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