In Need of Answers

This story is dedicated in loving memory of the many lives lost on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, as well as all passengers of the four planes that went down. May God bless and hold all people of all faiths and nationalities in His loving hands during one of the most difficult times in the history of humanity. Aside from these events, this is a completely fictitious story with a great deal about my belief system contained within it. I only ask that you please read this with an open mind if you choose to do so.

Brittany Harrows took a seat in the front of the auditorium for an assembly program at her elementary school. The seven-year-old girl, like all her classmates, sat in stunned silence as she watched the teachers trying to get all the children together to talk about what had happened only moments before.

Everything seemed to be playing in slow motion; it was like a movie, and yet, even after the second airplane had crashed against one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, disbelief was etched on every face, whether it was that of a teacher or a student. Seconds later, although the bulk of disaster was at least 300 miles away, the children viewing this on television could somehow feel the explosions as they jarred an entire segment of lower Manhattan.

To anyone watching, this all seemed to be like a plot for an action movie. The children were waiting for someone of the caliber of Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson to come in and save the day. When this did not happen, disillusion set in and the children were left looking around the room in sadness and disbelief.

This can't be real, Brittany thought to herself, but the more she contemplated it the more she had to conclude that this really did happen. There were no special effects, no controlled environments, no heroes emerging in the cloud of smoke; just lives lost.

Brittany could feel the tears in her eyes as she sat there waiting for the grown ups to give her and her classmates some sort of explanation as to why such a thing had happened. Deep in her heart, she figured that this expected explanation would not come; the adults were just as shocked as the children were.

It had started out as being the most normal school day, in fact, the most ordinary school year. Brittany had just started the second grade; most of her class from the previous year had been split up and put in different homeroom classes. She missed this class very much, as most of the kids as well as the teacher had become her friends over the course of the school year.

Now, she sat amongst a group of children she barely even knew. Sean Bradley and Megan Farris were now seated in different rows because they were now in different homeroom classes. Although, Brittany was not sitting alone, she felt this way simply because she was surrounded by another group of children, none of whom knew her all that well. None of her current classmates even realized that her best friend in the world was a real angel.

She wondered about Adam, especially at that particular moment. She missed him terribly and somehow she knew where he was, but, at the same time, she also prayed that he was safe and able to cope with the obvious sadness that must be so terribly overwhelming. Please be careful, Adam, she thought as she looked around and could see the other children were seated and waiting. They probably could not even fathom that an Angel of Death could be a friend and confidant to a classroom full of children, especially now, in the wake of unspeakable horror.

That morning they had intended on watching a documentary on the democratic system, however some moments after the television had been switched on, the pictures had abruptly changed and the tragic event left the teacher practically stumbling over the children in an attempt to reach the switch to shut it off and block the horrific images from the eyes of the innocent school children. Hiding these images did nothing but raise questions, and now even after this had happened, countless questions remained in Brittany's mind.

The little girl turned around, and faced the group of children gathered with tears in her eyes, but she immediately discovered that she, like many others, simply could not speak. An awkward silence had descended upon the entire school building, the usual squeals of excitement were now gone, replaced with a disquieting stillness that left all the teachers wishing and hoping that something would happen that would revive the student body. The sounds of boys arguing and little girls squealing in excitement would now have been a welcome set of sounds to their ears. Instead, it was an eerie stillness that blanketed the entire school.

Some of the children truly thought that this was like a bad dream; many of them could only sit in stunned silence. Why this had happened seemed to be the question that had erupted throughout the school as the intercom system had buzzed to life and the news seemed to resonate throughout the building, the teary voice of the principal emerging stating that a school-wide assembly would take place immediately. She went on to say that following this brief speech, the children would be sent home for an indefinite period of time.

Brittany turned around and could see that in the back of the room, her former teacher, Vicki Hudson, was standing, her hands grasping a small golden Star of David, which she always wore around her neck. Brittany dug inside the pocket of her dress and pulled out a small golden pocket watch and hugged it tightly to her chest as tears streamed from beneath her eyes.

"What's that?" The little boy, seated next to her, asked. She turned around and could see the dark brown eyes of the boy with coal-black hair seated next to her. She remembered that this was one of the new students at her school, but she could not remember his name.

"New York?" The boy looked around the room and took in the all-encompassing silence. "No wonder you're so bummed out, I mean; he may be…" his voice trailed, but after some moments had passed, he looked back over at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." He paused. "What's your name? I'm Thomas."

The boy nodded. "My parents will pray for him too, we pray every day at one. It is a part of our religion."

Brittany nodded, but by that time, the principal had walked up onto the stage and tried to get the children to quiet down so she could begin her speech and they looked up onto the stage. "I know that this is not the best thing to say, but following the events in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, I can't really make any educated comments as to what or why all of this has happened. I wish I could, as I really believe that I should try and offer you some sort of explanation, but I cannot, as I have a hard time understanding why this has occurred. In knowing about how the school board wants to take prayer out of schools, I think right now you children should pray, and try to hold onto whatever faith you carry inside. Go home and talk to your parents about this and we will let you know in the coming days when the school will reopen."

With that said, she stepped down from off the stage and watched as the children were dismissed by their teachers. Brittany stood up and walked away from Thomas. "See you later," the boy said softly as she nodded and walked through the crowd towards her former teacher.

"Miss Hudson," her voice was small when she reached Vicki and allowed the tears to escape from beneath her sad brown eyes.

"Brittany, oh honey," Vicki's voice cracked with emotion as the small girl fell into her arms. Within seconds, more of the children from her previous year's homeroom class approached, each of their faces shadowed with confusion, some of them outwardly crying, while others were simply unable to even show the emotion that seemed to dwell in the recesses of their shattered hearts.

"Why did they have to separate us from you, Miss Hudson?" Matthew finally broke their silence and asked, his eyes filling with tears and he stubbornly tried to wipe them away.

"I don't know, Matthew," Vicki said as she noticed that the other children were nodding upon hearing the little boy's words. "Maybe you should all go home now, and talk to your parents about this like Mrs. Richardson suggested. I don't really know how much consolation I could offer right now."

"My grandpa works for the Pentagon," the little girl said as the tears rolled down over her face. "I'm scared that I will go home and my mommy will say that he is gone."

Megan nodded and looked at Vicki. "Miss Hudson, I'm scared too, I mean; will something like this happen here?"

"I don't think so, sweetheart," the teacher said softly, but deep inside she hoped that it wouldn't.

"What about Adam?" Sean asked finally breaking his prolonged silence. He, like Brittany, held a small golden pocket watch in his trembling hands.

"I don't know," Vicki replied. "I figure that all the angels are with the victims of this, as well they should be."

"I know, but I wish Adam were here," Sean whispered. "I'm scared, and he's always been there to help when I'm afraid."

"Yeah, me too," Brittany said softly, but after some moments she looked at her former teacher. "What can we do?"

"I don't know," Vicki said softly but she looked around the large auditorium and then back at the children. "We should go," she began as she could see the principal seated in the front of the room, with her head down. "Mrs. Richardson will probably want to close the doors and go home to her family."

By this time, Brittany had broken away from the group of children and walked slowly towards the front of the room, the eyes of the other children watching her. When she reached the principal she wrapped her small arms around the woman. "Mrs. Richardson?"

The principal looked up and into the innocent brown eyes of the small girl. "You should be going home now, honey."

"I'll be fine, sweetheart," Madeline Richardson said softly, but Brittany could see the tears streaming from beneath the sad blue eyes of the woman.

"I don't know what I believe in anymore," Madeline said softly. "After seeing this happening here, I honestly don't believe that God is smiling down on us. How could He?"

"Perhaps, but I can't believe that He would allow this to happen." The voice of the woman emerged somewhat cold, but instead of arguing, Brittany backed away from her and walked with weighted steps towards the exit.

Once she had stepped outside into the warm September sunshine, she could see that her former classmates were standing next to Vicki and they were talking about what they were going to do since the school had been closed and none of the children were ready to go home.

"We would need to contact your parents before we go anywhere," Vicki said softly to the children. "I wouldn't want any of them to worry about you, especially right now."

The children agreed and once they located a payphone, they approached the glass encased cell, formed a line, and each child took their turn and called their parents.

At the same time, a young angel named Leah had arrived at the small lake and was now sitting at the water's edge. She sadly removed the sandals she wore and was dangling her feet into the cool water. Her thoughts were filled with sadness as she contemplated the catastrophe, which had befallen this world, and what she, as one single entity, could do to help the people that God so dearly loved.

It was no question in the minds of anyone who was to know the young, black headed, brown eyed angel that she had been sent to New York to tend to the victims of the devastation, which had befallen them. However, in the middle of the last assignment, her emotions had gotten the better of her, and she had practically begged the Father to allow her to leave the site of so much inhumanity in order for her to get all these wayward emotions back in check. He, seeing the pain in His young angel's face, consented and sent her to the edge of this lake in the Virginia countryside.

As her mind drifted, she remembered the previous day and how she had been so excited when Sam had come to her and told her that she had been promoted from Caseworker to Angel of Death and that she would be guided and taught by Adam.

Leah knew of Adam, though before that day, she had never really talked to him. She remembered how his normally earnest gray eyes had been filled with excitement when Sam had told him that he was promoted to being a supervising Angel of Death, and that his new charge would be her. Leah felt honored in this simply because she knew that Adam was truly a wonderful angel even though rumor had it, his humor would sometimes get him into trouble.

Remembering this moment had become a tremendous honor for the young angel and she wanted nothing more than to help people and make the Father proud. Now, she just did not know, because her eyes were void of their usual energy. She had been a Caseworker for so long, hundreds of years, to be exact, but she wanted to serve the Father in every way she could, and guiding His children home seemed to be the most perfect way.

Today, on the other hand, she was lost in the tragedy of it and found herself staring blankly off into space as she watched the city become encased in black smoke and debris. She had been working along with her new mentor, but now the job was too much for her gentle heart to bare and she needed the time and space to come to grips with the sheer magnitude of it all. She figured that Adam would understand why it was that she had chosen to leave as abruptly as she did, but she was also hopeful that he would eventually ask the Father where it was she had gone before he would try and find her. With shame evident in her deep brown eyes, she stared down at her lap and could feel the tears streaming from beneath her eyes.

Eventually, she could hear the sounds of people coming in the distance, but instead of opening her eyes, she continued to stare down at her lap and could see that she was still dressed in her flowing beige dress. The soft taffeta like material was brushing against her hands and falling away as the gentle autumn breeze blew.

As she felt the tears streaming down over her face, she looked out across the lake and could see that the group of school children were now approaching where she was seated on the ground, a young woman accompanying them and Leah was left to conclude that this was their teacher. She cast a brief glance down at her clothing and could see that she was no longer dressed in beige but rather was now wearing an olive green dress with a black blazer jacket over it. Her long hair was pulled back with a matching clip and star-shaped earrings hung from her earlobes.

Eventually she found herself standing up and reaching for the shoes she had earlier cast aside. Once she put them on, she brushed the wrinkles from her dress and waited as the children and their teacher came closer.

She eventually found herself walking slowly in the direction of the children, all the while trying to get re-accustomed to being in human form. This was a very strange feeling, she concluded, as her stomach had started to rumble indicating that she was hungry and needed to eat something. At the same time, she felt sickened by the events she had witnessed and was not really certain whether or not she would be able to keep anything down.

She continued to walk in the direction of the group, her sad brown eyes filled with heartbreak and when she finally reached them, the children were looking up at her, their eyes carrying a similar sense of trauma caused by the day's events. However, Leah could not get over how they seemed to be embodied with an indescribable innocence. This emotion seemed to be the most dominant one showing on all of their faces.

"Hey lady, are you OK?" Matthew eventually called out, thus causing her to look up and make eye contact with them.

"Yes, I'm fine," she managed to find her voice once they had met near the side of the small lake. When her eyes met those of the woman accompanying the group of children she found herself smiling weakly.

"It's OK, we're pretty harmless," the woman said gently. "My name is Vicki Hudson, I'm a teacher at the nearby school, and these are some of my students." She paused as soon as Leah had managed to look up. "Somehow I think Matthew thought that it would not be a good time for anyone to be alone out here, especially right now."

"That's very nice of you," Leah offered grateful that Vicki and the children seemed to take responsibility for her plight, but at the same time not knowing what to do next, and feeling somewhat naïve about admitting that she had no idea what she should do or where she could go.

"It's not a problem," Vicki continued, somehow forcing herself to smile, but finding it hard to do. "You're new here in town, aren't you? I mean, I've never seen you around here before and I pretty much know everyone, at least by sight."

"Yes, I suppose you could say that I am a stranger here, my name is Leah," she said nodding her head.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Vicki asked. "I know of a very good hotel, in fact, Brittany's, aunt owns it and it's a very nice place."

"I don't know if I could afford nice," Leah admitted touching her pocket and realizing that it was still empty. The words 'what you need when you need it' filtered through the young angel's mind, but when she reached down to touch the pocket again, she realized that it was still empty. Instead of speaking further, she shrugged her shoulders.

"She won't turn you away," Brittany spoke up. "I'll come with you if you would like me to."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. If Samantha can't help you, she could put you in touch with someone who could help you arrange getting a room," Vicki said smiling sympathetically. "She's a very nice lady, and she's been known to help people when they need it the most."

"We don't know the people who died, either," Megan said as tears streamed down her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand and continued to speak. "But that doesn't stop us from wanting to help someone who needs it."

"You're all very kind," Leah said softly, but it almost appeared as though the young angel did not much care if she had a place to stay or not. Her tired eyes met those of the children and eventually, she sat down on the ground. "I think I need to sit down for a few more moments."

"It's OK," Brittany said softly and Leah was surprised to see that the little girl had sat down right next to her. "We came out here to try and ask God why everything has happened."

"Faith?" The young woman asked softly, but her voice emerged barely above a whisper.

Sean nodded simply because he had heard the word that Leah had spoken, but when he looked around, he could see that the other children had not heard what had emerged from the defeated angel.

Brittany looked over at Leah and could see the pale features of the young woman. "Would you like to go now?" She asked weakly not really sure if she actually wanted to go off anywhere with this strange woman. However, when she saw the sadness in the angel's gaunt face, the little girl nodded as she dusted herself off and stood up. "Miss Hudson, will you come by the house sometime? I would really like it if we could talk some more about what happened."

Vicki nodded as she pulled a cell phone out of her jacket pocket. "Of course, sweetheart. I'll call your mother right now and tell her you're on your way to the hotel with Leah."

"OK," Brittany said and Leah found herself once again standing up and beginning to follow the small child away from the lake. Once they had left the group of children, Brittany looked up. "Is your name spelled L-E-I-G-H?"

"And your name is Brittany, right?" Leah finally asked as they walked slowly through the trees and reached the sidewalk.

"Yes," the small girl whispered as she pulled the pocket watch from her dress and looked down at it as she rubbed her hand across the cover.

Leah watched the child's actions and after some moments, she could see the golden object in the small girl's hand. It looked familiar, but she did not know from where she had seen this kind of thing. "You are sad today, aren't you?" The young angel finally asked.

Brittany nodded. "Yes, everything that happened was so horrible, but I'm also thinking about my best friend. I think he's in New York right now."

"You think he is?" Leah asked, as the memories of that morning seemed to flood back into her consciousness. She wondered about the special friend who had given this fetching child the beautiful watch, and Leah pondered whether he was alive or dead. It would have been hard to determine simply because there was so much destruction, that no one could even begin to fathom how upside down the city now was.

"I don't know if he is really there, but I just have this strange feeling that he is," Brittany said softly after a few moments had passed and she was attempting to answer the angel's innocent question. "I mean; I just saw the news today at school, then they turned it off, but I saw how scary it all was. I guess I shouldn't admit it, but I wonder where God is in all of this. I wonder if He is still here or if He still loves us."

"I'm certain that He does," Leah said softly, but deep down inside, she was not sure from where it was that those words had emerged. Somehow, deep in her heart, she was still not sure what compelled her to continue. Sighing deeply she looked down at the little girl, and when she saw the hope in Brittany's sad eyes, Leah somehow began to ponder whether or not she had the ability to find the same hope in herself. If only she could do so, then everything would once again be OK and she would be able to return to the assignments God had intended for her to fulfill.

They continued to walk in the direction of the hotel all the while; Brittany's eyes were filled with sadness. "Did you hear about what happened, Leah?"

"Yes, I did," the angel said softly unsure how much she could speak of, but the next words that emerged from the small girl surprised her.

Brittany nodded and showed Leah the watch she carried. "An angel gave me this watch."

"An angel?" Leah asked all the while trying to remember where it was she had seen a similar golden pocket watch. For some reason, her memory was blocked and she could not remember specifically where she had seen such an object and this frightened her. Was she loosing her memory of who she was or what she was doing?

"Yeah, he's my best friend and he saved my life the last time he was here, but that was so long ago that somehow I think he has forgotten all about me," Brittany whispered as the tears began to stream from beneath her eyes.

"Yes, I do," Leah offered the child a weak smile, but she reached for Brittany's hand and was surprised when the child had slipped the watch back inside the pocket of her dress and took the offered hand.

Samantha Livingston had tears running down her face as she sat in the large lobby of the hotel she owned and was watching the news on television. How could anyone do such a thing, she seemed to constantly ask herself as she reached inside the pocket of her business suit and pulled out a cloth handkerchief. As she wiped the tears from beneath her eyes, she could hear that the bells chiming by the entrance to the hotel, this announcing the arrival of a prospective guest.

She patted her hair into place, stood up, turned around, and walked towards the young woman who had come into the lobby, behind her stood Samantha's niece, Brittany. "Good morning, is there anything I can do for you?" She addressed the young forlorn angel with kindness, but her question emerged forced, and from the look of the woman now standing next to her niece, she was left only to conclude that the pretty young angel now looked to be about as lost as she, herself, was feeling.

"M-my name is Leah, and, well," her voice emerged filled with sadness as she shifted her weight.

Leah nodded numbly. "Yes." She touched the pocket of her blazer and noticed that there was still no money present, but when she looked into Samantha's eyes, she could see the same openness, which was prevalent in Brittany, was also manifested in this woman.

"I don't think you should be alone," Samantha said gently reaching over and patting Leah's cold hand. "You don't look as though you need to be alone."

"Do you think Grandma and Mom would mind if we invite Leah to stay with us?" Brittany asked.

"I don't know, sweetheart, they're still a bit wary of strangers since last Christmas when you were abducted," Samantha whispered.

"Y-y-you don't have to do anything for me," Leah began as she backed slowly away from them, but when she turned around, her eyes widened as the human angel looked up, and could see the yellow flames practically leaping out at her from the news report still playing on the television set in the middle of the lobby. "Oh, Father, please help me," she began to cry bitterly as she sank to the ground. It was obvious that seeing this was simply too much for the young angel, and as she cried, Brittany had poked her aunt in the arm causing Samantha to lean down towards her.

"I think she's an angel," Brittany whispered as she watched Leah quietly sobbing on the ground.

"She called God, 'Father', just like Adam sometimes does. I mean, that's what he called Him when he was scared for me," Brittany said softly. "She looks so afraid, doesn't she?"

Samantha nodded, and the two of them approached the young woman slowly. "You're not alone, Leah, we're going to help you in any way we can."

The beautiful, but grief-stricken, angel looked up at the small child and saw that she was now nodding. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't know I was going to do that," she said softly as she accepted Samantha's offered hand.

"It's OK, you're probably doing what a lot of us wish we could do," Brittany said softly.

"Come on, let's sit down," Samantha said softly and with a gentle hand, she helped Leah sit down on one corner of the sofa.

"I've been thinking, maybe instead of you staying alone here, that you could come stay with my family. No one should be alone right now," Brittany said softly and Samantha nodded.

Leah finally found the strength to look up and eventually her eyes met Samantha's. "T-thank you. I don't know if I could stand to be alone right now."

"OK," Brittany said as her aunt stood up and walked slowly towards the receptionists' desk. Once she was gone, Brittany went over and turned the television off. "I'm sorry, but I can't watch anymore TV, I already know I will probably have nightmares tonight. I wish Adam was here."

Brittany could feel the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "H-he…" Her voice trailed and she looked at Leah and shook her head.

Brittany nodded. "Sometimes he would sing to me, and whenever I was sad, he would hold me in his lap and I would cry in his arms. I knew then that everything would be OK. Do you think everything is going to be OK, Leah?"

"I don't know Brittany, everything looks rather bleak right now," she said softly, but instead of speaking further, the dark headed angel could only wait until Samantha returned with the news about where she would be spending the night.

The night had been long, the house was still and Brittany lay in her canopy bed, her eyes closed, but the dreams that were encompassing her were far from peaceful, she kept seeing the visions from the television in her mind, the images encasing her second after second. She was frightened, but she felt so drawn into these dreams that she did not know fully what she was supposed to do, or how to escape from them.

Now, it was nearly three in the morning when she woke up with a start, a tiny scream erupting the stillness of the darkened night and when she rested her hand against her forehead, she could feel the sweat against her hand. "God, please help me, I'm so scared," she whispered to the stillness and reached over to turn on the bedside lamp, her tiny hand trembling.

She reached for the teddy bear Adam had given her when she was in the hospital and hugged it tightly to her chest. In the corner, she could not see that Leah was watching her. The young angel seemed to be at a loss, until suddenly Adam appeared right next to her and he looked completely worn out.

"You left me to take all your assignments, Leah," he said, but his voice did not emerge angry, rather it was laced with his own brand of concern. "Are you OK?"

"It's OK, you have no reason to feel that way, Leah," he said as he took her in his arms and held her tightly, her face burrowed against his chest and the tears falling freely. "Shhh," he whispered gently as he touched her raven hair.

"Is she really your friend?" Leah finally managed to ask as Adam continued to console her.

"Yes," Adam said as he looked over at where Brittany was. "Brittany is probably one of the most precious human friends I have."

Adam nodded. "I will go and help her so that she can go back to sleep, but now I think you need to do the same, Leah. You've been so deeply traumatized by all of this in very much the same way she has been."

"What's going to happen, Adam?" Leah asked, and he could tell that his young charge was completely beside herself.

"I know you're afraid, and I know that becoming an Angel of Death was supposed to be a wonderful thing for you, Leah. Now, you're in so much pain," he said softly. "I wish I could take that away, but I can tell you this; even though you will wake up tomorrow not knowing who you are exactly, you're still an Angel of Death, and I'm still your supervisor, OK? Trust in God's plan."

Leah nodded numbly as she felt Adam's hands on her shoulders and she could feel the love emanating from his sad gray eyes. Within seconds he led her to the door and she left the room.

Adam returned to the bed where his young friend was now sitting, her eyes closed and the wetness of her tears covering her face. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and his voice was soft as he began to speak to his young friend. "Brittany," a pause. "It's OK, sweetheart, you're not alone. You're never alone, honey."

The little girl glanced up and when she saw the familiar gray eyes of her friend, she could feel the tears continuing to stream from beneath her frightened and tired eyes. "A--"

"Shhh, it's OK, honey. I'm here," Adam said gently as she practically threw herself into his arms. He wrapped her securely in his arms and began to rock her gently, her head coming to rest against his chest, the tears washing down over her face.

"I know, honey, I know," Adam could feel his own tears falling, but he could almost sense the internal need in his own being strong for the sake of this child who needed him so much.

As she tightened her hold on him she allowed the emotions to get the better of her and as the sobs wracked her body, she tried to speak, but realized that she couldn't.

"Shhh," Adam consoled her as best he could, all the while his arms wrapped securely around her. For some time, they sat this way, the little girl cradled in the arms of the angel.

After some time had passed, Adam looked down at her. "Brittany, I can't stay with you much longer tonight, I wish I could, but there are so many who need me now."

Brittany tried to nod bravely, but the tears were still falling as she tightened her hold on him and repeated the words she had spoken earlier. "I'm scared. I'm so scared, Adam."

Adam brushed her hair from in front of her eyes and he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "You can be very brave, Brittany. I know you."

"I keep seeing these things in my mind," she whispered. "Airplanes crashing into buildings. It's so scary, like watching a horror movie."

"I know," Adam said gently and closed his eyes for a moment. The images Brittany sees are not so far off the images that he, himself, has seen. "You want to know a secret?"

Brittany finally managed to nod, her eyes filled with tears, but she tried to wipe them away.

"There's an angel here with you, she won't know tomorrow that she's an angel, but she is and I know you will take good care of her. Will you look out for Leah for me?"

"Yes, but she is traumatized, Brittany. Do you know what that means?" Adam asked her gently.

"It means that her memories of what she has seen are so intense that she cannot find her way home," Adam said gently.

"Yes, she was, she saw everything," he said softly. "Tonight, I have to go back and help some of the people find their way home."

"I know, as do I. You see, Leah was promoted two days ago to Angel of Death, and I am going to train her, but nothing prepared her for what happened. I don't think anything could have prepared me."

"I love you, Adam," Brittany tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Please, be careful."

"I love you, too, honey, and I will be very careful," he said softly despite his overwhelming sadness.

As she tried to loosen her embrace with him, she could feel his hands had moved from her shoulders to the sides of her face, his thumbs brushing the moistness of her cheeks away and she found herself looking into the familiar gray eyes of her friend. "Now you try to remember what I told you the last time I was here. I told you that God is always with you and He'll help you through this," Adam said gently, but it was easy to see that this was choking him up as well.

Adam looked down at his young friend, his hand brushing gently through her soft hair. "Yes, He'll help you with those, too."

Brittany nodded numbly as she felt the tears, which streamed down her cheeks, were now being wiped away by her friend. Seconds later, Adam stood up and laid her on the bed and pulled the blanket up and over her body. "Will you stay until I'm asleep?"

"I can't honey, but close your eyes and try to go to sleep," Adam said as he handed her the teddy bear and she snuggled up against it. As much as he wanted to stay with her, he knew that he was needed in Manhattan and once he had gently kissed her forehead, he disappeared.

The following morning, Brittany awoke; her eyes were swollen from the crying she had done much of the night and her throat unusually dry. She looked around and could see that her teddy bear was still snugly in her arms, and that she had fallen asleep soon after Adam had left.

"God, thank you for letting Adam come see me last night," she said softly. "Please take care of all those poor people that are suffering because of yesterday. Thank you."

Her prayer spoken, she crawled slowly out of bed and went to put her robe on. As soon as she had done so, she pulled her hair back from her face, tied it in a ribbon, and walked towards the door to leave her bedroom.

In the hallway, she could see that Leah had emerged from her room as well, the dark eyes of the angel trapped in human form taking in her surroundings as though everything was new. When her eyes met those of Brittany, Leah smiled faintly, but they still carried that familiar look of fear.

Brittany watched as Leah buttoned the top button on her dress and was walking down the hall towards her.

"Hello," Leah said, her voice filled with shyness, as though she was trying desperately to remember where she was. Somehow this made Brittany feel a deep sense of responsibility for her.

"I had a nightmare," Brittany said honestly. "I kept seeing things in my head all night long, mostly those pictures that I saw on the news."

"I don't remember anything about yesterday," Leah said softly. "I don't even remember how I got here."

"It's OK, most people would rather forget yesterday," Brittany said softly. "You want to come have breakfast with me?"

Leah nodded and they walked down the hall in the direction of the stairs. As they descended the stairs, the young human angel tried to pull her raven black hair back from her eyes. When they had reached the foyer, which led through a hall to the front door, they stopped when they could see that four members of Brittany's family were greeting the man as he came inside. He immediately reached out for Samantha's hand and they shared a moment of intense relief.

"How was the trip?" The older woman asked, the question literally dripping with concern. "How are you doing? Is there anything I can get you?"

"Mom, I'm fine, I'm just exhausted, I've been on the road all night, the streets in and out of New York were completely blocked and there was really no way for me to get out of there until last night late. Air space is closed, driving was the only option I had," the man was saying.

As Leah and Brittany joined them, she could hear the man describing the events that brought him home, but unlike the night before when she could remember what had happened, this morning, all of her memories were vague and the descriptions were as though she was hearing them for the first time. Aside from her name, she could not remember what had happened, from where she came, or who she was. There was nothing familiar about the place this man was describing.

"Hunter, this is Leah, she stayed the night here," Samantha said softly as the human angel came out into the foyer with Brittany.

"Hi. Hey Brittany," he said and smiled weakly. "Sorry if I look a fright, but I've been driving all night, and could use a cup of coffee, some scrambled eggs and maybe a bowl of cereal."

After a few moments, he finally managed to focus his attention on Leah, and for some reason, his eyes narrowed slightly and he stared at her for a few moments. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"She was out at the lake with Brittany's class yesterday, Hunter," Samantha said. "They came by the hotel yesterday, but there was nothing really going on and we didn't want to leave her alone there." She looked at Leah. "Are you feeling any better today?"

Leah nodded as Brittany tightened the hold she had with the small teddy bear she held in her arms.

"Yes, I'm fine, just a little tired," he said. "But, I've been thinking about driving back up and volunteering to help with the rescue efforts. From what I have been able to surmise, they're going to need a lot of help. Right now it looks as though they need firefighters and police, and they seem to have enough volunteers, but as crazy as it sounds I feel like I have to do something. I suppose that a commercial artist can't do much anyway."

"I'd like to, but chances are, I wouldn’t be able to anyway, the roads are blocked and the Jeep barely made it back here. Chances are that hunk of junk wouldn’t make it back to New York City either."

As the adults continued to talk, Brittany walked slowly away from them; her shoulders were now slumped as she made her way down the hall. No one seemed to notice that the little girl's heart was broken; her nightmares would probably have to be resolved on her own.

"Brittany?" Leah's voice drifted from down the hall behind her and the little girl turned around.

"Yeah?" Her one word question emerged once Leah had fallen into step beside her. As they made their way down the corridor in the direction of the dining room, Brittany looked up at Leah. When she saw the ever-present look of contemplation on the human angel's face, she stopped walking and spoke. "You OK?"

"I suppose," Brittany looked around the room once they entered the dining room and they sat down at the table and began to eat from the plates of eggs that were placed in front of them. The words Adam had told her the night before came back and she smiled weakly Leah. "What do you want to do today?"

"I don't have any plans, I suppose I need to get a job, though," Leah said softly. "That and a place to stay."

"Why can't you stay here?" Brittany asked. "I mean, I kind of like having you around."

"Yeah, I guess because I'm alone a lot of the time," Brittany whispered as she began to stir the oatmeal in front of her.

"Well now that there's no school, and my mom is really busy with the business. My Uncle Hunter doesn't have time for me any more, not since he got married. I mean my aunt is really nice, but she's busy too. Even my grandma has something to do, but…" Brittany's voice trailed off and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before she was able to continue. "It's no fun, and now with all that has happened, nobody seems to care that I'm really scared. Everyone has something to do, but nobody has time for me." As she spoke the tears began to trickle down over her cheeks.

Brittany nodded. "I wish I could cry, but my grandma says that big girls don't cry," she paused for a moment, and tried to choke back the persistent tears. "Did you ever just want to cry for no reason?"

"Yes," the frightened human angel said weakly. "I don't remember anything about myself, Brittany. I remember my name, but I don't know what I do for a living or where I come from. I feel as though I was just dropped here from nowhere and must fend for myself."

"Can't you just stay here," Brittany said softly. "You shouldn't be alone either, and if you go, then we both will be by ourselves, and I don't know if I have the courage to go this alone."

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing," Leah said softly as the adults came into the room.

"I don't know what to do," Katherine was saying. "We have so much work to do around here, and I know that none of us want to leave Brittany alone."

"What do you suggest, Mom?" Holly asked. "I'm supposed to be meeting with some investors. Hunter?"

"I've been driving all night," he complained. "I'd do it, but I might fall asleep in the middle of a tea party."

"I still have some work to do up at the hotel," Samantha said softly. "I'd take her with me but I don't think it would be any fun for her to sit around there alone while I work."

"We can't just stop living because of what happened yesterday," Katherine said. "If we had stopped during the great depression, this country would never have healed. We need to keep going."

"Mom, the only other adult around here is Leah, most of the staff went home yesterday morning," Holly said.

Samantha looked at Leah, and after a few minutes she finally spoke. "Leah, would you mind taking care of Brittany while we're at work? It won't be for very long, it's just that we all have so much to do and with school not being in session, well, it's kind of hard."

Leah nodded, and looked compassionately at the little girl. Upon hearing the words of her family, the little girl's expression was filled with lost hope and sadness. The human angel could very well understand the pain that dwelled in the heart of the little girl and in many ways, she could understand why; the grown-ups here were just looking for a reason to shove Brittany to the side. "I would love to spend the day with Brittany," she said softly. "As long as it is OK with Brittany."

Brittany looked down at her lap remembering the words Adam had told her the night before, and rather than smiling, she found herself wanting to cry. Instead of having her family with her, it looked as though the seven-year-old girl would have to hold even more tightly onto the growing list of questions that seemed to be gnawing away at her about the events of the previous day.

Once everything was said and done, Brittany watched as her family left her in the company of another person who appeared to be almost as lost as she felt.

Fifteen hours after visiting Brittany, Adam was standing amongst the rubble in New York, the warm breeze wafting gently through his hair. He looked around and could see that most of the Angels of Death had already been sent elsewhere, and he was waiting for Andrew to join him.

"You done?" Adam asked weakly. He noticed that Andrew was no longer dressed in beige, but was wearing dark jeans and a white t-shirt.

"For now, yes," Andrew said. "Tess and Monica are helping some of the families here, I think this is going really going to be hard for them as well. What about you?"

"Well, I'm going to back to Virginia, that's where Leah is. She's been staying with Brittany's family," Adam said.

"Well, she's as fragile as Leah, but somehow strong," Adam said shaking his head sadly. "She had nightmares last night, and I had this strange feeling that a lot Caseworkers are going to be assigned to children in the coming days."

"I can understand, the media is really going with this event, and though I understand why people want to be informed, the children are bound to see all of this and then they will look for a way to deal with their own internalized fears about it," Andrew said softly.

"Yes, and Brittany's family is ignoring her, Andrew," Adam said softly. "I mean; I know it's not intentional, but that little girl is in so much pain. She's just trying to understand and no is there to answer her questions. I had to leave her last night, and I didn't want to."

"I know, but she's in good hands, my friend," Andrew said as he rested a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder.

Adam could only shrug his shoulders, but after a few minutes, he looked at Andrew. "What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Well, I think a lot of us are going to get a few days off now. Henry said that he was going to stay on, and will help the firefighters in the rescue efforts. He said that if he finds anyone that may have been overlooked, then he would be there to take him or her Home. What about you, what are you going to do?"

"I have to go back to Virginia and help Leah," Adam said softly. "But, I made a promise to Brittany as well, and won't fall back on that."

"You know she's going to ask you questions about what has happened," Andrew said softly.

"Brittany is intuitive," Adam said. "But, I love her and I won't avoid her because all of this is so painful. Besides, I think she needs me now."

"She probably does," Andrew said smiling weakly despite his overwhelming sadness. "Listen, I don't have anything going on, you mind if I come with you to Virginia?"

"Not at all, I think I actually might like to have some company," Adam said and looked down at his clothing. He was now dressed in a similar fashion as his fellow angel.

"Hey, you guys, this is a restricted area, you'd better get out of here before something falls on you," a man's voice interrupted them and they turned around and could see a policeman standing perhaps three feet from where they were. As he approached, they could see how tired this man looked.

"You're not reporters, are you? Some of them have been sneaking into this area to take pictures and stuff," the man said.

"No, we're not," Andrew said. "One of our friends has been helping in the efforts, though."

"OK," the man said softly. "Well you guys, I don't want to arrest you, but you'd better get out of here."

"We're leaving," Adam said, but looked at the haggard appearance of the man. "Are you OK?"

"Listen guys, we have enough volunteers, and well, I think you should just get yourselves out of here before anything else happens," the man said softly.

As they walked away, a woman in a denim jacket and jeans walked over to the officer, and when Andrew heard the voice of the rescue worker, he turned around and looked up to see that Monica was now standing next to the policeman. "Officer Daniels, we found your daughter, and she's alive."

"Yes, she's conscious, but we're transporting her to the hospital," Monica said and took the man's arm. "She asked about you, and I told her I'd find you." As she spoke, she flashed the two of them a sad smile and led the policeman away.

"A minor miracle," Adam mused. "No wonder he didn't seem all that friendly at first, he was probably so worried that he couldn't even think straight."

Andrew nodded. "That's the hardest part, to see the hope on the faces of the people, and every time we have to take someone Home, we realize that somewhere that sense of faith dies in another face."

"Well, look at this, another small miracle," Andrew said and held up a set of keys in an attempt to lighten the mood a little. When Adam saw the keys to Tess' Cadillac, he smiled slightly.

"Well, she didn't really give it to me, she told me the usual 'if you even scratch my baby, then you're going to pay, Angel Boy' lecture," Andrew said shrugging his shoulders. "We're in human form, we can't just pop in at Brittany's, and we're going to have to drive there."

"I noticed. I suppose the Father didn't want Leah to remember everything about herself just yet," Adam said softly as the two angels walked slowly away from the devastation that was stretched out behind them. "So, where's it parked?"

"Tess parked it about five blocks away," Andrew said, and rather than speak further about the car, he looked at Adam. "I heard about the promotion, Adam. Congratulations, so how is Leah doing anyway?"

"She was really excited when Sam told her that she had been promoted, but now she's really messed up, traumatized by it, actually," Adam said sadly. "The Father's taken away her memory of this, at least until she's better able to cope with it."

"Sometimes I wish He could take my memories of this away, it's so awful," Andrew said softly as he shrugged his shoulders. "So, she doesn't know that she's an angel?"

"No, and Brittany promised that she wouldn't tell her," Adam said smiling slightly whenever he thought of the little girl.

Andrew nodded and they continued to walk in silence until they reached Tess' car. "So, how long do you think it will take for us to get there?"

"I don't know, but from what I understand, we should be able to get off the island, take the New Jersey turnpike south in the direction of Trenton," Adam said. "Tess has a map in there, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, I think it's in the glove box," Andrew said as Adam got into the passenger side and Andrew crawled in behind the wheel. "You know, I just love driving this car."

"Does Tess love you driving this car?" Adam asked, his gray eyes sparkling mischievously. If things had not been so hopeless at that moment, Andrew would have laughed.

"No, Tess doesn't love it when he drives this car," Tess' voice emerged and they looked up and could see her standing on the curb, her hands were on her hips, but rather than smiling, she carried a sadness in her eyes.

"Hi Tess, what a pleasant surprise," Adam said trying to lighten the mood a little, but as soon as it emerged, he realized that it was perhaps not the best thing to be said, and he looked down.

"Stow it, Adam, I'm not in the mood for jokes," Tess said weakly, not seeing Adam's motions until she looked up and could see that his head was down.

"I'm sorry," Adam mumbled, but after a few moments, he suddenly felt Tess' hand on his shoulder and she had squeezed it reassuringly.

"It's OK, Adam, I know this has been hard on you, as well," Tess said, her voice lowering considerably. "Listen Angel Boys, be careful out there. Monica and I will meet you two down in Virginia in a few days."

"No, Angel Boy, I'm not," Tess allowed the tears to stream down her cheeks and Andrew got out of the car and wrapped her in his arms.

"They're at peace, they're with God, Tess," Andrew said as the tears began to stream down his own face. He held tightly to her and they shared a moment of grief.

"I'm not at peace, Andrew," Tess whispered as she held tightly to him, her face filled with the utmost sadness.

Adam looked up at her, his own eyes filled with sadness, but he watched as his two friends shared a moment together. "Tess, should we stay here and help you and Monica?"

"No, baby, you have a little girl who needs you more now than ever before," Tess said as she wiped the tears from beneath her eyes. "Now, you go and take care of her, you hear me Adam?"

"Yes," he said and rather than staying in the car, he got out as well and wrapped his arms around her as well. The three angels shared a moment of silence before Andrew and Adam got back in the car and Tess returned to where Monica was consoling family members of the victims.

It was late when Brittany was finally able to go to sleep. Again the house was quiet and Leah was sitting next to her bed as the little girl closed her eyes.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Brittany asked weakly as she tried to close her eyes.

"I don't know," Leah said as she shrugged her shoulders. "I think today was a rather nice day, don't you?"

"I guess, if you mean the weather, but I see nothing good about it," Brittany said softly as she remembered the walk she and Leah had taken to the same lake where her classmates had met. Her mind was on the classmates, but she was also thinking about the little boy named Thomas whom she had met the day this disaster happened.

The news had reported that Islamic extremists were behind this, and now she was afraid that someone she only knew in school was going to be blamed for it because he believed differently than she did. She looked around the room but found that she did not really want to talk to an angel with a slight case of amnesia. She would not admit it, but she wanted Adam to be with her.

"Brittany, I know I can't take away what happened, but I want to help," Leah said softly.

"How can you help me, you can't even remember who you are, or where you came from?" The little girl cried as she looked up, her brown eyes filled with sadness and though she knew that Leah only wanted to help, but she did not want Leah's help.

"OK, but I want to be alone right now, Leah, would you just go? I'll see you tomorrow," Brittany whispered sadly.

Leah nodded dejectedly, stood up, and left the room. Out in the hallway she could see that Adam and Andrew had arrived and Holly was talking to them. When she saw that Adam was looking at her, she still could not remember who he was, but she could sense something familiar about him. After some moments of silence in the hallway, Leah slipped quietly into her room.

As she went over to the bed, she sat down on the edge, and looked out across the large room she was staying in. "I wish I could remember what I am supposed to do," she whispered softly. "Brittany is in so much pain about what has happened, but yet I can't do anything to help this poor little girl. She speaks endlessly of an event, which I can't even remember."

"You will remember, in time," Adam's voice interrupted her and she looked up not even questioning how it was he had even heard her when she had been barely speaking above a whisper.

"My name is Adam, and I'm visiting friends here," he said softly. "You shouldn't be upset that you can't reach Brittany just yet. It's not easy for her to open up to people; simply because it's often hard for her to trust people. It took her a long time before she could begin to trust me, but right now, she feels abandoned, and in order for her to accept that which has happened, she needs to feel secure."

"She's not angry, she just feels misunderstood. Don't loose heart, in time you will remember, but maybe in doing so, you should try and understand what she feels," Adam said gently. "Now, I need to go see her, but why don't you pray a little and ask God to help you in all of this."

Leah nodded and watched as he left the room; all the while she was trying to figure out where it was she had seen him and how he could have possibly known so much about her.

That night as Brittany turned off the light and crawled down under the covers, she could feel the tears welling in her eyes as she thought about the situation with her family. She was lonely and felt that everyone she loved had abandoned her. First, it was her family, then Adam, and now she tried desperately to remember the conversation she had had with Adam the night before. As she contemplated all of this, she could feel the tears streaming from beneath her eyes. It was not that she was angry with Leah, she was angrier with her family than with anyone else.

She was so hurt that they seemed to be too busy to pay any attention to her, especially right now in the wake of tragedy. She held the teddy bear in her arms as she felt the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Brittany, it's OK to cry sweetheart," Adam's voice and she found herself opening her eyes and looking up at him.

"Adam," she whispered softly, her voice filled with sadness, and she tried to sit up in the bed. "You came back." She looked down at her lap.

"Yes, I promised you that I would," he smiled gently at her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm scared," she whispered. "I've never been so scared before, and nobody seems to care."

"You're afraid that I'm going to leave you again to face this alone, as your family has inadvertently done, aren't you?" He asked gently.

"I'm not, honey, I'm going to stay right here with you," Adam smiled weakly. "Is that OK?"

"You've been thinking about what has happened, haven't you? You're afraid that something like that is going to happen here, aren't you?" He asked.

"And you haven't been able to talk to your family about this at all?" He asked gently, but when she shook her head, he sighed sadly as she felt the tears streaming down her cheeks. Obviously they were too caught up in their own worries to concern themselves with the plight of this special little girl. He could completely understand, but deep inside, he knew that she needed them right now and if they did not stay with her, then she will only continue to be hurt simply because she did not understand what had happened.

"No, honey, He isn't mad at you. He loves you so very much," he said gently. "All of this is just so hard for me to explain. I don't even understand why this happened, I just know that I had to be there, and I had to help those courageous people." As he spoke, the tears streamed down over his handsome face.

Brittany reached a small hand out towards him and when she touched his face, she could feel the moistness caused by the tears that were now streaming from beneath his sad gray eyes. "Adam, y-y-you're crying."

"Yes," he whispered his voice barely audible. "I've been trying to be strong, for you, and for Leah, but sometimes it's very difficult."

"Yes, I am," he said softly. "I can't tell you why this happened, simply because I do not know the answer to that question myself and I wish that I did, just because it might help me to accept it." He bowed his head sadly and but could still feel the hand of his friend against his cheek. He rested his hand against hers and allowed the tears to fall, the stream of wetness moistening both of their fingers.

Brittany looked over at him, but instead of seeing his wise gray eyes, all she saw was a clump of salt and pepper hair that covered the top of his head. "You don't have to be strong for me, Adam," she whispered sadly. "Nobody else is."

"My family doesn't talk to me about it, all they ever seem to talk about is work," Brittany said softly as she shrugged her shoulders and Adam released her hand.

"Can I hold you, Adam? Maybe it would help, like it did when I was sad about my grandpa and you helped me?"

Brittany's innocent question caused the Angel of Death to begin weeping, and as she looked at him, her eyes were filled with the utmost disbelief. Her best friend, the one who was always so strong, was now upset. He was now crying so hard that she felt immediately guilty for having said something that would cause him to be sad. "Adam?"

When he did not answer, she crawled out from under the covers, and got out of bed. She stood for a split second in front of him, and listened to him as he tried to get his weeping under control. Eventually, she crawled up onto his lap and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's OK to cry," Brittany whispered as she held him, her hands feeling his trembling shoulders from beneath the touch. As she spoke to him, she could hear his weeping getting stronger; his crying was almost too overwhelming for the little girl to take.

When Adam felt her arms around him, he wrapped his own around her and held her tightly, his weeping growing louder, the agonizing cries bringing Andrew quickly into the room.

"Adam?" Andrew spoke weakly causing Brittany to look up, her brown eyes meeting his green ones and a question looming.

"He's very sad," Brittany tiny voice was barely audible over the emotions that had overwhelmed her best friend.

Andrew crossed the room and sat down on the bed, his hand coming to rest on the shoulder of his friend and fellow angel. "How can anyone feel strong in all of this when everyone feels weak?" He asked as Adam's sobs grew louder still.

"Maybe because we all have started to feel like God's not with us," Brittany whispered and looked up at the angel who had raised the question. She continued to hold tightly onto Adam, her arms growing tired.

"He hasn't left us now, Brittany," Andrew began. "Aside from that, Adam's faith is very strong, but the painful things he has seen, have been so hard for him to comprehend."

"I think I have cried until I have no more tears left to shed," Andrew said honestly.

The little girl shrugged her shoulders, but shook her head. "My family hasn't, my grandmother and mother don't seem to care."

"I think they do," Andrew said gently. "I also know that God won't abandon you, and neither would Adam."

She looked down at her friend, her hand rubbing into his hair, something she had always wanted to do, but never thought she would get the chance to do. "You won't either, will you, Andrew? I mean; you're my friend too, right?"

"I guess Suzie is relieved, huh?" She whispered as she continued to hold Adam in her arms.

By this time, Adam had stopped crying somewhat and he looked up to see his friend was holding tightly to him.

"It shouldn't surprise you," Andrew said softly. "We have all cried at one time or another about all of this, it was just a matter of time before you would too."

"Thank you, sweetheart," Adam said and brushed his hand gently across Brittany's tearstained face.

Brittany shrugged her shoulders and reached for a tissue that was in the box next to her bed. Once she had handed him one, she watched as he slowly began to wipe it underneath his sad gray eyes. "Adam, what about Leah? When is she going to start remembering who she is?"

"Tomorrow," came the one word answer and Brittany looked at him and nodded slowly.

"Don't worry, honey," Andrew said gently. "In time your family will be ready to face this event and will come to you. Sometimes it takes adults a little bit more time to face their feelings about such events, but when they do, then we'll see what we can do about this.

It was early the following morning when Leah opened her eyes. She had been tossing and turning all night long, and finally as she sat up and looked around the room, she had to rub her eyes, because Sam was standing in the room watching her.

"Yes, and you are as well," he said. "The Father took your memory for the time being because He knew that it would be hard for you to cope with all that has happened, but now you must face what has happened, and this short memory lapse was there so that you could help that little girl. Now that Adam has returned, he will take care of his friend, and you will take care of someone who will need you."

"What could I have done to help? Sam, I wasn't really that close to Brittany, and besides that, she doesn't want to talk to me about it," Leah said.

"You must understand something Leah. In being there for that child, you helped her, and although the Father took your memory of those horrible events away for a short time, He could not and would not remove them permanently from the human consciousness nor angelic memory. It is so tragic what has happened, and many children have nightmares today because of it. They are hurting spiritually, and they don't see how your pain and theirs could even be connected, even though they are." Sam sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at her, his gaze never faltering, but she could still see the moistness that seemed to line the wise angel's coal black eyes. "You see, God, the Father, understands you, and He understands the pain and suffering of His children. Now, in the wake of these events, it will be the time of unity and healing among people, not only your own healing, but theirs as well. You will be assigned a new case when Brittany returns to school, it's a little boy, his name is Thomas, and tomorrow, he is going to need an angel to watch over him in the most profound way."

"Why me, Sam? I' don't know if I'm ready," she objected. "What could I do for a little boy?"

"In this time, people are reacting to hate with hate, you can show that small boy that you react to hate with love, the truth, and God will be with you, Leah. He will guide you and watch over you, just as He is doing for a young Muslim boy who believes he is the cause of the tragedy that has befallen the human race."

"You mean; the news will uncover something about his religion's involvement in this?" Leah asked. "I remember that I used to work in reconcilliations, and most of the cases I had dealt with people who used religion as a reason to hate one another."

"Yes, and tomorrow it will emerge even more so than ever before. One of this world's religions will be placed under close scrutiny and people will react towards them in judgmental and harsh methods," Sam said softly. "You see, Leah, you're the most qualified angel of all of us to take care of Thomas. He's destined for great things, but he will need you in order to realize that."

"You'll know what you'll need when you need it." With that, Sam was gone, and Leah suddenly remembered who she was, and what she had to do.

Thomas was walking alone early that morning, his head was down as he made his way towards the school. The morning news was devastating to his parents; their mosque had been vandalized three times since the news had reported Islamic extremists had committed the acts. Though they had not said anything about the reactions of their religious leaders, the 7-year-old boy was extremely frightened.

As he reached the playground, he could see that the parents of the other children had brought them to school, and were parked in the lot next to where the teacher's would park their cars.

He looked around the large playground and could see that his classmates were arriving, and he walked slowly inside the school. The halls were empty, except for a few students, and he was left to wonder if the school was going to be full or if all the children had been told to stay home. Sighing sadly, he made his way towards Mrs. Green's second grade classroom door.

As he came inside, he could see that two of the boys from his class were inside the room. "Hey, look, it's Thomas," one of them said. "How many people did your daddy murder last week?" One of the boys asked as he came closer.

Thomas looked at the boy and shook his head. As the boy came closer to him, he tried to back away, but was suddenly struck by a fist against his abdomen and he doubled over in pain, his body crumbling to a heap on the floor as more of the boys began to join in the act of tormenting him.

When he finally managed to look up, he could see the utmost hate and hostility in the boy's blue eyes. All he was able to do was speak, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper. "Why do you do this?"

"You're not fit to breathe the same air as us good Americans," the boy sneered as the teacher came into the classroom.

"What on Earth is going on?" She demanded as the boys backed away from him. She looked at Thomas sternly, her dark eyes filled with contempt, but when she saw his nose had started to bleed, she simply shook her head and waited for the child to answer her question.

"N-nothing, Mrs. Green," Thomas managed to stammer, as he backed towards the door leading outside into the hallway. As he did, he wiped his hand over his nose and looked at the other children sadly, the hopelessness evident in his sad brown eyes.

"I see," she said as she eventually recovered from the anger that seemed to encompass her.

The other children eventually took their seats, but when he looked up, his dejected eyes met those of one of the girls. It was Brittany Harrows, and she had stood up and was coming over to him, her hand holding a tissue, which when she reached him, she extended to him. Once he held it, he pressed it against his nose and looked up at the teacher.

"Well, Thomas, you should go to the nurse's office and get that bloody nose taken care of and we'll deal with this when you get back to class."

Once the boy was gone, Brittany looked at her teacher, but instead of getting angry at the abrasive woman, she looked up to see that Adam was standing next to her in angelic form. When her curious eyes met those of her friend, he could do nothing but shake his head slowly at the apparent prejudices this woman was shoving off onto the children.

Eventually, Brittany walked over to the two boys who had been beating up Thomas and she put her hands on her hips as she had often seen Tess do when the angel had been indignant about something. "You guys are acting like a couple of macho jerks."

"Do you treat Thomas like he's scum of the earth because you feel that way about yourselves, or do you thrive on showing people how much hate you have inside?" Her eyes never left the faces of the two boys and if it was possible for a seven-year-old girl to be angry, this was it.

"What do we care what you think, you're nothing but a stupid girl," William sneered.

"And you're a pompous windbag," she said looking at him. Behind them, she could hear the other children beginning to say 'Ooooh' as though she had nailed them with the ultimate insult.

After a few seconds of silence, she regained the control of her emotions and looked at them. "Do you remember when Miss Tess was here last year?"

"Yeah, what about her?" Dennis asked wondering all the while where this confrontation was actually going.

"Do you remember what she said to us when one of the older boys started teasing you? It was right after Christmas, and we had come back to start the spring semester."

The color drained slowly from William's face and he looked around the half-full classroom and swallowed the lump that had suddenly lodged itself in his throat. "She told Scott that in God's eyes we're all the same, and that every person is special in their own right. She also said that teasing other people seems to only bring out the intolerance that may exist in a person."

"Scott actually stopped teasing us, and after awhile, we became friends and he started looking out for me," the boy said and looked towards the door. "I don't know how Miss Tess was able to convince him of that though."

The boy shook his head, but before the teacher could say anything to them, the two boys quickly left the room and Brittany watched as they disappeared through the doorway.

"You were wonderful," Adam said softly as soon as they were gone and he had come over to where she was standing and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, her eyes constantly on the door. After a few moments had passed, she managed to walk back over to her desk, sit back down, and wait for her teacher to begin the lesson.

Outside in the hallway, Leah was watching as Thomas made his way towards the nurse's office, the utter dejection evident in his eyes. When she looked up, she could see that Andrew was now standing at the other end of the hallway. Both angels were invisible to the human eye, but when Vicki Hudson was seen walking towards her classroom door, Andrew followed her slowly into the empty classroom.

Thomas looked around nervously, and when he discovered that he was now alone, he closed his eyes for a moment, sat down on the floor in an unobservable place and began to mumble something under his breath. Leah was still in angelic form, but she stepped closer to listen.

"Allah, I don't know where Mecca is from here, I wish I did, because I really want to talk to you. I want to be liked here, I don't want to be hated because of what someone else did," the little boy could feel the tears streaming from beneath his sad brown eyes. "I want people to like me for me, the way I hope that you do."

"People do like you, Thomas, and the God you love, loves you as well," a voice emerged and he looked up to see a pretty young woman standing right next to him, her soft hair pulled back with a clip and her gentle eyes regarding him with the utmost love and understanding. She was dressed in a pale blue dress, a star shaped necklace hung from a black colored chord around her neck.

"My name is Leah," she said softly and pressed a finger to her lips. "Only you can see me, though, so don't talk too loudly."

The angel shook her head, but did not elaborate on his question; instead, she asked him one of her own. "Do you believe that your Heavenly Father would abandon you during this time, when you need His love and counsel the most in the world?"

Thomas shook his head sadly. "There are a lot of people who say that He hates me and my family. My dad said it was because of how we pray."

"That must be so hard, but the truth is, people are afraid and they react to things as fear dictates. They have seen the extent of how terrible mankind can be to one another, but now they have a choice as to how they react to a deeply tragic and hate-filled act. They can react in love, or they can react in vengeance. What they fail to see is that the hateful way they react is not of God either, Thomas. They are treating you and other Muslims with bitterness and judgment, but they do not see you as you truly are, as God, Himself, sees you." As Leah spoke, she rested her hand on her heart and looked deeply into the eyes of the small child.

"We are all children of our creator, Thomas, and whatever words we use when we pray, we are connected to each other in those words. You see, sweetheart, as I have said already, hate is not of God, and hate is all there is in this world that needs to die. We cannot live any longer in such fear, for if we do, it will kill us all, and those who have free willingly chose to terrorize humanity will have won the battle. Everyone should live, not in judgment of his or her neighbor, but in unconditional love of one another. Those other children should look at you and see the beauty that is in you," Leah said softly. "That same beauty is that which God sees when He smiles upon you."

"The mosque where my family prays was…" his voice trailed off and he looked at her. "I don't think anyone here wants to be my friend, but I'm not at fault for what happened, I'm just a kid and I'm so scared."

"You are more than you believe, Thomas, you are much more," Leah remained on her knees next to him, and squeezed his shoulder. "You are a child of the Father, and yes, you may call Him 'Allah', but do you honestly think that He would not answer you now, in the wake of this event? Do you think that He is angry with all Muslim people because of the act of a very few?"

"Is He?" Thomas asked, his tears falling freely from his eyes as he looked at this mysterious woman.

"No, He will love you, He will always be there for you. It's just that right now, you don't know how much He cares, because messages you are receiving are laced in hate and judgment. You are being told so many hurtful things, but like those who have lost their lives or members of their families, they must mourn that emptiness that dwells within them, and in this grief, humanity is connected, not by religion, but rather, by compassion."

"I know, but maybe the end result of all of these dreadful things will be a test in your faith," Leah said softly. "You know, it may be hard to believe right now, but every time the Father closes a door, He does open a window."

"Perhaps, but right now I don't feel so good about myself," he said. "The others are cruel to me, they make me feel ashamed of being what I am."

"I know," Leah said gently. "In times like this, people sometimes forget that there are good people of every faith, and that includes those who are the believers of Islam. Thomas, don't ever believe otherwise."

"My name is Leah, and I'm an angel," she said softly. As she spoke, she began to glow, the gentle light enveloping her and because she sat so close to him, he could feel the light of God against his face, and this made him smile ever so slightly.

"Yes, Thomas, I was, and many brave people went Home that day," Leah said softly. "They were people of great strength, faith, courage, and love, and they went home to the most beautiful place imaginable and they leave behind families, friends and loved ones who most certainly will never forget them. In this time, however, they also leave behind a new kind of connectedness among people. You are perhaps seeing some hate emerging, but in the most profound way, there is so much love that has emerged in people and this love will be the greatest gift of healing that God can give to humanity during this difficult time. It will be that love, which will win in the end, and all the evil can simply be destroyed with the power of love, the power of a creator who loves all of His creations deeply."

"Will those who caused this to happen ever be forgiven?" The innocent question emerged.

"Only God has the right to judge those who commit such acts, baby," Tess appeared next to the boy, and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"A lot of children feel this way, honey, and some adults sadly do as well," Tess said gently and looked at Leah. "A lot of angels were deeply hurt by this tragic event, Leah was. She lost a part of her memory of this for a very short time as a result of those feelings she carried in her heart."

"But, why?" Thomas looked at Tess, but after a few moments, he glanced back over at Leah.

"It was because I was traumatized by these events," Leah began. "I understand now that the Father wanted to help me overcome these feelings so that I could be a better angel, so He took my memories of this away, but only briefly, because He knew that I would have to eventually face it before I could continue my job."

"I'm an Angel of Death, Thomas. I took countless numbers of people Home when the tragedy happened. Today, I am better able to cope with it, but it is still a very sad event that I must accept and try to understand," she said gently.

"She won't, honey, and neither would I," Tess said gently. "God sends angels to not only help people with dying, but He also sends us to help with life, and today, we have come to help countless numbers of children. One of them is you."

Leah nodded and took up where Tess had left off. "For the children, there is nothing that will fully take away the images of what you have seen, and this is very difficult in that you draw pictures of these images as well as have nightmares. I finally could understand how hard this was for you, and now I know why I am connected to so many children at this time."

"She eventually had to grasp that it had become too much for her to bare, she saw the reoccurring events in her mind, but she needed to understand them before she could reach this place and be here to help you understand them," Tess said gently.

Thomas looked at Leah. "You remembered this only so that you could become my friend?"

The young Angel of Death smiled for the first time since the terrible event had happened and after a second, she nodded.

Tess looked up and could see William and Dennis emerging from the classroom and they hesitantly approached them. "Miss Tess?" One of the boys asked.

"Yes?" The wise angel asked as she turned around and saw William and Dennis standing rather awkwardly nearby.

"We've been thinking about what you said when you helped us the last time you were here," the boy said sadly.

The little boy looked at Thomas and extended his hand to the boy. "I'm sorry, Thomas, I guess, I was just stupid and scared."

The boy looked over towards where Leah and Tess had been standing. When he realized that they were both gone, he nodded his head slowly and accepted his classmate's outstretched hand.

"Would you believe me if I told you that Brittany Harrows said that Miss Tess is an angel?" William answered his question with a question.

Thomas nodded. "I believe you, simply because my mom said that there are always angels among us."

Vicki was standing alone in her classroom some ten minutes later and she sighed deeply as she looked up and could see the flag of the United States hanging above the chalkboard. She smiled weakly as she clasped the star she wore around her neck and stared for some moments at the flag.

"Hello Vicki," the familiar voice of her friend brought her suddenly out of her reverie and she smiled weakly when she turned around and could see Andrew standing next to her. He reached over and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, this simple act giving her goose-bumps, but making her smile weakly.

"Hi, Andrew," she said, but seeing him somehow propelled her to want to cry. She sighed deeply as she tried to contemplate what had been happening and wondering all the while if she was doing anything right in the face of all this.

When she said nothing further, Andrew came closer and simply wrapped her in his arms, all the while she could feel the tears falling from beneath her eyes. "You've been under a great deal lately, have you not?"

"It is hard to be a teacher and have to answer the questions the children raise about the events that has ravaged society as of lately. Children believe somehow that a teacher is supposed to have all the answers, but sometimes not even an angel has them," he said softly, the tears still evident in his compassionate green eyes.

"Yes, but it must be so hard for an Angel of Death to cope with this, too," Vicki said softly as the bell rang dismissing the first period and within seconds, Sean walked slowly by the closed door, and instead of passing it, he came inside. Once in the room, he closed the door and turned around only to make eye contact with them. Shrugging his shoulders, he sat down at one of the desks and rested his head in his hands. Vicki could see the tears in her former student's eyes and she looked at Andrew as if to say 'help me'.

Andrew obliged and walked over to the despondent young boy. "Sean?" Andrew spoke after a few moments of silence had passed between them and he had sat down next to the little boy.

The boy looked up and smiled ever so slightly when his eyes met those of Andrew. "Hi," he finally found himself able to speak.

"Have you had a chance to cry, Sean? It looks as though you would like to, but can't bring yourself to do so," Andrew spoke gently as he rested a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, thus causing him to look up from the act of staring at the shiny mahogany lacquered desk in front of him. "You know, it's OK to cry, even Adam cries when he is sad, and this event has made all of us very sad."

Sean shook his head. "My dad said that we should be mad, nothing more and my mom says that all people who don't believe as we do are wrong."

"Sean, do you know what the difference between faith and fanaticism is?" Vicki asked.

"Faith is believing and accepting the love of God as it applies to a certain belief system, fanaticism is embodied entirely in fear and control," Vicki said. "Do you know the difference between fanatics of different religions?"

"In my mind, there is none, fanatics use murder as proper justification for their actions, and sadly say that they are acting on God's behalf," she whispered sadly. "The only difference between Christian, Jewish and Islamic fanatics is the means by which they express those beliefs. Some use weapons of mass destruction, and some speak words of hate, which are their way of saying 'I'm right and everyone else is wrong'. These kinds of people use such statements and ideas to interpret that God is always being angry with us. I have heard it all, and do you know what, Sean?"

"God loves us, plain and simple," Vicki said simply and as she spoke her eyes met those of Andrew and the angel nodded. "He doesn't want to see us destroy each other, and my opinion is that the emotions that are supposedly placed on God by religions are done so by fearful minded people, and not by God. I'm of the mindset that He wants to see us love one another as He loves us, unconditionally." She paused for a moment and then found herself looking at the angel. "Andrew, do you think that is why the children are afraid, because they are told almost incessantly to be afraid?"

The angel shook his head. "Vicki, I have no idea why they are so afraid right now, but I think it is emerging from many different things. Children are more sensitive than adults in this regard." He looked at Sean. "The question I have for you is this, Sean: How do you feel right now about all of this?"

Vicki sat down at one of the empty desks and waited for the little boy to answer.

"Did you ever stop and think that the core of this entire thing is about religious differences?" Vicki asked.

"No, not really, I guess I don't really care about how people believe differently, I just think we should all treat each other nicely. I can't understand why people make such a big deal about what makes us different," Sean shrugged his shoulders. "What about what makes us the same?"

Andrew smiled and nodded as Sean looked at him. After a few moments of silence had passed between them, the little boy looked up at Andrew and spoke again, this time his question emerged completely unrelated to what they had been taking about, but both the angel and the human teacher could see that it had been weighing heavily on the little boy's mind.

"Do you think Adam would understand if I didn't want to be an Angel of Death when I grow up?" Sean asked softly.

Andrew smiled gently at the little boy. "I am certain that Adam would only wish for you to do that, which makes you happy. He will always be your friend, Sean, and regardless of what you decide to do when you grow up, he will support you in that, simply because he truly cares for you."

Sean nodded numbly, and within seconds, he could feel the tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. "Andrew, is it OK for me to cry?"

"Of course it is," the angel said gently as he inched closer to Sean and wrapped his arms around the young boy. Upon feeling the hold of the angel on him, Sean finally began to cry. As he did, the tears continued to stream down his cheeks and Vicki came over and she too wrapped him in her arms as he cried.

Seconds later, she could feel one of Andrew's arms around her shoulder and she allowed herself to cry as well.

As the school day let out, Brittany walked slowly across the playground with Adam next to her. "You think things will ever be normal again, Adam?" She asked softly.

"I think it would depend on what people define as being normal. If you are wondering if things will ever be as they were before, the answer is probably going to be no," he said honestly as he put a gentle arm around her slumped shoulders. "But, you know what? I think if more people were to look at it as you do, it might help make things a little bit better."

Brittany smiled weakly as she looked at her friend, but instead of speaking, she waited until Thomas and Leah had approached them.

"Hello Leah," Adam said smiling weakly at his charge. She definitely looked much better, and this came as a great relief to him. He leaned down to Brittany and whispered three words in her ear. "She's OK now."

The little girl smiled at Leah as the younger angel looked at Brittany and nodded, all the while, her hand was still resting on Thomas' shoulder, and the four of them walked away from the school in the direction of the lake.

"This was always our favorite place to go," Brittany explained to Thomas once they arrived and had sat down on the ground. She looked out across the water and could see that Vicki was there as well as Andrew, Sean, Megan and the two boys from Mrs. Green's second grade class.

"I guessed," Thomas said softly but when he looked up at Adam, it was obvious that the young boy was slightly intimidated by him and the tall angel sat down on the grass next to Brittany. Finally, he looked at Leah as if to ask who Adam was.

"Thomas, this is my friend, Adam," Leah said softly almost as though she had been reading the thoughts emanating through his mind.

"She showed me the watch you gave to her," Thomas said softly, but something compelled him to continue speaking to the tall Angel of Death. "Are you an angel too?"

Adam nodded and smiled gently at the young boy. "Brittany and I met right before I took her grandfather Home."

Before anyone else could speak, Brittany reached for Adam's hand, her eyes filled with sadness, but she addressed the angel, her voice small. "Adam, would you sing for us? I mean, I know that usually Tess sings, but I remember the last time you sang a song for me, and I would like to hear you sing again. It might make me feel better about everything."

If you've ever wondered
When you pray at night
If it makes a difference
If it sets things right

Every time we say our prayers
Whispered in the dark
Somewhere deep inside you
You know with all your heart

As sure as God's in Heaven
There's someone who cares
And somebody's listening
When you say your prayers.

As he sang the song, Brittany cuddled up next to him and could feel that he had wrapped her in his arms. She could feel the tears beginning to stream from beneath her eyes, but whether this was contentment or sadness was hard to determine. The little girl looked up at him, her brown eyes filled with love for this angel as he continued to sing the song to completion.

A prayer can be a thank you
A prayer can be a wish
A prayer can say I'm sorry
Like a hug or like a kiss
It doesn't have to be just right
God hears you loud and clear
As long as it comes from your heart
It goes right to His ear.

As sure as God's in Heaven
There's someone who cares
And somebody's listening
When you say your prayers

Just know somebody's listening
When you say your prayers.

As he finished the song, Vicki, Sean, Megan, and Andrew joined them on the banks of the lake. Seconds later, William and Dennis approached and sat down on the ground as well.

"I want to sing something," Sean said suddenly once he had gotten comfortable and taken his shoes off.

"We should all sing it." Sean said. "Remember last year when we had that big sing-along at school?"

"Yeah, I remember it, it was led by that guy from California, and he was an awesome singer, too!" Brittany answered smiling, "I'll never forget him, and he and his wife were the nicest people in the world. But, what song is it, Sean, there were so many that he did?"

Sean leaned over and whispered softly into the ear of the little girl. Brittany smiled and nodded, but after a few seconds, she looked at Thomas. "We need to write the words down for Thomas so he can sing along."

"No we don't," Megan said softly. "It's an easy song, written in Russian, but translated into English."

Brittany nodded and looked at Adam, who smiled at her as she began to sing, her voice filled with sadness, but becoming more optimistic the more she sang the four lines to the song.

May there always be sunshine
May there always be blue skies
May there always be Mama
May there always be me.

As their voices faded, Tess, Monica, Gloria and many of the angels in Heaven watched as the three angels and seven humans sang their song of hope for the future. Their voices drifted up to the heavens and as they continued to sing this song, each time louder than the last until many angels joined in, their voices united in love. Tess continued to watch and she leaned over to Monica and spoke.

"Miss Wings, this is beautiful," Tess said with tears in her eyes. "Over there, we have three angels, three Christian children, a Muslim child, a Jewish child, a Hindu child and a Jewish teacher all singing together. Does that tell you something?"

As she spoke, Tess nodded as a dove took to flight, flew over the trees, and disappeared in the distance.

This story as stated at the top was written in loving dedication of the many lives lost on September 11, 2001. This is, in fact, my personal reaction to the events not only of that day, but also the aftermath and what I have seen on television as well as what I have read about in the newspaper. It greatly saddens me to hear about attacks made on religions of the world and people of specific nationalities simply because of those who carried out this heinous act. It is simply an area of stereotyping which I cannot accept in my thought philosophies.

The reason I chose to write this is because I have friends and acquaintances of all religions, and it saddens me to see people reacting to these horrible events by using hate and violence as their means of making their voices heard. It is my hope that this story will provide a little bit of food for thought, but is not an attack on anyone, it is purely my way of coping with emotions I have about these events.

I have used a lot of my very personal spiritual beliefs in this story, much more than I have ever done before, and in doing so I have tried very hard to keep my personal ideas out of the characters, which are not created by me. I.e. Tess, Monica, Andrew, and Adam are not speaking of my personal beliefs; their roles, I have tried to keep universal. In expressing what I feel, I created a character named Leah, as well as used Vicki Hudson. If you disagree with this story, that's cool, in fact, this isn't meant to persuade anyone of anything, it is just my observations and/or beliefs put into one of the hardest stories I have ever written in my life.

The music I used came from the Collin Raye CD 'Counting Sheep' and is entitled 'When You Say Your Prayers'. The song 'May There Always Be Sunshine' is a song about peace, which my friend, Karl, introduced me to when I was 16-years-old. The song was actually written by a Russian boy at least 15 (if not more) years ago. Nothing here is intended to infringe on anyone's copyrights.