Marcie and Jennifer Barnes sat at the kitchen table picking at their cold spaghetti. Neither one of them felt like eating - the only thing on their mind was the young man upstairs they both loved more than anything. He'd been locked in his room since early this afternoon and hadn't spoken to anyone.
An ominous feeling gnawed at Marcie's stomach. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was very wrong.
What is it? What's wrong?
She threw down the fork she was holding and pushed her chair back from the table. She walked to the glass door that led to their back patio and stared out into the darkness.
"Oh, God, please help us."
The red convertible made a left-hand turn onto Terrace Ridge Drive, as its four occupants strained to find the street number in the darkness. It was one of the older neighborhoods in Carver Heights, a middle-class suburb of Manchester, with a certain "Mayberry" charm to it.
The houses were quaint and small, each giving off a warm, welcoming glow. A few families had already put out their Christmas decorations, this chilly week after Thanksgiving. Twinkling colored lights danced to a rhythm all their own.
"Do you see it?" Taylor asked.
They strained to see the numbers painted on each mailbox. None of them matched. The pattern though, showed that their house would be on the right because it had an odd number, 2501. Finally, toward the end of the street in a cul-de-sac, they found it.
"There it is!" Zac shouted.
It was a small, two-story, white house with green shutters. The front porch featured two weathered rocking chairs and a wooden swing. Andrew pulled his convertible into the driveway behind a late-model Toyota Corolla. It's license plate read: NOAZRK. The four of them piled out of the car.
And though my flesh is gone. Hoo Ohh
I'll still be with you at all times
And though my bodies gone. Hoo ohh
I'll be there to comfort you at all times
Noah pulled back the hammer of the Walther PPK and pointed it at his head.
If I'm gone when you wake up please don't cry
And if I'm gone when you wake up it's not goodbye
Don't look back at this time as a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me, 'cause I'll be with you in your dreams
The music had been playing for several minutes before the terrible reality hit Marcie Barnes like a freight train. She knew now what that horrible feeling in her stomach meant. Somehow she knew what Noah intended to do.
"Oh, dear God, no!" she screamed, running out of the kitchen.
Jennifer just sat there in stunned silence, wondering that the hell was the matter, as she heard her mother bound up the stairs.
"Mom?" she yelled, as the doorbell rang.
She walked toward the front door to the accompaniment of her mother's pounding and screaming, still not sure what was going on. And things grew a lot more weird when she opened the door to find the Hanson brothers staring back at her.
I don't want you to cry and weep. Hoo Ohh
I want you to go on living your life
I'm not sleeping and endless sleep. Hoo Ohh
'Cause in your heart you'll have all of our good times
With his hand trembling, Noah put his finger to the trigger of the gun. His mother's pounding and screaming had started again. Tears streamed down his face.
"Go away, mom," he shouted. "Please!"
The pounding continued.
"Noah!"
"Please, just go away!" Noah screamed, falling to his knees. "Forgive me, Lord."
His finger began to pull the trigger.
"Hi!" Zac Hanson said with a smile. "Does Noah Barnes live here?"
"Uh, yeah - he does, he's my brother," Jennifer stuttered. "What - what are you doing here?"
"We got an e-mail from him and thought we'd stop by," Taylor responded. "Is he here?"
"Noah!" a voice screamed from upstairs.
Jennifer looked nervously upstairs. She couldn't believe the Hanson brothers were standing right in front of her. She didn't have time to think about it now, though. "Yeah, he's here, but this isn't exactly a good time. He's locked himself in his room. Please, come in."
The three brothers walked through the door as Jennifer closed it behind them. It was Isaac that realized Andrew wasn't with them as they followed their host up the stairs.
"Hey, where's Andrew?"
They stopped and looked all around.
"Who's Andrew?" Jennifer asked.
"The guy who was with us," Ike responded.
She looked confused. "There was no one else with you. It was just the three of you." She continued on up the stairs.
The brothers exchanged looks, not saying a word.
If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
And if I'm gone when you wake up don't ask why
"Noah!"
"Oh, God," Noah pleaded. "Please forgive me!"
Another voice filled the room. "You don't want to do that, Noah."
Startled, he looked up to see Monica standing in front of him. "What? How did you…"
He watched as a brilliant white light illuminated her entire body. She was glowing.
"I'm an angel, Noah, sent by God," she replied. "He wants you to know that He loves you more than anything. He wants me to tell you that killing yourself isn't the answer."
He slowly stood to his feet, unable to believe this was really happening.
"You're not an angel," he said. "No, you can't be."
Monica smiled. "I am an angel, Noah. I was sent here to help you."
"You can't help me, Monica - things are really screwed up. I can't go on like this anymore. My father is dead, I've lost my job and my fiancee. Where was God before all this happened?"
"Noah, God never promised that your lives would be without struggle. He's the same place He's always been, waiting for you to receive His love. You've believed in Him all your life, and now you're willing to throw that away because a few things have gone wrong."
Noah stood in silence, slowly pulling the gun away from his head and down to his side.
"Noah!" Marcie Barnes screamed.
She turned to see Jennifer and three young boys she didn't recognize rush toward her.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"It's Noah, Jen," Marcie responded. "I'm afraid he's trying to kill himself."
Isaac Hanson stepped forward. "Step out of the way."
He lunged toward the door - it didn't budge.
"Come on, guys, help me," he said to his brothers.
The three of them rushed the door and hit it with a thud. Again, it wouldn't budge. Jennifer laughed in spite of herself. It was the funniest thing in the world watching the Hanson brothers try to break down her brother's bedroom door.
Taylor eyed her and frowned. "You're not helping, you know that?"
Jennifer simply shrugged apologetically and watched again as they tried to bust their way in.
"I don't understand," Noah said. "Why wasn't there an angel there the night my dad died? Why didn't God send an angel then?"
"He did."
Noah turned to see a tall, young man with long hair. He had the same glow that Monica did and he looked familiar. He heard a noise at the door. It sounded as if someone was trying to break in.
Thud!
"You're…" Noah began, recognizing him. "You're from my dream."
"That's right, Noah. My name is Andrew and I'm the angel of death. I was there to escort your father home."
"But why did he have to die?"
"It was his time, Noah," Andrew replied. "But it's not yours. You have a lot of things to take care of before you die."
"Like what?"
Thud!
"Your mother and your sister," Monica interjected. "They love you, Noah. Just as God loves you."
Noah looked down at the gun and then back to Monica. He raised the gun to his head again and placed his finger on the trigger.
Andrew stepped forward. "Noah, please don't do this."
He stood with the gun to his head, not knowing what to do. He was so confused - too much was happening.
Thud!
The door still wouldn't budge. Ike was getting frustrated. "Okay, guys, one last time." They were rushing the door again when they stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of a gunshot.
Pow!
"Oh, my God!" Marcie screamed. "Please God, no!"
Jennifer collapsed to the floor, crying hysterically.
Ike counted to three and they hit the door once again. This time it gave way, and they ended up in a heap on the floor. They scrambled up off the floor to see Noah Barnes collapsed on his knees crying. Marcie and Jennifer rushed in and wrapped their arms around him.
"Noah, are you okay?"
Jennifer, who was facing Hanson while she hugged her brother, looked past them and gasped. "Oh, my gosh! Monica?"
Isaac turned to see Andrew standing next to a beautiful young woman. A bright light shone around them. "Uh, guys?"
Taylor and Zac twisted around to see what their older brother was talking about.
"Andrew?" Taylor said.
A huge smile spread across Zac's face as he rushed toward Monica and hugged her. "Monica!"
"Hello, Zachary," Monica replied. "How are you?"
"What's going on?" Marcie asked.
Andrew stepped forward and grinned. "Well, we're angels, Mrs. Barnes. We were sent here by God to help you and your family."
"Angels?" she asked. "Oh, boy."
"It's okay, mom," Noah offered. "It's true - they really are angels. Andrew was there the night dad died, I saw it in my dream."
"Hey, guys," Zac began, "you remember a couple of summers ago when I fell out of Mr. Patton's tree and told you an angel caught me?"
"Yeah, Zac, I remember," Taylor said.
"Well, Monica is the one that caught me. You guys thought I was nuts when I told you about the angel, but here she is. You have to believe me now!"
"Whoa" was Taylor's reply.
"But Andrew," Ike asked. "Where do we fit into this?"
The angel smiled and approached the eldest Hanson brother. "Isaac, God wants for you, Taylor and Zac to know that you have touched people with the gift He gave you. You're not doing this all for nothing, boys. God is pleased with how you've handled your success and how you've kept your focus on Him. He has and will continue to bless you."
Isaac fell to the floor stunned. He couldn't believe it. It was an answer to his prayer. God had sent an angel to answer his prayer.
Taylor and his younger brother walked over to the closet. Zac picked up the gun. "What happened in here, Noah?"
"Well, I threw the gun against the wall and it went off. It was right after…" he stopped in mid-sentence.
"What is it, Noah?" Marcie asked.
"Where'd they go?"
They all turned around to where Monica and Andrew had been standing but there was no one there. No one said anything for a moment.
"Way cool!" Taylor said, breaking the silence.
Zac stood up from the floor and walked over to the bedroom door. "Oh yeah, Zac," he said in a mocking voice, "you fell out of a tree and were caught by an angel. She had long, brown hair and an Irish accent." His voice returned to normal. "Jeez, maybe now you guys will listen when I tell you stuff."
Downstairs in the living room, everyone was enjoying some hot chocolate that Jennifer had made. The mood was light, considering what they had all been through that night. Noah looked to the Hanson brothers and smiled.
"So, you guys got my e-mail and decided to come right over, just like that?"
Taylor smiled proudly. "Yep, it was my idea."
Everyone laughed.
"What?" Taylor said. "It was my idea."
"I don't know how to thank you," Noah replied. "You guys are amazing. I didn't even know you were in town."
"Well, we're just glad to know that you're okay," Isaac said. "And we appreciate the fact that you shared with us. We don't get the opportunity to meet many people like you."
"Hey, guys!" Zac interjected. "We almost forgot." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a CD and handed it to Noah.
Noah accepted their gift and looked down at it. It was Snowed In, their Christmas album, signed by the three of them. "Wow, thanks a lot, guys."
"Sure thing," replied Taylor. "Hey, we want you to come to the concert tomorrow night, too. We've got four extra tickets."
"Cool," Jennifer said, smiling at Isaac. "We'd love to come."
Marcie stood up and gave each of the Hanson brothers a hug. "I can't tell you what it means to me that you would come all this way to help my son. Thank you. God bless you all."
Ike grinned. "You're welcome, Mrs. Barnes. May I use your phone? Dad's probably having a fit by now." Marcie pointed to the back of the house. "Thanks!" He got up and walked to the kitchen, with Jennifer not far behind him. He could tell that she liked him, but this time he didn't mind.
Epilogue
Chapter Nine
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