on the ground, she sighed sadly and just sank to the ground, her hands covering her face and she began to weep bitterly. "Dear God," she whispered. "I'm sorry, I couldn't sing that song, and though it was for you, I'm just so sad today that I didn't feel like singing. I feel like I'm all alone here, and although I know I have met some nice people, I don't know if they are my friends, or if they are just nice people I know." She sighed deeply, the tears continuing to stream down her face. "Please, God, I want to sing 'The Road Not Taken', it is the only song I know that reminds me of my mom."

Behind her, Monica and Andrew stood and listened to her, their sadness evident when they heard the words to Celine's prayer. After a few moments, they watched as she managed to retrieve her key, unlock the door, go inside, and close the door behind her.

"The wee girl has lost all hope," Monica said sadly as she felt the tears in her eyes.

"Then we will have to help her find it again, angel babies," Tess said as she came out of the apartment and joined them at the top of the stairwell. Adam lingered some steps behind her, but he nodded in concurrence.

*****

The Saturday morning sunshine drifted into Celine's bedroom window and she crawled out of bed and got dressed. She always liked Saturday mornings, usually she had the apartment all to herself and her father didn't expect her to do any chores. She smiled weakly, for some reason, she had slept pretty good, but her mind still drifted back to what had happened during the choir rehearsal the day before. She could not stop wondering if Mrs. Munson had intended on kicking her out of the choir, or worse yet, suspending her from school, but more than anything she wondered why the woman seemed to have a vendetta against her. She was frightened whenever she would think about it, and all that she had done was she said that she loved a song.

When her mind drifted to the song that she loved, she reached for her notebook and opened it with the intention of pulling the music out and studying the text. When she realized that it was gone, the color faded from her face and she grabbed her purse and fled the room with the intent of going and searching for the score she had copied. I can't believe I lost it, she thought sadly to herself as she pulled on her jacket and left the apartment nearly running over Tess in the process.

"My goodness, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Tess asked as Celine closed the door to the apartment, locked it, and started to run towards the stairwell.

"I have to get to the library this morning before they close for the lunch hour," she said softly, as she started to run down the stairs, but as she did, she tripped over her feet and fell down the stairs, her head hitting the ground at the bottom and she groaned, as the tears began to stream down her face.

Tess rushed down the stairs and was standing at her side within seconds. "Baby, are you OK?"

Celine nodded numbly as she wipe the tears from her face. She tried to get to her feet, but after a few moments, she felt dizzy and sank back to the ground, her head completely spinning.

"Are you dizzy?" Tess asked and once Celine nodded, the angel went over to the door of her apartment and opened it. "Adam, could you get out here, we need your help," Tess called out as the Angel of Death emerged from the apartment and was standing in the corridor. Within seconds, he had crouched down beside Celine.

"Everything is spinning," Celine whispered trying again to get to her feet, but the dizziness once again overwhelmed her and had Adam not stood up and caught her under her arms, she would have fallen back onto the ground.

Feeling the weight of the young girl in his arms, Adam helped her inside. Tess followed and closed the door behind them.

As soon as Adam had helped her to the sofa, Celine opened her eyes and looked up at them. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't expect to fall."

"Nobody ever does, baby, but you obviously have more on your mind than just that you fell down, what's going on?" Tess asked gently.

"Nothing, I just remembered that I needed to get something at the library and forgot to eat breakfast. I guess I'm just a klutz."

"No, I think something else is wrong. Why don't you tell us about it, and maybe together we can work on finding a solution?" Tess smiled gently.

Celine looked into the dark eyes of the angel, and after a few seconds she shook her head. "I lost something very special is all," she began. "It's a piece of music I love to sing, and well, the teacher at school doesn't like it," she paused as a sigh emerged. "I'm in the school choir, and my teacher hates me, Tess. I feel like an outcast in there and I wish I could quit, but the people at the school won't let me. It's really hard because Mrs. Munson, the choir teacher, basically shows in every way possible that she detests me." The tears continued to stream down her face. "Y-yesterday, I couldn't concentrate on singing because she had kicked me out of class and I went and hid in the custodian's closet because I was too afraid to do anything else. I guess she expected me to go to the principal's office, but I didn't because I was scared of getting thrown out of school," Celine said softly and she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. "All I did was tell them I liked this song called 'The Road Not Taken', and she got mad and told me I should leave. The new assistant tried to defend me, but that only made things worse."

"What can I do to help?" Tess asked.

"I don't know what anyone can do, I mean; even the custodian was nice to me about it, but I think everyone there either hates or they feel sorry for me. I don't really know what's worse," Celine said softly.

"Maybe they help you because they like you," Adam said as he sat down on the sofa. "I like you, I think you're a very talented young lady."

"But, you don't even know me," she objected.

"Well, then give us a chance to get to know you, and then you'll see for yourself that we really do like you," Adam said matter-of-factly.

Celine smiled weakly and looked at Tess. "I want to sing, Tess, but I don't know where I could go and be accepted for it."

"Didn't you tell me about a area wide contest that was taking place here in town in three weeks or so, Tess?" Adam asked.

"That's right, I did," she replied and looked at Celine. "There's a music competition that is coming to town to look for new talent," Tess said as she reached for the newspaper that was resting on the coffee table and looked down as she began to read. "They are looking for people of all ages here and there are all kinds of categories listed here."

Celine looked at her. "Do you think I even have a chance?"

"You have more of a chance if you give it a try then if you don't," Tess said. "Besides, the people who have hurt you aren't involved in this contest, so you can discover to what extent your talent lies and you might just surprise yourself."

Adam nodded. "Even if you don't win, you'll still be a winner because you had the courage to give it a try."

Celine pondered their words for a few moments. "OK, I guess I'll try then."

Tess smiled approvingly. "Good, now why don't you fill out the entry blank then and we'll mail it for you?"

"Do you think my dad will get mad at me for doing this?" She asked as she looked at the form she now held in her hand.

"Why would he?" Adam asked.

Celine sighed deeply as she looked at it and the color faded from her face. "It doesn't seem to matter, I can't do it anyway, it costs 25 dollars entry fee, and I don't have the money for it."

Tess smiled gently. "Now, you just let us take care of that, OK, and try not to worry about your daddy, if he has any problems, you send him to talk to me, and I'll make sure he understands that it won't hurt him in any way to let you give it a try."

Celine finally nodded and once the two angels had helped her to fill out the form, she smiled. Maybe these people are really friends, she thought to herself. Maybe God really did answer my prayer after all.

*****

Monday afternoon, Celine walked towards the choir room, her nervousness evident as she was not certain what she would say if Mrs. Munson were to confront her. This fear was unfounded because when she came in, the first thing she noticed was that Monica was standing in the room and Adam was next to her working through some music. It surprised her to actually see Adam there, but when she did not see Janet Munson, her relief overshadowed everything else, even her confusion about the Angel of Death's presence in the room.

As she was laying her books on top of the large cabinet and retrieved her folder, she could feel the gentle brown eyes of the Irish angel on her and she turned around and awkwardly made her way towards the risers.

"Celine, can we talk for a moment?" Monica asked gently once she had taken a seat.

"Sure," Celine replied without any sort of energy but she offered the angel a weak, almost embarrassed, smile, stood up and followed Monica into the office. "Where's Mrs. Munson?"

"She's out sick today," Monica said softly but did not go into details about the teacher's whereabouts and if truth be known the young girl did not seem all that interested in knowing where the teacher was.

Once inside the office and the door had been closed behind them, Monica began to speak. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you on Friday. I don't know what it is about Mrs. Munson and why she…"

"…Hates me?" Celine asked interrupting.

"She doesn't hate you," Monica said.

"Well, she doesn't like me either. I mean; it's perfectly obvious that I'm not at the top of her Christmas list, so how else am I supposed to interpret her attitude towards me?" Celine asked trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. Monica could clearly see that the girl was only trying to act tough to hide the devastation this entire ordeal was leaving on her. "Besides, this whole thing is probably as big of a mystery as what is really in the hamburgers they serve in the cafeteria."

"I wasn't implying that," Monica began.

"I know you weren't, but you don't have to," Celine said softly. "I don't blame you for it, but Monica, please don't try to stick up for me again, it's not only humiliating, but I would really hate to see anyone else get hurt because of me. I've seen many choral assistants come and go, most of them quitting after only a week because Mrs. Munson didn't like them. Either that or because they have been nice to 'nobodies' like me."

"Celine!" Monica looked at the girl.

"Look, I'm used to it, OK, it's not brain surgery," Celine said. "I come from a rough side of town, my family doesn't have a lot, but we have our pride, and to have someone stand up for mewell, from my experiences, it only succeeds in making people angrier at me. The more you tell Mrs. Munson that I shouldn't be thrown out of here, the more likely she's going to do it."

"I'm sorry, Celine," Monica began. "I was only trying to help."

"I know, you were," she said, her voice lowering considerably. "I also appreciate it, but I know Mrs. Munson, she's been here since before I started school here, and I'm used to the fact that she doesn't like me." There was a trace of sadness in the young girl's eyes, but instead of speaking of this, Celine continued. "I like you, Monica, I think you're very nice, and I don't want Mrs. Munson to chase you off like she'd done with countless other people, so please, be careful."

With that, Celine walked out of the office leaving Monica staring after her in wide-eyed astonishment.

*****

Andrew walked into the choir room right at the end of the school day and could hear the group rehearsing. If truth be known, he was curious about how Celine was doing but he was also interested in seeing how Monica was faring as a choir director's assistant.

As he came into the room, he remained in the back and listened as the kids finished practicing some of the music for their upcoming concert. He smiled when his eyes met those of Celine, but when he saw the scowl on Lisa's face, he tried to block it out of his mind and continued to listen.

At that moment, the bell rang and Andrew moved away from the door as the children began to file out of the room. After a few seconds, he could see that Celine was still seated in her chair and she held a piece of paper in her hand. Within seconds, Lisa inched closer to her and was now looking down at the paper as well. "'The Best of Town Talent Contest'? Oh come on, Celine, one look at you and the judges would laugh until they turned blue in the face."

As Lisa walked away laughing, Celine sighed deeply as Monica came over to her and could see a hurt look in the young girl's eyes, but instead of speaking, Celine stuffed the article in her pocket and walked towards the door.

When she reached the door, she could suddenly feel a hand on her arm and she turned around and could see that Andrew was standing there, blocking her way, and smiling reassuringly at her. "Prove her wrong, Celine," he said simply.

"How?" She asked weakly. "Just look at me, Andrew. I may sing, but Lisa's right, no one will be able to get past my appearance. I look horrible, If I'm the ugly duckling, I'm not going to grow up to be the swan, I'm just going to grow up to be the ugly duck."

"Stop," he spoke, her voice emerging harshly, but his assertiveness caused her to stop dead in her tracks. She turned around and could see his compassionate eyes staring down at her. "You are allowing the words of someone who is mean spirited to determine whether or not you audition. Believe me, Celine, you have as much of a right to audition as she does."

"But…"

"Andrew's right, Celine," Monica said softly joining them. "Come over here by the piano. Adam, could you play the starting notes for 'The Road Not Taken'? Celine, sing your part, Andrew, you get to sing tenor today and Adam will sing bass."

"What about you?" Celine asked.

"I'll try the alto's part," Monica said softly all the while hoping that the Father would give her what she needed when she needed it, and knowing full well that what she really needed was a good solid alto voice.

Adam began to play the opening chords for each part and within seconds, the three angels and the human girl began to sing.

As they continued into the second verse of the song, none of them noticed that the head of the music department had walked into the room and was now listening intently to their harmonizing. Brenda Peterson watched as a young girl and three angels sang together.

"Excuse me," she called out causing them to stop and Monica turned towards where the voice originated. "I don't mean to interrupt, I mean; your singing sounds quite lovely."

"That's Lisa's mom," Celine stammered immediately recognizing the woman. After a few moments, she looked at Andrew, her insecurity obvious.

"Hello," the woman smiled weakly once she had come closer to them. "I was told that I would find a Monica here."

"Yes, that's me," Monica said smiling warmly.

"Yes, well, Janet called me and said that there was some music for me to pick up in her office, and I was wondering if you could get it for me," she said.

"Of course," Monica quickly excused herself and went to retrieve the requested material.

"Dear," she addressed Celine, her voice emerged much differently than the young girl had expected; it was filled with kindness. "You look familiar to me, what's your name?"

"Celine Davis," emerged the shy answer.

"You're Celine Davis?" came the surprised question.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I knew your mother, Celine," Mrs. Peterson said softly. "She was a very kindhearted and talented woman. She was also one of my best friends."

"She was?" Celine asked, her voice filled with surprise.

"Yes, she was. I suppose you were rather young when she passed on, weren't you? You probably didn't know about what kind of person she was, but she absolutely adored you, you were always her little angel." Brenda Peterson said all the while she smiled warmly at Celine, but her smile was also extended towards Adam and Andrew. Both angels returned the gesture as Celine began to speak.

"I was four, and my dad told me that she had cancer," Celine replied. "I never really knew her all that well, but everyone says I sort of look like she did, but I wish I could remember."

"You do look like her," Brenda said softly. "You also have a beautiful voice, just like she did. Did you know that your mother was one of the best sopranos in the city? In fact, she auditioned in things like the upcoming 'Best of Town Talent Contest' and often won in the Gospel Category."

"I didn't know that," Celine said, but within seconds, she could see the door to the room opening and Lisa had returned to the classroom and was now watching Celine and her mother as they conversed. "Do you think I have a chance in the competition, Mrs. Peterson?"

"Yes, I think you do, but remember, Celine, whatever you do, I think you will make your mother very proud, of that I am almost certain," Brenda said softly and reached over and squeezed Celine's shoulder. "I too will be at the competition in a couple of weeks as my daughter, Lisa, is auditioning." She smiled warmly at the young girl. "I just wanted to wish you the best of luck there, and even if you don't win, I'm certain you'll be one of the top contenders."

"Thank you," Celine said as Monica returned with the music and handed it to Brenda.

As Brenda turned around, she could see the wide eyes of her daughter staring at her, and she shrugged her shoulders and went to join Lisa, but before she reached her, the girl ran back out into the hallway leaving the three angels and Celine standing in the choir room staring after them.

Once the two of them were gone, Celine looked at Andrew. "She said I had talent," she whispered. "That was the head of the music department of this school district and she actually said that I had talent."

"Mm-hum," Andrew smiled and nodded. "That you do."

Adam began to play again, and he nodded towards Celine. "OK, now sing with all that is in you."

The girl looked at Monica and when the angel nodded, she began to sing.

Amazing Grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost

But, now I'm found

Was blind

But now I see

As the young girl finished singing, Adam looked up. "I think we found your audition piece," he smiled at her. "That was beautiful."

Celine offered a grateful nod and smiled. "Yes, I think that it's only fair that I thank Him for giving me you guys as friends."

The three angels smiled and Monica wiped a stray tear from her eyes. At that moment, Andrew leaned over and whispered something in Monica's ear before excusing himself and leaving the room.

*****

"How could you talk to her?" Lisa shouted as she walked down the hallway, her mother following her and neither of them could see that Andrew stepped out into the hallway, and watched them from a distance. "She's the biggest loser there is."

"Lisa, her mother was my friend, we used to sing together, you know that," Brenda said with surprise and hurt in her eyes.

"I don't believe it, Mrs. Munson said that you and her are best friends and that you sing together," Lisa said. "Mrs. Munson also said that Celine didn't have any talent; she even said that to the drama coach after I made the role of 'Eliza'."

"Mrs. Munson was wrong, Lisa," Brenda said softly. "She's so wrong."

"How could you be friends with that loser's mother?" She asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"Lisa, please don't ever call Celine Davis a loser around me again. I may not get angry about what Mrs. Munson has said to you, but I have to explain something to you that is very important. I met Janet Munson some months before Christa Davis died," Brenda began. "You were still a toddler back when, about to celebrate your fourth birthday when this happened. Celine was very small when her mother died, but both of them loved music and would sing together. I knew when Celine was very small that she was every bit as talented as her mother was, and today proved that to me. Now, that doesn't take away from your talent, it just means that there are more than just a few talented girls in this choir."

Lisa shook her head. "I don't believe you," she said angrily and before Brenda could say anything, she ran down the hall leaving her mother staring after her. When Lisa disappeared around a corner some seconds later, Brenda realized that she had no choice and she walked back towards the choir room, opened the door and walked inside. She was completely unaware that Andrew had changed, he was now dressed in beige and was following Lisa outside.

"Celine, I need your help," Brenda spoke as soon as she returned to the room, her voice was filled with sadness and worry.

"What is it?" The young girl asked. Monica and Adam were still seated at the piano and both angels sought the eyes of the worried woman.

"Lisa is very angry right now, and I was wondering if you could tell me where you think she might have gone," Brenda said softly. "I remember that most of the kids in the choir used to talk about this special place where they would go to think. I heard about it the last time I was here, but I don't know where this place is, and there are some very important things I have to explain to her."

"Yes, I know where the others would go when things would get too hard. I don't know if Lisa had gone to this place, but I can't think of anywhere else she might have gone," Celine said softly and looked at Monica and Adam. "Maybe you guys should come with us, it's not the safest place in the world to go."

Brenda's face paled. "What do you mean."

Monica looked at Celine, her gentle brown eyes speaking volumes.

"There's a construction site not far from here, and below some beams and stuff there's a cave that one of the boys discovered some weeks ago," Celine replied. "I have only been there once, but then my dad started working out there, and he would have killed me if he found me hanging around there. Anyway, if she was really upset, then she probably went there to think about stuff."

"We'd better go," Adam spoke up, and Monica nodded as the two angels quickly left the room.

Brenda and Celine were still standing in the room, but within seconds, they too left the room and ran out into the hallway, thus following the two angels.

*****

Lisa was still running through the school in the direction of the place many of the children in the choir had dubbed: 'the cave'. When she reached the doors leading outside, she had tears in her eyes.

Once outside, she looked around to make sure she was not being followed, and instead of running out to the parking lot and waiting by her mother's car, she ran towards a large construction site, which was situated on the lot adjacent from the school. She remembered how some of the other kids had told her about this place, and she had always thought about sneaking through the fence, exploring, and eventually finding the special cave that she had heard so much about.

As she reached the site, she ran up to the open gate and stopped. After a few seconds of contemplation, she began to walk slowly through it until she reached the steps that would descend down into the cave. Peter had told her about this place, and he said that he often went there to sit when he wanted to be alone. Here, at least she could make heads or tails out of what she had seen her mother doing, what Brenda had said, and how confused this entire situation left her.

She looked around, the site appeared to be deserted, and although it was not, she believed that perhaps from the unusually warm day they were having contributed to the lack of motivation this construction crew appeared to have with regards to working out in the blazing sun. She couldn't blame them, simply because she could feel her own sweat dripping from her forehead and she realized that she had started to perspire from the heat.

Wiping her hand across her head, she continued to walk across some wood planking, but she was too deeply meshed in her thoughts to even hear that the wood planks had started to crack from beneath her weight. Suddenly, without any warning, the plank from beneath her feet broke, sending her plummeting down into a darkened cavern with no way out. She screamed and once she landed hard on the ground, she could feel the searing pain cursing through her body from the hard landing she endured. On the ground, she began to weep bitterly as her fright and soreness began to overwhelm her.

"Lisa," a voice suddenly emerged causing her cries to dissipate somewhat, but she was still trembling in fear as it was dark and she was unable to see who it was that had addressed her.

"W-who's there?" She continued to sob bitterly, but looked up hoping to see who it was now addressing her.

"Don't be afraid, it's me, Andrew," the voice continued, and she was afraid because it was so dark and she could not see him standing next to her, all she was able to do was feel his presence next to her, his nearness comforting her somehow.

"T-the custodian?" Her voice trembled as the question emerged.

"Yes, sweetheart, but I'm not just a custodian, I'm also an angel, sent from God to be with you right at this moment," He spoke again the resonance of his voice causing the frightened girl to look up until at last, she could see him. He was dressed in a beige suit, his hair neatly combed, and he was glowing, the light of God's love surrounding him and she reached a trembling hand out towards him.

"A-an Angel?" She stammered softly once he had reached her side, had taken her hand in his, and was squeezing it comfortingly. "A-are you here to help me out of here?"

"No, I can't help you in that way, Lisa, I was sent to be your Angel of Death," Andrew said softly.

"Y-you mean; I'm going to die?" Lisa asked weakly. "Is this my punishment for how horrible I was to Celine? Are you here only t-to punish me?"

"No, Lisa, I'm not here to punish you, and God does not intend to do so either. You must not believe this, sweetheart; I was sent to you because you put yourself in danger when you came onto this construction site. It was not a very wise decision, but it was your choice," he said gently. "I had no choice as to what would happen, I was simply told to follow you."

"I don't think I'd be so important," she mused softly. "No one seems to care anymore."

"But you are important," he affirmed gently.

"No, I'm not," she objected and sniffed. "I just couldn't understand why my mom…"

"Why she was nice to Celine?" Andrew asked gently. "Did you know that there was more to your mother's friendship with Christa Davis than you probably ever realized and that your choir teacher was oftentimes jealous of this closeness that they shared?" Before she could answer, he looked at her, his green eyes filled with sadness. "Janet has passed this jealousy on to you."

"I" her voice failed her, and she looked at Andrew unsure of what to say next. Finally, her next words emerged, they were barely above a whisper. "Will you tell me about her?"

Andrew sat down on the ground next to her and rested a gentle hand on the frightened girl's shoulder. "Christa was a wonderful person, and a very talented singer. These traits, she passed on to her daughter, Lisa. But, sadly, Christa was very ill, she had a form of cancer, which was fatal. When she learned that she was dying, she made the choice to let nature take it's course and her faith was one of the most astounding qualities about her," Andrew said sadly. "She did not blame God, she harbored no ill will towards anyone, but she was worried about Celine growing up without her presence in her life and the night she died, I was sent to bring her home."

"Home?" Lisa looked at him, her confusion evident.

"To Heaven, Lisa, I was sent to be her Angel of Death," Andrew said softly, and when he saw the fear in the young girl's eyes, he offered her a compassionate smile. "You have nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart, no matter what happens, I will be with you, and I will do everything I can to help you."

Lisa nodded numbly, and instead of inquiring about what he had just said, she asked another question. "Andrew, why does Mrs. Munson not like Celine?"

"Because, Celine is a constant reminder to her of what Christa gave to her. It was something very special to Janet Munson, and it is something that is probably one of the most beautiful gifts a human being can give to another." Andrew pulled a small card out of his pocket and handed it to the girl.

"What is that?" Lisa asked as she tried without success to focus on the card she now held in her hand.

"It's an organ donor card, Lisa. When Christa was diagnosed with cancer, Janet Munson was told that she was going blind and that in order to prevent the ensuing blindness, she needed to have a transplant operation. Janet had just met your mother, and they had become friends during this time, and Brenda learned of the challenges facing your teacher. This entire situation was so hard for your mother because she knew that her best friend was dying, but also that her other friend was devastated about going blind, so she made the decision and went to Christa and begged with her to sign this card, which would essentially give Janet the gift of sight."

Lisa could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks when she heard the words emerging from the angel. "I-I never knew."

"I know," he said gently. "Celine never knew either, but sadly, she doesn't really remember her mother, and I think she would like to know the kind of person her mother was," Andrew said softly.

"Are you going to tell her?" Lisa asked, as she wiped her hand over her eyes and looked at him.

"I think I will have the opportunity to tell her later, but you needed to know this truth as well so that you will always know that Mrs. Munson felt unbelievable gratitude towards your mother. This gratitude showed itself in all that Janet tried to do for you during these past months," Andrew said softly.

"I don't have talent, you mean?" Lisa said softly somehow interpreting Andrew's words to mean the worst. "I thought I got stuff because I was good, not because I was some kind of way to compensate my mom for doing something nice." She could feel the tears streaming down her face. "I thought I was good, but now you tell me that I'm not."

"No, Lisa, I never said that you're not good or that you don't have a wonderful talent, but you do have to know why your teacher wanted to do so much for you, because she felt that she owed it to your mother," the angel replied.

"B-but shouldn't she also be grateful to Celine's mom, I mean, she's the one who signed the card," Lisa objected.

"She wants to be, but the guilt she carries is too great for her, and Celine is a reminder to her of that sacrifice," Andrew said gently.

Lisa nodded and closed her eyes. "I guess it's too late to make amends with Celine, isn't it?"

"I don't know," Andrew said gently as he reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Only God knows."

Upon hearing this, Lisa began to weep bitterly causing Andrew to inch even closer to her and wrap her in his arms. "I-I was so mean to you, and now you're here and being so n-nice to me, and…" her voice trailed and she meshed her face against his shoulder her body shaking with each emotional release.

"Shhh, it's OK, Lisa," he took her face in his hands and made her look up and into his gentle eyes. "Just don't ever forget, after all, you never know if who you are speaking to is a custodian or an angel on assignment."

She looked at him. "You forgive me?"

"All is forgiven," Andrew said as he held the frightened girl in his arms and rocked her gently as she cried. Moments later, they could hear people above them and they were loudly calling Lisa's name. "Lisa, if you want to get out of here, then try to answer them, sweetheart, they want to help you."

"Please don't go," she whispered weakly reaching for his hand.

"I won't, sweetheart, I'm right here, I promise I won't leave you until you're safe," Andrew said gently and squeezed her hand once more as Lisa began to call out for help.

*****

"I found her," Lisa heard a familiar voice some moments later and she looked up and could see Celine's pale blue eyes looking down through the broken wood planks.

"Celine, be careful, the wooden planks are loose," Lisa called out.

"I am, are you OK?" Celine called out. "Did you break anything when you fell?"

"N-no, I don't think so, but I don't know how to get out," Lisa shouted.

"Daddy," Celine called out, thus bringing her father over to where she was now standing. Once Matt had reached her she continued. "I found her, she's down below, and I think she needs help to get out, though."

Matt Davis looked down into the ravine where Lisa had fallen almost fifteen minutes before. "Get back, sweetheart, before you fall," he said softly and looked at Adam. "Can you hold one end of a rope?" He asked. "You're the only other guy around here, and I'm going to have to climb down there in order to help get her out."

Adam nodded and spoke without any trace of hesitation. "Yes, I'll hold it."

"Good, take the end of this, and tie it around your waist, it will give you more stability, and if you use just your hands, they will get rope burn and then I'll probably end up trapped down there as well." Matt tied the rope around his waist using the sturdiest knots he knew of from his scouting days and at the same time, he showed Adam how to do tie them as well. "OK Lisa, I'm coming down, honey. Hold on and we'll have you out in a jiffy."

Lisa nodded and watched in surprise as the father of her classmate was slowly lowered into the cavern. Once he reached the bottom, she threw her arms around him, the relief evidently showing in her soft hazel eyes.

"Are you OK?" Matt asked gently.

"I-I think so," she said softly.

"Everything's going to be OK, sweetheart, now I want you to put your arms around my neck and hold on with all your might. You think you can do that?" Matt asked her gently.

"I'm scared," she whimpered.

"I know you are, but everything is going to be OK," Matt said. "You know something, I think there are probably angels right here with us."

"Really?" Lisa asked all the while wondering if Matt could see that Andrew was still standing beside her and was still glowing.

"Yes, you see, before my wife died, she used to say that angels were everywhere, and if you really concentrate, you can sometimes see them," he smiled gently at her. "Come on, let's get you out of here, and remember, you're not alone."

Lisa nodded numbly as she glanced around and could see that Andrew was still next to her. "I know," she whispered. "Andrew's here."

Matt didn't reply, instead he called up to Adam to start pulling them out of the cavern. The Angel of Death obliged and backed slowly away from the cavern, this causing Matt and Lisa to be pulled up.

Above the cavern, Celine suddenly grabbed the rope in front of him and Monica took the rope in front of her, and together they pulled until they could see Matt's hand reaching up through the broken wood planks.

"Celine, come and take my hand, but be extremely careful," Matt called out to his daughter, and she released the rope and went over to the edge of the ravine and grabbed Matt's outstretched hand.

Together, father and daughter managed to pull Lisa out of the cavern, and as they did, Brenda Peterson hesitantly approached. As soon as Lisa was safely away from the damaged planks of wood and out of danger, she began to cry and threw her arms around her mother. After a few seconds in her mother's arms, Lisa broke the embrace and began to look around in search of the angel who had comforted her. When she discovered that he was now gone, she wiped the fresh tears from her eyes and once more fell into her mother's waiting arms.

Off to one side, Matt and Celine stood and watched as mother and daughter embraced. "How did you know where she was?" Brenda finally looked at Celine once the hug ended with her daughter.

"Like I said earlier, I know that some of the kids used to come here from the choir when they wanted to think," Celine offered weakly as she shrugged her shoulders.

Matt nodded and smiled proudly at his daughter.

Lisa looked at Celine as soon as they had left the construction site. "Celine?"

"Yeah?"

"You saved my life," Lisa whispered.

"I don't know about that, but I'm glad you're OK," Celine said softly.

"But you did, while I was trapped down there, I saw an angel, and not just any angel, it was an…" Her voice trailed and she looked at the other girl helplessly. "It was an…"

"Angel of Death?" Celine asked and once Lisa nodded she smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders. "My mom had an angel with her when she died, at least I'd like to believe it, so I guess it doesn't surprise me that you saw someone when you were trapped down there."

"Yeah, and he told me some really amazing things about your mom, too," Lisa said softly. "Celine, will you forgive me?"

"Yes," came the simple answer. "I was never mad at you in the first place, hurt maybe, but I wasn't angry. I think you should apologize to Andrew though, I mean; you were really mean to him and he's a very nice guy."

Lisa looked at her classmate with surprise in her eyes as the realization came to her that she had no idea who Andrew really was. Celine honestly had no idea that Andrew was an angel. She sighed deeply wondering how long it would take for Andrew to tell Celine who he really was. Shrugging her shoulders, she looked at Celine. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow in choir, huh?"

"You will," Celine said softly.

*****

After leaving the school, Celine and Matt went back to the apartment building and Celine smiled at her father. "You did it, Daddy, you saved Lisa's life today."

"We make a great team, Celine," he smiled. "I guess you'd better run, your friend is probably waiting for you to come down."

"What about the chores; don't they need to be done?" She asked. "It's already five and I'm late anyway."

"Yes, but even your mother wouldn't leave someone waiting. You should at least explain to Tess the reason you're late. Besides, I'm almost certain that she will understand why you're late, but you should let her know so she won't worry about you," Matt said softly.

"Did you meet her?" Celine asked.

"I met her in the stairwell yesterday when I came home from work. She's a nice lady, and I think she's got some musical talent, as well as good influence," Matt said gently. "You know, you meet people everyday, and you can almost sense something about them, are they kind? Are they compassionate? Do they really care or is all a front? Well, Tess really gives me the impression that if there are angels among us, she must be one of them."

"An angel?" Celine asked. "Dad, what's your deal with angels, anyway?"

"Your mother believed in them, and she had a good influence on me, I guess," he said with a smile.

"I don't know, I guess I never really thought they existed."

"They do, sweetheart, because I saw one, it was when your mom died, and there was in angel with her," Matt smiled weakly. "I had forgotten about it until we pulled Lisa out of that cavern at the site, but I told her something that your mom always told me and Christa always said it so much that I started to believe it. She always said: 'There are angels everywhere, and if you really concentrate, you can sometimes see them'."

"Dad, what was Mom like? I mean, everybody keeps telling me that she was wonderful and kindhearted, but I never really knew her and it makes me sad sometimes when I think about it."

Matt took his daughter's hand. "Your mom was one in a million, Celine. Even at the end, she had so much courage and love for her friends, and for you and Rich."

"Does Rich remember her?" Celine asked.

Matt nodded. "He was a few years older than you, so I think he does remember her. I remember that he was really crushed when she passed away. It was like the spirit of our family died along with her. I suppose I never gave you any encouragement about singing because it hurt so much to do so, I mean; I saw so much of your mother in you. When you would sing, sometimes I would remember times when your mother would sing the same songs, and the emotions were completely overwhelming."

Celine nodded and looked at him. "I met Lisa's mom today."

"Brenda was your mother's best friend," Matt said softly.

"You mean, Mrs. Peterson and Mom were…" her voice trailed off.

"They were as close as sisters, and Mrs. Peterson even promised your mother that she would look out for you after she was gone," Matt said softly.

"But, I had never seen her until today. I only knew that Mrs. Peterson is the head of the district music department and I had seen pictures of her in the newspaper, but otherwise, nothing."

Matt shook his head sadly. "I don't know why this happened, or why this promise was not fulfilled, but I can tell you this honey, as with any promise, it's never too late for Brenda to fulfill it."

Celine looked down at the ground and then back up at her father. "You think that Mrs. Peterson remembers that promise she made to Mom?"

"I think seeing you after so many years have passed definitely served as a reminder to her. She loved your mother, and your mother loved her deeply, so if seeing you doesn't remind her, then she's got a heart of stone." Matt looked at her smiling weakly. "I wanted to tell you that I'm so proud of you, of what you did for Lisa today, that took remarkable courage. I'll tell you this, we may be a poor family, Celine, but what you did showed more class than half of the rich people in this town could ever demonstrate."

Celine hugged her father and wiped a stray tear from her eyes.

"You'd better get downstairs now, and let Tess know that you're OK," he said softly.

She nodded and opened the door to go downstairs. The talk with her father gave her a lot to think about, but she wondered at the same time if there was more about her mother that she didn't know, more that her father simply didn't have the heart to tell her.

At the landing, she reached the door to Tess' apartment and rang the bell. When the door opened seconds later, she looked up and into the dark brown eyes of the angel. "Celine, come on in," she said gently.

The girl nodded and came into the empty apartment. "Hi, Tess. I'm really sorry that about coming so late. I had the most incredible afternoon."

"That's quite alright, I know that sometimes things come up," Tess said. "I talked to Adam and he told me about the cave in and what you did for Lisa. It was very brave."

"I don't know about that, I just did what I had to do," she said and looked up and shrugged her shoulders. "Tess, I selected my audition piece."

"What did you decide to sing?" She asked.

"'Amazing Grace', I sang it this afternoon at the choir room and it sounded really neat. Almost as though my mom was singing through me or something."

"Your mother?" Tess asked.

"I don't think I told you about her, but my mom died when I was four-years-old. I don't remember too much about her, but today reminded me a little bit of her, and then I sang that song, and it was as though God wanted me to sing it. I know that sounds really strange to you, but it was like I was getting a message through it. It was beautiful, but not something I would tell just anyone."

Tess smiled. "When you hear a song, and it touches the very core of your being, then believe me, that song will live on in your spirit forever. I think even though your mother is no longer here, her spirit lives on in that song. Perhaps that's why you feel it, because you are connected to her through it and you truly understand it. It's as much a part of you as it is to that part of your mother's spirit, which dwells within you. Do you understand, baby?"

"You mean, that's why 'The Road Not Taken' reminds me of my mom, because it may have meant something to her?" Celine asked.

Tess nodded. "I imagine that it did, honey. Music has a way of connecting people in ways that words sometimes cannot. You remember things about people through music, that's why radio request shows are so popular, people find a connection to each other and through God in music."

"You know, I never really thought about that," Celine smiled weakly. "I always thought that music was just special, but I never really contemplated why it was."

"When you can take a song and sing it with heart and soul, and put a part of yourself in it, then the song becomes a powerful tool to touch and leave a positive effect on the audience," Tess said.

"You mean, anyone can sing a song, but unless they feel what that song means, then they will never experience the full power behind it?" Celine asked.

Tess nodded. "You remember that when you audition in two weeks, and you remember that beyond how you look, or what other people say, the words to that song will empower others in every way imaginable if it is empowering the one doing the singing."

Celine embraced the angel and smiled. "I'll remember Tess, I promise."

"Good, I'm glad you came down, but I think you're a bit too tired to sing today, aren't you?" Tess asked.

"Actually, I think I am," she smiled weakly. "I guess today took a lot out of me."

"Well, then we'll meet again tomorrow at the same time, and Adam will be here to play the piano," Tess said softly.

"Where is he?"

"He popped in and said something to the effect of ice packs and a cold ginger ale," Tess smiled.

"He must have pulled a muscle when he and my dad pulled Lisa out of the ravine. Poor guy, I hope he'll be OK," Celine said softly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, baby," Tess said smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow after school."

"OK," Celine smiled and got up to leave.

*****

The school was a bustle with activity the following day and Celine walked through the cafeteria near the end of her lunch break. When she saw Andrew standing at the custodian's closet, she walked over to him. "Hi," she said softly.

"Hello, Celine," he smiled at her.

"You disappeared yesterday and I was worried," she offered.

"No need for you to worry about me, I just had to get back to work," he said honestly smiling at her. "Did you get something to eat?"

Celine nodded and smiled shyly at him. "I wanted to tell you that I had fun singing with you yesterday. I didn't know that you could sing so well."

"Thank you, I sing now and again," he offered smiling.

"You know that song we sang, 'The Road Not Taken'?" She asked and once he nodded, she continued. "It always reminded me of my mom. She died when I was little, and after I went home, I talked to a friend of mine about it and she said that sometimes a song has the power to make people remember things like that."

"I agree, I think songs do have the power to embody the emotions of a person," Andrew said as the bell rang and he could see that her smile faded slightly. "I suppose you'd better get to class, though. I'll see you later, Celine."

The young girl nodded as she walked away and Andrew turned back towards the closet all the while dragging the same bucket with wheels along with him. As he did, he watched the young girl's retreating back, unaware that Lisa had come into the cafeteria for the next lunch period. She hesitantly approached him, but was unable to speak for a few minutes, and finally managed to find her voice when she reached out and touched his shoulder causing him to turn around.

"Y-you're still here?" She asked shyly when she looked up at Andrew. "I-I thought you'd be gone."

"No, I'm still here, hello Lisa. Are you feeling any better?" He smiled gently at her.

"I guess I'm OK, I-I couldn't forget what you did for me yesterday," she said softly. "Andrew, no one's ever done anything like that for me before, and before it happened, I know I blew so much. I'm so sorry about what I said to you before, that I was really mean to you." She looked down at the ground and he could tell that she was about to start crying.

He rested the mop against the wall and looked at her. "Lisa, look at me," he said gently and when her soft hazel eyes met his compassionate green ones, he continued to speak, his voice soft, but filled with his assurances. "As I said in the cavern, everything is forgiven, and I mean everything. Now, you must learn to forgive yourself."

"It's hard," she whispered as the tears streamed from beneath her eyes.

"I know, self-forgiveness is often harder than forgiving someone else," he smiled. "But, it's not impossible."

"Everyone here thinks I'm a snob," Lisa said weakly. "Sometimes, I think they're right."

"You're not, you just tried to prove that you were good to all of them, but the person you were trying to prove it the most to was yourself. But, do you know what?" he smiled at her as she shook her head. "You don't have prove it to anyone, you should simply try not to forget where your gift actually came from."

"You mean, from God?" She asked.

"Mm-hum," he smiled gently as he nodded. "He loves you, and He knows you better than anyone else. And do you know what?" Without waiting for her to answer, he continued. "He doesn't believe that you're a snob, He knows that you hide the true Lisa behind this attitude, but that's part of what makes you Lisa."

"But, I don't want to be like that…" her voice trailed as she looked at him sadly.

"Then you, and you alone, can change that," he said. "God will help you do so, but it's going to be up to you."

"I don't know how," she said softly.

"You're starting right now, you're talking to me, and look around you. None of these kids know who I am, unless you told them," he began and she shook her head as he rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Then, you're the only one here who knows, and if you were a snob, would you be talking to a custodian?" He smiled impishly at her.

"B-but I know who you are, just because I did something really stupid," she began.

"You were hurt, Lisa, and yes, you know who I am, but they don't," Andrew looked at her intently. "When we first met, you looked at me in the same way those children out there are now looking at us; in judgment. Now, I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad, but you understand that sometimes, there's more to a person than how he or she looks. Sometimes people are much older than 12-years-old before they even begin to realize it."

Lisa looked out across the room and could see Janet Munson sitting down with a tray at the teacher's table. "Is she why you're still here?"

"In part," he smiled gently. "The main reason is because of Celine."

"She must be really special," Lisa mused.

"She is, but that doesn't take away from you being special, Lisa," Andrew said. "In the Father's eyes, you're nothing less than His beautiful child."

"Andrew, can you tell me what I should do?" She asked weakly.

"No, I can't, but, but believe me, you're doing just fine, all you have to do is let go of the attitude, and allow yourself to be who you are," he smiled gently at her.

"Will I get to see you again?" She asked.

"You will, I'll be around, but please, Lisa, I ask that you not speak of this to Celine, I still have some other things I need to tell her, but I have been instructed not to do so until later," Andrew said softly.

"I promise, I won't say anything," Lisa said softly. As Andrew walked away, Lisa could see Peter coming over to where she was standing.

"What was that all about? I can't believe you were talking to him," Peter said. "I thought a custodian is beneath you."

"No, he's not beneath me," Lisa said softly, "It's the other way around." With that, she turned and walked slowly away, her head constantly down and Peter staring after her in complete surprise.

From a distance, Monica watched the girl's actions and she shook her head sadly.

*****

That afternoon, Janet Munson entered the choir room in order to start rehearsal. As she came in, she watched in disbelief as Lisa Peterson walked over and sat down next to Celine Davis. The surprise was clearly etched on the woman's face, but her eyes were cold as they regarded Celine and she walked over towards the two girls.

"Lisa, you're needed in the auditorium for a costume fitting," Janet said.

"Thank you," Lisa said and looked at Celine. "I'll see you later, OK?"

Celine nodded. "Sure, good luck with the fitting."

Lisa got up and walked out of the choir room, as she exited, she could see Monica standing near the door leading outside and she offered the angel a shy smile before leaving.

As the angel entered the room, she watched as Janet Munson looked at Celine. "I heard you didn't go to the principal as you were supposed to do on Thursday, and I want to know why?"

Celine looked at the choir director and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I was afraid," she offered. "I didn't know what I was supposed to say."

"And where did you go?" Janet demanded, not caring that the rest of the choir was now assembled in the room and were listening to this confrontation.

"I went to talk to a friend," Celine said weakly.

"You were to have gone to the principal," Janet said sternly.

"Perhaps I was supposed to, but Mrs. Munson, I didn't, because what you did to me was not fair and it would have been your word against mine. Kicking me out of the rehearsal because of a song, is not fair," Celine said softly. "Monica saw everything happen, and everyone here did as well."

"I didn't kick you out because of a song, I kicked you out because you were being disrespectful," Janet said. "Just as you are being disrespectful right now."

"No, it wasn't and for what it's worth, I'm not trying to be that way now, but 'The Road Not Taken' is such a special song, and it's a song that we enjoy singing," Celine said softly. "Just because it reminds you of something you'd rather forget is not our fault, we like the song."

"Yeah, and we sing it really well, too," one of the girls said.

"I want you out, not for the day, but for good, Celine, you are not welcome in this choir any longer," Janet said and she put her hands on her hips. "Now, either you get out, or I will go to the principal myself and have you thrown out."

"What are you afraid of?" Celine asked weakly, causing the choir director to come over and grab her arm and jerk her off the chair. At that moment, Celine had the typical fear in her eyes as she did whenever the choir director had yelled at her. She got up and stumbled from off the risers and after grabbing her books, she quickly left the room.

Once she had run out into the hallway, she could feel the tears beginning to stream down her face. She sank to the ground her body shaking as she tried to hug her arms around herself. Within moments, the door opened to the choir room and someone had come outside. She looked up and could see Monica was now standing next to her.

"You don't have to go to the principal, but you do need to talk to someone, Celine," Monica said softly. "You have a great deal of grief you must face."

The girl shook her head and she tried to wipe a trembling hand over the tears that seemed to persistently stream down her cheeks. "S-she doesn't remember the promise."

"What promise?" Monica said softly as she helped the girl up off the floor and they walked towards the cafeteria and once there, they sat down and Monica looked intently at her.

"It doesn't matter," Celine began to cry.

"Yes, Celine, it does. If it makes you cry, and hurts as much as you are showing right now, then you must believe it," Monica said softly. "As it is about you, this promise, it was a promise Lisa's mother made to your mother before she died?"

"H-how did you know that?" Celine asked.

"I talked to Brenda and her daughter after you, your father, Adam, and I pulled Lisa out of the ravine yesterday. Brenda told me that she had promised to look out for you after Christa had died," Monica said softly. "Brenda had forgotten until yesterday, when she realized that it's not too late for her to fulfill that promise."

"It doesn't matter to me anymore, Monica," Celine said as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Mrs. Munson hates me, and I don't know why."

"I know, and I know that this isn't easy for you, but that's why God gives you friends," Monica said earnestly. "You have friends, Celine, there are people who want to help, but you can't push them away, you have to allow us in to help and you can't always be tough, you have to show the pain that is in your heart whenever you think about what that which you have lost."

Celine shook her head. "Yesterday when we singing, I thought my life was complete, but now I realize that it's just falling apart. Why must I constantly be reminded of my mom?"

Monica smiled gently at the young girl. "Because, you've hidden the memories away from the time you were small up until now, and even though you still want to hide the feelings; you are realizing that deep down inside, you can no longer do that," Monica said as she rested her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You must face this, Celine, and I know that it is not easy."

"I can't, not on top of everything else, I can't." The tears began to fall from beneath her eyes and she looked up and could see that Lisa was coming out of the auditorium and she found herself getting up and running away from the angel. Within moments, the other girl had walked over and watched as Celine disappeared through the doorway leading outside.

"What happened?" Lisa asked.

"Mrs. Munson kicked Celine out of the choir," Monica said softly. "She's given up hope, Lisa."

"Why? Is it because of me?"

"No, it's not," Monica said gently. "It's simply because Mrs. Munson lives in denial about what happened eight years ago. You remember when we talked yesterday with your mom?"

Lisa nodded. "Yeah, my mom said that Mrs. Munson's denials are ruining their friendship, and that what Mrs. Munson told me about Celine was all wrong." She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks and she looked at Monica. "I want to help, but I'm so scared."

"I know you are, but what changed your mind?" Monica asked.

"It was something Andrew told me," she whispered, but as she spoke she found herself covering her mouth with her hand. "I-I mean…"

"What?" Monica asked.

"Nothing, I just remembered talking to him earlier, and he said something that made a lot of sense to me," she said and shrugged her shoulder. "Celine saved my life yesterday, and now I feel torn in two."

"Why?"

"I guess because I don't want to hurt anyone, but…"

"You're being hurt yourself," Monica said gently. "You're being hurt because not all of the truth is out yet. Believe me, Lisa, when the rest of the truth emerges, you will feel much better about this entire situation."

"How long will it take, Monica?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know, I believe that lies with Mrs. Munson's ability to see the truth as it is and to face the past," Monica said gently. She rested a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "Maybe you should try praying, and asking God to help this find resolution."

Lisa nodded numbly and walked slowly away.

As Monica sat in the cafeteria and stared off into space, she found her prayers emerging for both of the young girls she had met at this school. "Father, who is my assignment now?" She asked the stillness.

"Miss Wings, your assignment is all three of them," Tess' voice and Monica nodded weakly.

*****

Celine was walking aimlessly towards the door leading outside when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and could see that Andrew was waving as well as running up to her.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked once he reached her and could see the tears streaming from beneath her eyes.

She shook her head, "I…" her voice trailed and she looked up at him.

"It's OK, come on, let's go outside," he said gently. "You look a little pale right now, so I think a little fresh air will do you some good."

Once they stepped outside, Celine allowed the tears to fall and did not bother to wipe them away. She brushed her hands through her long brown hair as she sat hunched over her lap. After a few moments of silence passed, she managed to finally look up and could see that he was now looking intently at her, the concern evident in his compassionate green eyes.

"Celine, talk to me, tell me please what's happened. I want to be your friend, that means, you can trust me," he said gently.

"I've just been thinking about my mother is all, no big deal," she said softly as she tried to will herself not to cry. After a few moments of trying, the attempts to sound tough died away and she began to cry openly, her words emerging incomprehensible and the tears streamed down her face.

"It's OK to cry," Andrew said gently taking the young girl in his arms and holding her.

"I just miss my mom. I wish I could see her again, to remember…" her voice trailed as she cried in the sanctuary of his embrace.

"Then you should just let this all out, Celine, it's been eight years since you've been able to grieve your mother, and now it is time for you to have the chance to truly let go."

"I miss her," she cried.

"I know sweetheart," he said gently. "It's not easy for a young girl to grow up without her mother not being there."

"I-I just want toto understand," she whispered.

"Understand what, why your mother died?" He asked.

She nodded numbly. "Yeah, that and why Mrs. Munson hates me so much, why Mrs. Peterson even made promises to my mom that she had no intention of keeping," the questions tumbled out as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "I just don't understand, and it hurts so much, I feel as though everything is my fault."

Andrew continued to hold her tightly in his arms his gentle voice caused her to look up. "You must never believe that, Celine. Sometimes not understanding something is just a part of growing up. You will eventually understand that everything that has happened, happened for a reason. Eventually, you will be able to face all of these things as well. Of that, I am certain."

"H-how can you be so certain?" She asked weakly.

Andrew shrugged his shoulders but kept a comforting arm around the girl's shoulders. "Think of it this way, you maintain the faith that things will work out, and they will. I'm certain that God will give you the strength you need to face everything you face as long as you ask Him for that," he smiled gently at her.

"You've been such a good friend," she said softly as she closed her eyes and remained wrapped in his arms, his comfort not necessarily emerging through his words but rather through his actions.

*****

The weeks passed relatively slowly and three days before the competition was to happen, Celine had received her competitor's number in the mail and she seemed to be ready for whatever came. Her sadness grew from the pain and isolation she carried about the choir, but Lisa had become her friend and tried always to be there for her. Although Celine could not fully understand the change in the other girl, she was relieved that Lisa had become an ally to her and not an enemy.

However, Celine often wondered what her friend had actually said to Mrs. Munson because the teacher had somehow become slightly kinder to her. Well, she ignored her, but Celine was used to that and it was a lot better than simply being yelled at for no reason whatsoever.

On top of the infrequent bouts of sadness that she endured, she was grateful to see that Monica was still there, and that she and Andrew had done whatever they could to help her when things got too hard for her at school. She was considerably relieved that Monica was still there, and was grateful that Mrs. Munson had not succeeded in running her off, but the questions about her mother continued to swim around in her mind, and she constantly felt as though Andrew was more than meets the eye, that he somehow knew far more than what someone would think a custodian should know.

Celine walked home that afternoon and found herself humming but also thinking about the friends she had met during the past three weeks or so. She had already said good-bye to Adam, who Tess explained, had gotten a new job and had to leave. Before going, he had made a recording of the accompaniment for her audition piece and given it to her. She carried the tape in her belongings and as she climbed the stairs, she found herself smiling.

Upon arriving on the fourth floor of the building and finding herself standing next to the door of Tess' apartment, she hesitated before knocking. Before she had raised her hand to knock, the door opened and she could see that Tess was now looking out in the corridor as though she had expected to see Celine waiting. "Hi," the girl finally managed to say.

"Hello honey, how are you doing today?" Tess asked gently.

"Pretty good, I guess," Celine said.

"I'm glad. Did we have a rehearsal time set for today?" Tess asked.

"I don't think so, but it's always nice to see you," Celine said honestly.

"That's really sweet of you to say. Well, why don't you come on in, Andrew's here," the angel said gently. "He stopped by to say 'hello'."

"Andrew? You mean; you know him?" She asked.

"Yes, I do, he and I have been friends for many years, and he was telling me about what happened some weeks ago when your friend, Lisa fell down into the ravine at the construction site near your school. He said that he heard how brave you were," Tess said.

"I don't know about that, but I think it's funny how you guys all know each other," Celine said. "It's weird, like…" her voice trailed, but a familiar voice emerged causing her to look in the recesses of the apartment.

"…Like we were sent to help you or something, right?" Andrew finished for her and offered her a smile. "Actually, we were. Do you remember when you told me about hoping for a miracle?"

"Yeah, and you said that in God's own time an answer will come," she looked at him, but then her gaze came to rest on Tess. "You were that answer, somehow I just know it."

Tess smiled gently at the young girl, but began to speak to her, her voice emerging filled with kindness and understanding. "Celine, God always answers prayers, they just sometimes come in ways that people don't always expect."

Celine nodded accepting the words Tess was telling her. "You know, I remember that song you were singing when I heard you the first time. It was so beautiful and that's what made me stop walking and just listen. It was something like: 'When nobody cares, I'll be right there by your side, If all your hope is lost, I'm the one that's gonna help you see the light.' Those words were so beautiful but they were somehow what I needed to hear at that moment. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does," Tess said smiling at her.

"You guys are the only people that really believed in me. I mean, now Lisa does, but she's so sad, because of how she feels about what she has done and the reasons behind why she was chosen for the play. I guess it's kind of good that she gets to do those things, maybe it will help her feel better about herself," Celine said softly. "But, it's still hard, just because I would like to have some encouragement too, not just from my dad, but from other people. I guess this helped meeting you, because you have always told me that I'm special or that I have talent, and for so long, I didn't want to believe it."

"And now?" Andrew asked.

"Maybe I should, but it scares me to even try, because then someone comes along and tells me that I shouldn't. I mean, Andrew, when we were singing 'The Road Not Taken' two weeks ago with Monica and Adam, I couldn't stop thinking about my mom. Every time I even hear this song, or sing it, or read the poem it's based on; I suddenly think about her, and I wish I could remember her."

"Maybe you think of her for a reason," Tess said.

"Maybe," she said softly as she looked at the two angels. "But, something tells me that you aren't just here to help me make music, there's something else going on, I just have this strange feeling that there's something different about you."

"You're right, baby," Tess said gently. "We both know that you've prayed and that you asked God to send you some extra help, and He did. He sent us."

Celine watched in disbelief as the light filled the room and she was staring at the two angels in complete astonishment, but also in wonder. "Y-you're…"

"Angels," Andrew finished for her all the while smiling. "Yes, Celine, we are, and we were sent here to help you, but there is something very important that I must tell you, something that you really need to know."

"Y-you do?" Celine looked at him. "W-what is it."

"It's about your mother," he said gently.

"M-my mother?" She looked at him. "Were you with her when she…" Her voice trailed off and she was left looking at him unsure of what she was supposed to say next.

"Yes, Celine, I was with her when she died, and your mother wanted you to know that no matter what anyone says, you're always going to be someone very special," he said softly.

"Y-you were really with her?" She managed to say. She was not sure what to say, there stood two angels in the room. She could see that they were both looking compassionately at her and they were glowing, but somehow she felt extremely insignificant in their presence, she looked away all the while feeling the tears as they streamed down her cheeks.

"Your mother loves you very much, Celine," Andrew said gently, his words causing her to look up. "And God loves you so much that He wanted to surround you with angels at this time because it was time for you to hear the truth about your mother as well as two of her very special friends. God sent us to help you realize all of those things, but especially to let you know that although the people at your school do not yet see it, you do have talent and you are special. He wanted you to know that to Him, you're more than just a girl who loves to sing, you're also His child, and He loves you so much that He gave you the gift of music."

Tess nodded and took up the where Andrew had stopped. "All those abilities you possess were given to you by the Father, Celine, just as all the talents your teacher has, and the skills that Lisa has were given to them because He loves them as well," she said gently. "He knows that Lisa has made some mistakes, but now, through the accident she was in two weeks ago, she has learned that appearances can be deceiving, but that she had an angel with her as well." Pausing, she took a deep breath and looked at the young girl. "Celine, when Lisa fell down that cavern at the construction site, Andrew was there with her, and today, because of this experience, she completely understands how special the truth really is. However, there's more that you need to know, and this is about Janet Munson."

"The choir director? But, what does God want me to know about her? I always thought that she didn't like me and that I couldn't change her." Celine was confused, but she looked at the angels and shook her head not sure where this was even going to lead.

Andrew sat down next to her and began to speak. "When Lisa was trapped in the cavern two weeks ago, I told her what I am about to tell you now." Taking a deep breath, he spent the next ten minutes telling her about what he had told Lisa when she had been trapped in the cavern at the construction site. Next, he told her about what happened when her mother was sick, and finally he told her about the courage and sacrifice her mother made so that the choir teacher could see.

"My mom did that?" She looked at him, the surprise evident in her eyes.

"Yes, she did, and she had no regrets about it," Andrew said smiling at her. "However, Janet Munson does have regrets, and the song 'The Road Not Taken' is a reminder of those. That's why it was so hard for her to allow the choir to sing that song. You said that it reminds you of your mother, but that song also reminds her of your mother as well, and that's not easy for her. She hides everything behind this harsh exterior and she feels that by giving everything to Lisa that she's somehow thanking the friend of hers that encouraged your mother to sign that organ donor card."

Celine looked at him. "But, why does she hate me?"

"I don't think she hates you, baby, I think you are like that song to her, you remind her of the guilt that she carries about what your mother lost in giving her the precious gift," Tess said gently.

Andrew nodded and handed the three sheets of paper to Celine, these same three sheets of paper were the ones he had given to Monica in the janitor's closet at the school. "Mrs. Munson may be able to shred these pieces of paper, Celine, but she cannot shred you, she cannot omit you or pretend that you're not there, but rather than accepting you, she chooses to push you away, and hope that by your own free will, you will simply get up and leave."

"But I don't know if I can take it when she's so mean to me. How can I continue to sing in the choir when the director acts as though she cannot stand the very sight of me?" Celine asked. "I mean; I'm sorry, but I'm only human, I can't analyze my teacher and look for an explanation as to why she treats me this way."

"We know you can't, Celine. The truth is, we don't expect you to do so and God doesn't expect you to either," Andrew said softly. "Now that you know the truth, you cannot affirm that you have no talent." He smiled gently at her.

"But, do I?" She asked weakly.

"Now that I have heard you sing, I think you have a wonderful voice." He glanced over at her and could see her blushing and this made him begin to chuckle. "I think the Father gave you an amazing gift and do you know what?"

Celine shook her head.

"He wants you to use it," Andrew said gently.

"The contest?" Celine asked.

Tess and Andrew nodded and she smiled weakly. "Well, if God wants me to sing for the contest, then I don't think I should disappoint Him, but…" she looked down at her dress. "I don't think I've got anything appropriate to wear to this contest without being laughed off the stage."

"You leave that to us," Tess began. "But, remember, baby, they are going to be there to hear your voice, not so that you can sign a modeling contract."

Celine smiled weakly. "Then that means you're not leaving, are you?"

"No, we're going to be here a little bit longer as we still have some unfinished business to tend to," Tess said smiling.

"Mrs. Munson?" Celine asked shyly.

Andrew smiled, "you're a fast learner."

"I hope it takes awhile, it's so wonderful having you here," she said weakly. "I don't want my only friends to leave me behind."

"Keep in mind, Celine, you're never alone," Andrew said simply.

"Never?" She asked.

"Never," Tess affirmed.

*****

Saturday morning dawned beautifully waking Celine as the sun shone through the window. As she sat up in bed someone knocked on her bedroom door. "Come in."

Matt and Richard came into the room, under Matt's arm was a large brown box. "Hey, Celine. I'm heading to work," her father said softly. "I should be finished by the time you sing, and Tess has already assured me when she brought this that she'd get you over to the competition on time."

"Thanks Daddy," she said as he sat the box on the bed. "What's this?"

"Tess brought it by, she said that it was a gift from her father, whatever that means," Matt said smiling weakly. "Anyway, she said that you should come down at 10, and that she, Andrew and that lady from the choir would drive you to the competition."

"OK," she said and looked at her brother as though he was going to say something to her, but didn't. "What, Rich?"

"I wanted to see what your friends wanted you to have," Richard said.

Celine pulled the lid off the box and looked down at the dress inside the box. She pulled it out of the box and held it against herself.

"Woah, cool," Richard said. "That looks like something Mom used to wear when she would sing."

Matt reached over, touched the fabric, and nodded. "If I didn't know better I would say that this is the same dress your mother wore when she sang 'Amazing Grace' at the competition fifteen years ago."

Celine smiled weakly as her father and brother left the room. As she glanced skyward, she smiled as the realization overwhelmed her that this was, in fact, the same dress that her mother had worn when she had competed in the same competition. She could feel the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, as she got down on her knees and with the dress in her hands, she spoke. "Thank you, Father, for this beautiful gift, and I'll make you proud, I promise."

"He already is proud, Celine," Monica's voice and she whirled around and could see that Monica was standing in her room.

"You're an angel too?" Celine asked.

"Mm-hum," Monica nodded as she looked at the young girl. "This is the dress your mother wore, Celine, and the power of that song will emerge through you, not because you will be wearing this, but because you know that the love from your mother lives in you. No matter what happens today, the Father is so proud of you."

"God is proud of me?"

"Yes, He is," Monica said softly. "He is proud that you looked out for Andrew the first day you met him, and that you looked out for me when we spoke in the choir room at school. But, He is especially proud that you looked with your heart when it came to Lisa and her plight. She's a very unhappy girl, Celine, and your friendship to her has been a blessing."

"I could never be angry with her," Celine said softly. "Something told met hat the mean things she said were like a cry because she was sad."

Monica smiled and nodded. "That is what it was, Celine."

"What can I do?" Celine asked.

"Just be her friend, the Father will do the rest," Monica said.

"Thank you," Celine got up off her knees and she embraced the angel.

Monica returned the embrace, but she rested her hands in the girl's hair. "We will see you at 10," was all she said and once she was gone, Celine hugged the dress to her chest and began to spin around the room all the while holding it in her arms.

*****

The mid-morning sun came down over the city as Tess drove her prided red Cadillac into the parking lot for the exhibition hall where the competition was to take place. Celine sat in the backseat next to Andrew and once they had gotten out of the car, the three angels and the human girl went inside the large marble colored building.

"Are you nervous?" Andrew asked her.

"A little," Celine said softly and as soon as they reached the registration table, she could see that Janet Munson was seated at the table and she looked at Tess. "I thought she wasn't involved with this competition."

"She is, but all the music teachers in the city are taking part in the registration process," Tess said. "Don't let her intimidate you, honey, you've come this far."

"You're right," Celine walked over to the line and stood there for a few minutes and as soon as she reached the front of it, she spoke, Andrew was standing behind her, and even his presence did not deter the girl from stepping up to the table and looking into the cold gray eyes of her teacher. "Hello, Mrs. Munson, I need to register."

Janet Munson looked up and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the girl standing before her. Her eyes registered shock when she saw the white dress that Celine was wearing.

"How dare you show up in that?" She demanded causing the other competitors to turn and stare.

Celine looked at her teacher, her eyes serene, and rather than answer the question, she began to sing.

Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

Yet be one traveler long I stood

And looked down the other as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Other young people who recognized the song and they too began to sing their prospective parts, and soon the entire room was filled with the voices of young people as they continued to sing the Robert Frost poem in its entirety.

…I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.

As the group of young people finished the song, the observers who were casually waiting around the area broke into applause, but instead of acknowledging this, Celine looked down at the choir director and was surprised to see that the woman was now openly crying, her face hidden behind the notes she had on the table, and the tears falling from her gray eyes.

Celine broke out of line, went around the table and wrapped her arms around the teacher and when Janet looked up, the surprise was clearly evident in her eyes.

"Celine, why do you do this to me?" Janet asked.

"You are my mother's friend, Mrs. Munson," she said simply, her own eyes filling with tears. "You were unkind because you carried guilt that wasn't yours to carry. My family doesn't hate you, and when I look at you, I see my mother in your eyes, but that's what is so special about this gift she gave you. My mother chose to give it to you because you are her friend and she loved you."

The teacher was taken aback, but she could feel the arms of the teenager around her. "I couldn't understand why you hated me so much, but now I know. I'm like that song to you. I remind you of my mother because I am her daughter, but I'm also something that you can't throw away. I know it hurts you to look at me, but it hurts me to feel that you hate me, and that I'm the reason you're so very sad."

As she spoke the tears streamed down her cheeks, but she ignored them as she straightened out. "Do you believe in angels, Mrs. Munson?"

"A-angels?" Janet looked at Celine with tears in her eyes. As soon as she spoke, the walls surrounding them disappeared, and the two of them were standing in a grassy meadow. Janet looked around with fear in her eyes, but Celine remained standing next to her, the gentle breeze blowing through her hair and leaving her to feel comforted, even if she was not certain where she was. As she looked up, she could see the three angels were standing to one side, and they were watching the two of them and waiting.

"They came to us because it was time for me to see the truth, not just about what I can do, but about what kind of friendship you, my mother, and Mrs. Peterson shared. A friendship I never knew about, but one that is so special that it must be a gift from God. When I met Andrew and Monica at the school, and then Tess at the apartment building where I live, I realized that God had sent them to help us all understand the value of friendship, not just to love that resonates in a song, but that unconditional acceptance of a friend. You shared that with my mother, and she was a better person for having known it. You have gone through these past eight years believing somehow that you took away a gift from someone without returning anything, but you did, Mrs. Munson, you became her friend when she needed it the most, when she learned that she was dying." As those words emerged, Celine broke down and began to weep bitterly all the while sinking to the ground.

Andrew came over and wrapped his arms around the young girl. "Celine only wants to understand why instead of encouraging her, you speak unkindly to her."

Janet looked at him. "I"

"You know the truth, baby," Tess began to speak. "Now, you can let go of the guilt. No one is angry with you, Janet, no one, not us, and not God, but you are angry with yourself, and perhaps you ought to tell Celine why this anger has left such a negative effect on her."

"You're like your mother, you know," Janet said softly.

"So I've been told," she smiled weakly.

"No, you are like your mother, in so many ways, Celine. When I look at you, I see Christa and it hurts so much," Janet said. "Your mother's favorite poet was Robert Frost, and she recited that poem constantly. Then when school started, one of the assistants pulled out this song, and your choir group started singing it, and I thought someone was coming to pull my heart out."

"Mrs. Munson, do you believe in Heaven?" Celine asked. "My mother did, and she believed in angels, even before we were brought to this place."

"What is this place?" Janet asked weakly looking at Monica.

"It's a place between Heaven and Earth, Janet," the auburn headed angel replied. "We brought you here so you could speak to one another about what has been happening."

"I don't know what I believe, Monica," Janet said softly.

"Believe that God loves you, Janet, and that He wants you only to accept His love, and allow Him to heal your heart of the pain Christa's passing did to you," Monica said softly. "As Lisa is working to forgive herself for all the pain she inflicted on other people, now you must learn to forgive yourself as well."

The teacher looked at Celine. "You forgave Lisa, but can you forgive me?"

From the ground, she looked up; first at Andrew, who held her gently in his arms, but then she looked at Janet Munson and she nodded. "I can, actually, I already have."

As Celine spoke, the meadow disappeared from around them, they were back in the exhibition hall, and she stood on the opposite side of the table looking at Janet Munson. Everything was as it had been before Celine had embraced the teacher, and she stood in front of the table waiting to register for the competition.

Janet, rather than speak about what had just transpired, wordlessly handed Celine her number for the competition and the girl backed away from the table.

As she did, she could see Lisa getting in the line for the competition and she waved before going over and joining the angels.

"Where did Andrew go?" She asked when she reached where Tess and Monica were standing.

"He has one more thing to do before the competition starts," Tess said and Celine's eyes followed his movements until he was standing directly behind Lisa in the line.

*****

After registering, Lisa turned around and was surprised to see Andrew standing behind her. She backed up slightly upon seeing him, but within seconds, she could feel his hand gently resting on her shoulder.

"We need to talk," he said gently and she nodded, all the while trying to swallow the golf-ball sized lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.

As he led her away from the table, his hand was still resting on her shoulder, and they went over to some chairs, which were situated in the lobby and they sat down.

Lisa sat there for a few moments, her head staring down at her lap, and she found herself completely unable to make eye contact with him. When he didn't immediately begin speaking, she wrung her hands together nervously, and waited. When he finally did speak, his voice was filled with sadness, but the truth of his words caused her to immediately look up and into his gentle green eyes.

"Don't let what happened take the best part of you away, Lisa," Andrew said simply.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, but all the while her face was staring down at her lap. As she sat there with her head down, she could suddenly feel that he reached over and with the palm of his hand, he tipped her chin up so she would be looking at him. As soon as she was looking him in the eyes, she found herself swallowing as though she were expecting the worst, but instead, she saw that Andrew carried a gentle smile on his face and she tried without much success to relax.

"Just like Janet Munson needed to let go of the guilt, so do you, sweetheart," Andrew said gently. "No one hates you, not God, not Celine, and not me."

"I don't know how you can forgive me for what I did to you," she said softly, the words finally tumbled out, as the guilt she carried emerged.

"Please, Lisa, you have to forgive yourself for what happened," he said, the exasperation clearly showing on his face. He reached over and took her hands in his and squeezed them reassuringly. "I know that discovering the truth these past few weeks has been so hard for you, and I know that it hurts to realize that you have gotten a lot of breaks because of who your mother is and it's hard for you to believe that you received these chances because of how well you sing."

She nodded, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I was so mean to people, and…" her voice trailed and Andrew reached over and brushed the tears out from under her eyes.

"Lisa, there's a reason for everything that happens, and I have another message for you, another truth you need to know, but this one is even more beautiful and special than anything else I have said thus far. Would you like to know what it is?"

Lisa looked at him unsure of what he was going to say next, finally she offered him a timid nod.

Andrew smiled gently at the girl. It was obvious to him that she had changed drastically over the course of the past few weeks, and those changes were for the better. "Do you remember when we were at the school and I told you that your abilities came from God?"

"Yeah, I remember," she said softly.

"God gave you a special gift with music too, sweetheart, and He wants you to use it, just as He wants Celine to use hers," Andrew began. "He hopes that you will never ever forget from where that gift came. You have this, Lisa, and it is a gift similar to what Celine possesses, but this one is so special because it's yours, not Celine's and not your mother's."

"Y-you mean?" She spoke, her voice beginning to crack with emotions.

"The only mistake you made was that you forgot from whom it was that this gift came. This doesn't mean that you're a bad person for forgetting nor does it mean that you're not worthy of forgiveness, because you are."

"Am I?" Her meek question emerged.

"Oh yes, absolutely, and it is during those times that you forget or lose track of how special these gifts truly are, that He sends you a few angels to help remind you of that," Andrew smiled gently at her, but he could see that the tears were now rolling down her cheeks. "Lisa, I know that you were unkind to people because you felt as though you weren't able to measure up to them, but I'm telling you that you don't have to. You are special and beautiful because God created you, and He loves you so much. He doesn't want you to feel as though you have to measure up to someone else's expectations, measure up to what your conscience tells you and then you will find that you can forgive yourself for all of those things."

Lisa smiled weakly. "T-thank you."

"You're welcome," he wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly in his embrace.

When she felt his arms around her she hugged him tightly and allowed the rest of the tears to fall. As soon as she had stopped crying, she looked up at him. "Andrew, will you stay and hear us sing? It would mean so much to me to have you here."

Andrew smiled. "On one condition."

"What?"

"Angel Boy, you know better than to put conditions on things," Tess approached them and scolded him, causing his face to flush.

"Tess," he eventually looked at her, but Lisa could see that he was now pouting and this expression caused her to begin giggling.

Once the girl had stopped, she could see that Celine and Monica had also come over to join them and she tried without success to cover her face with her hand.

"What is the condition, Andrew," Lisa finally managed to ask.

"It's already been fulfilled, thanks to Tess," Andrew said sheepishly.

"I think he wanted to hear you laugh," Celine nudged her friend.

"I think we'd better get inside, the competitions for both of your categories is about to start," Monica said gently and the two girls nodded.

*****

Lisa had just completed her piece when she looked up and could see the three angels applauding and she came down from the stage.

"That was Lisa Peterson, the final competitor in the popular music category with the Sarah McLaughlin piece entitled, 'Angel'," spoke the Master of Ceremonies into the microphone above the applause. "This concludes the Junior Division Popular Music category. Our next competition will be the Gospel Music category, that will begin in fifteen minutes."

Lisa came down from the stage and walked over to where her mother and Janet Munson were standing. "Hey, Mom, how was it?" Lisa asked.

"You were great," Brenda said, "but where did you come up with that song?"

Janet Munson, rather than speaking looked at Lisa, her mind reeling as she remembered what had happened out in the foyer of the exhibition hall during the registration process. Instead of speaking, she opted to keep her revelations to herself.

"Celine helped me pick it out," Lisa said softly and looked at her mother. "She's supposed to sing in about an hour, right?"

"Yes," Janet said. "As they said, the Gospel category will be next, and she's the 12th singer in that group."

"I have to go do something, can I meet you back here before Celine sings?"

"Sure, honey, we'll meet you here," Brenda smiled at her daughter.

Lisa ran through the auditorium and when she saw the three angels still standing near the doors leading outside, she came over to them. "Hi," she offered. "Where's Celine?"

"She had to go right after you sang, she needed to warm up and get herself ready to sing. She asked me to tell you that she really loved your song," Andrew said.

Lisa smiled, "thanks for letting me know. D-did you like it?"

"You were wonderful," Monica said smiling brightly.

"I loved it," Andrew said. "You see, it's just like I told you, you have a gift."

"Thank you," Lisa said smiling. "For the first time in a long time, I can really feel it."

"And how does it feel?" Monica asked.

"Like I'm on top of the world," she smiled weakly. "You know something, I don't even care if I win. I feel like I've won in the ways that matter."

Andrew smiled. "You know, I think you're right, but I also think if you win, you deserve it."

Monica smiled and nodded, "that's true."

Lisa hugged the two of them and they walked out of the auditorium. "I need something to drink, but we have to be back to hear Celine's song. She told me that she's doing 'Amazing Grace'."

"That's the song her mother did, fifteen years ago," Andrew said, "and she won in that category."

"is that a sign that Celine might win?" Lisa asked.

"Maybe it is," Monica said softly.

Lisa smiled. "She deserves to win, more than me, but I guess we'll have to wait and see."

*****

Amazing Grace

How Sweet the Sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost

But now I'm found

Was blind

But now I see…

Celine sang with all the emotion that was in her, the music haunting and beautiful as her voice drifted through the auditorium an hour later and Lisa stood with Andrew, Monica, and Tess and listened.

As her song ended and the people began to applaud the Master of Ceremonies waved the young girl over to him. "I know this is uncanny to interview a contestant in any of these categories, but I remember 15-years-ago when this young lady's mother sang this very same piece in this competition. Celine, how does it feel to follow in your mother's footsteps?"

"It makes me feel closer to my mom," Celine said softly. "But, there's something else, something that happened to me during the course of preparing for this competition that I discovered that my mother still lives on in the friends she found before she died."

"Do you think that this song reminds you of your mother?" He asked.

"In some ways, yes, but it also reminds me of God, and His love for us," she smiled. "I can't explain it really, but my friend, Tess said that a song that can touch one's soul or connect them to people they love or to God. I believe it, when I think about this song."

"There was a commotion during registration this morning, a group of Junior Division Contenders began singing a Robert Frost poem, and some of them said to me that you were the one who started this. Is that true?"

"I wanted to remind someone that the spirit of my mother lives on in the words to that song," Celine said honestly. "Perhaps it was wrong of me to do that, but I think it showed the power that one song can have on others."

"Well, thank you for your song, Celine, and I wish you the best of luck," he said as she stepped down from the stage. "Our next singer in this category…"

As she reached her father and brother, she hugged them warmly, and Matt wiped a tear from his eye. "Just like your mother," he said and shook his head.

Richard nodded as he embraced his sister. "I knew that you would show them all," he said smiling broadly as Lisa ran up to her and wrapped her in her arms.

"Wow, that was awesome," Lisa said happily.

"I wanted to say the same to you," Celine said as the two girls hugged each other. When she looked around, she could see that Andrew, Tess, and Monica were some steps away from them, but Andrew was smiling, all the while nodding his head approvingly. Celine smiled, internally, she knew that she had done well.

*****

At the end of the day as they were announcing the winners, the three angels slipped quietly out, but not before they heard the announcement for Celine's division.

"…The winner in the Junior Gospel Division is Celine Davis with 'Amazing Grace'," the announcer's voice erupted through the auditorium. The spectators began to cheer as Celine could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached out and embraced her father excitedly.

"Daddy, I won," she said softly and looked at the angels, her smile bright as she ran up onto the stage.

Once she received her trophy, she stood next to Lisa, who had won in her category, and the two girls embraced and waved at the spectators. When their eyes came to rest on Janet Munson, they could see that the choir teacher was now smiling, and Lisa looked at Celine once the group had disassembled and they were climbing down from off the stage.

"You still haven't told me what happened to her?" Lisa asked. "She's acting like one of those alien abductees who had a change of heart or something. What's her story?"

"She met Andrew and his friends," Celine said softly.

"Speaking of which, where did they go?" Lisa asked. "They were here when we sang, but now they're gone."

Celine looked up and sighed sadly, sure enough, as Lisa had observed, the three angels were gone, and she glanced up and could see a white dove flying through the auditorium and outside through an open door.

"I wanted to say 'good-bye' and 'thank you'," Lisa said softly.

"I know, I did too, but maybe that dove was their way of saying good-bye to us," Celine said softly.

"Perhaps, but in Andrew's case, I think I'd prefer to say 'see you later'," Lisa said smiling at Celine.

"He was with you when you were trapped, huh?" Celine asked.

"Yeah," Lisa nodded, "he was. I had no idea that an Angel of Death could be so cute." She giggled despite her sadness about their departure.

Celine giggled as well. "No kidding, but I can't believe that you didn't speak of this until now. I mean, if it were me, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops," Celine said. "I can't believe you were actually able to keep silent about it, I mean, I didn't know that he and Tess were angels until three days ago and then I found out about Monica only this morning."

Lisa looked at Celine. "You mean, Monica and Tess are angels too?" As her friend nodded, Andrew's words returned to her about entertaining angels unaware and she smiled weakly. "He was right."

"About what?" Celine asked as they approached where her father, brother, and Lisa's mother and Janet were all standing.

"About everything he told me," Lisa said softly and she found herself smiling. "He said that even a custodian could actually be an angel on assignment, but I think he meant that anyone could be an angel, and you never know, so you should never judge another person."

Celine nodded and smiled once they reached their families and everyone had the chance to congratulate the two girls. After about ten minutes, they left the auditorium and once outside, the two girls could still see the dove was now flying overhead, all the while, it's cooing could be heard.

The five of them climbed into Brenda's car and they drove off to celebrate the girls' success at the competition. The dove continued to circle overhead, but eventually it too disappeared in the distance, it's song fading until it could no longer be heard.

The end

*******

Dear Reader,

This piece of fiction uses the lyrics as well as ideas from a number of songs. Each song, 'Amazing Grace', 'The Road Not Taken', 'Angel', and '(I will) Walk With You' are the properties of their prospective owners, and nothing here is used with the intention of infringing on those copyrights.

I hope you enjoyed the story.

God Bless,

Yvette Jessen

July 4, 2001

Rüsselsheim, Germany