The ground in the city was soaked and glistening from the rain that had fallen the night before. The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. People walked up and down the streets as children played in their yards. Cars, bicycles and other vehicles passed with quiet rumbles and hisses.

A beautiful white dove flew down into a back alley behind a cathedral as a mist rolled into the area. When the mist passed, black steel-toed boots stepped into the light and splashed into a puddle as the wind caught the edges of a black trench coat. Shiroi emerged into the sunlight and gazed up at the cathedral with a faint smile on his delicate lips, ignoring odd stares people gave him. Something had drawn him here, the feeling he often got when he was needed. But he could always stop by and say hello to God. So Shiroi casually walked around to the front of the cathedral and went inside, his boots tapping softly on the hard floor. He dipped his hand in the Holy Water, then touched his forehead, chest, left shoulder and then his right shoulder. After that, his trench coat billowed out behind him as he walked down the long aisle of the mostly empty cathedral and knelt by the altar to say a short prayer.

Just as Shiroi was finishing his prayer and standing up, he felt a tug on the bottom of his trench coat. He turned and looked down at an adorable, but thin little girl with large blue eyes and a few golden corkscrew curls hanging out from under the red baseball cap she was wearing. She couldn't have been more then four or five years old. There was something about her that Shiroi was sensing, but at the moment, he couldn't put his finger on it.

Smiling and kneeling down, Shiroi said gently to the girl, "How can I help you?"

"Have you seen my mommy?" The little girl asked quietly.

"Not yet, but she'll be here in a few seconds." He answered quietly, his gentle smile still present.

At that moment, a woman with hair like the little girl's came rushing down the aisle. "Angela! There you are! Are you OK?" The woman looked up at Shiroi as she picked Angela up into her arms. She seemed a little shocked at Shiroi's unusually pretty and alien appearance, but hid it with a gentle, "Thank you for finding her."

Shiroi nodded, "It's all good." He already knew the woman's name, but he asked her anyway to prevent himself from scaring her like he had scared Chichi. Tilting his head, he asked, "So her name is Angela? Mind if I asked yours too, ma'am?"

The woman smiled at his kindness. "I'm Susan." She bowed slightly and asked, "Yours?"

Bowing slightly, Shiroi replied, "I'm Shiroi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Are you an Angel?" Angela cut in.

Shiroi chuckled, Susan blushed and said to Angela, "Shhh, silly girl." She honked her daughter's nose, causing her to giggle.

"It's quite all right." He flashed his childlike grin for a moment. Then he looked at Angela directly in the eyes and replied silently to her mind, I am.

Angela's eyes went wide and she smiled happily. Shiroi's senses when into overdrive for a moment when they picked up pain from somewhere. Right then, Angela put her hand on her stomach and said, "Mommy, I need my medicine. Can we go home?"

Susan looked at Angela a bit sadly and said quietly, "OK. Let's go." She looked at Shiroi. "Thanks again, Shiroi. It was nice meeting you."

Shiroi smiled softly, "It was a pleasure to meet you too."

Angela turned her head and smiled over her mother's shoulder as she was carried out of the cathedral. Immediately, Shiroi turned around and knelt again. Father, what am I to do for her?

Her time is coming soon. The reply seemed to whisper. Watch over her. She is afraid.

I shall. Shiroi replied silently, crossed himself and stood up. He anointed himself with the Holy Water, then walked outside and into the dark alley once again. Mist rolled in, and a few moments later there was a dove flying away.

Many bottles of pills lined the marble counter. Susan picked one up and dumped a pill out, handed it to Angela and gave her a glass of water. Angela swallowed the pill and scrunched her face up because it tasted gross. "Yucky."

"I know. I'm sorry, Sweetheart." Susan said gently to her daughter. "But it'll make the pain go away."

Angela nodded and walked slowly up the stairs to her room, not noticing the white dove on the outside of her window sill right away. She turned on her TV and was starting to watch a children's program when she noticed the bird out of the corner of her eye.

Shiroi perched calmly on the outside of the window sill as Angela came to the window and grinned. He saw her lips move as she probably had said 'pretty bird'. Shiroi winked one of his red eyes and flew away behind the house. A moment later, he was a Namek again as he walked out and stood on the front lawn to see if Angela was still at the window. She was, and she smiled big when she saw him, opening her window.

"Hi Shiroi!" She waved.

"Hi Angela!" He waved back, his trench coat rustling slightly as the wind caught it.

Susan heard Angela talking and walked upstairs to find her by her window. "Who are you talking to, Angie?"

Angela looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Shiroi's down there."

At first, Susan thought Angela was just pretending. After all, they lived in a pretty rural area. Miles out of the city. But when she looked out the window, there stood Shiroi, grinning in the front lawn. Since she couldn't just leave him standing out there, she invited him to come inside.

The house was very nice, with a dark brown rug and mostly wooden panels for walls. Pictures of Angela were standing on top of the fireplace and there was one huge mural of Jesus on the back wall. The air smelled fresh and clean, giving the impression of being inside a cabin.

"Funny running into you again." Susan chuckled as she came downstairs with Angela close behind. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I was thinking the same thing." Shiroi replied, smiling at Angela as she sat down on the couch across from him. "Water, if that's all right."

"Sure thing. Susan went into the kitchen. While she was there, Shiroi touched a dead rose that was in a vase. There was a small spark of energy, the rose glowed briefly and then started to bloom again. Angela's eyes went wide and a grin spread across her face. Shiroi grinned and winked at her, putting his finger to his lips in a 'shhh' gesture just as Susan returned with a tall glass of water.

"Thank you." Shiroi replied, sipping from the glass.

"I'm going to go back into my room, mommy." Angela giggled, "Be good."

Shiroi chuckled as Susan answered, "All right, Angie." She ruffled Angela's hair, then watched as she turned and walked upstairs. As soon as Angela was out of sight, Susan's smile dropped and she sighed quietly, running her hand through her curly golden hair. Shiroi's brow wrinkled as he sensed sadness coming from her.

"Why so sad?"

Susan lifted her head and brushed some of her golden hair away from her face once again to delay answering that question for as long as possible. "She's sick, and the doctors can't do anything more for her…" Tears welled up in her eyes as a lump formed in her throat. "I wish I knew what to do…"

Shiroi put down his glass of water, reached over and grasped Susan's hand in his delicate one. He felt her hand grasp his in response. "Give her all the love you can while you can. How long does she have?"

"At her last check-up, the doctors said a few weeks…two at most. She's so afraid of it. At night, she gets up and wanders around the house because she's afraid to fall asleep and not wake up again…and I can't help her…" Susan put her hand over her eyes. "I'm sorry for acting like this…"

"Don't be. You have to grieve." Shiroi told her in his gentle, whispering voice, "The important thing is that you're not alone now while you do. My ears are open if you want to talk."

And Susan did talk. She explained how Angela had been sick with AIDS because of a botched blood transfusion when she was three, how she'd been in and out of hospitals for so many different treatments that didn't work. How it created havoc in the little girl's poor worn-out little body. She talked and Shiroi listened, hours passing like minutes. She also briefly spoke of how her husband, Michael, had gone into the army and disappeared. She even showed his picture; a picture of a man with short blond hair and brown eyes. By the time Susan had run out of things to say, she realized it was getting pretty late.

"Oh dear…I'm sorry to have kept you. I hope you didn't have to be anywhere…"

Smiling, Shiroi's antennae gave the slightest twitch as he cryptically replied, "I'm where I need to be."

Susan arched a slender brow for a moment, then said, "Normally, I wouldn't do this…but would you mind if I asked you to stay the night? I mean…I wouldn't want a nice man like you out wandering around on your own."

He chuckled quietly, "I'll stay. Perhaps I can calm Angela's fears if she gets up in the middle of the night…"

Exactly four hours had passed since Susan had asked Shiroi to stay. Susan had just put Angela to bed for the night(even though she never stayed there), and was going to ask Shiroi if he'd like to stay in the guest bedroom. She found moments later that he had fallen asleep on the couch, a Holy Bible lying open on his chest.

With a small sigh, Susan picked up the blue and white blanket that was draped across the back of the couch and used it to gently cover him up to his chest. Then she carefully slid the Bible out from under his delicate hand and placed it on the end-table by the couch where he'd find it when he woke up. She also couldn't help but notice how Shiroi's strangely pretty features seemed to make him look almost childlike, and the way his odd antennae were just draped across his forehead like messy bangs. So alien, yet so angelic.

"Sleep tight…" Susan whispered, then turned and went upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her.

Fifteen minutes later, the stairs started to creak quietly as a small form crept down them. Quiet footsteps tip-toed into the kitchen and the faucet hissed for a moment as the person got a drink. The glass clinked gently into the sink, the footsteps padded over next to the couch, and a shadow fell over Shiroi's face.

A small smile crept across Shiroi's lips as he opened one ruby eye a crack to see Angela standing there, her golden curls falling about her shoulders. She had a pretty little doll with hair just like hers in the crook of her arm, and she was cradling it like a baby. Her head tilted to the side a little, and she smiled when she saw Shiroi was looking at her.

"I hope I didn't wake you up." Angela whispered to keep from waking her mother up. "Did I?"

"Nope." Shiroi answered in a whisper. "I was already awake when you came downstairs." He sat up and glanced down momentarily before spotting his Bible on the end-table. "Say…that's a pretty little girl you have there…what's her name?" He said when he noticed the doll.

Angela grinned, "Her name's Danielle, but I call her Danny for short. She's sleeping now though."

"Ohhh…" Shiroi lowered his voice a little more, playing along. "Then we don't want to wake her up. Here…" He held out his arms, and Angela placed the little doll into them. She watched him rock the doll gently a few times, then place it on the couch where he was asleep before and put a corner of her blanket over it.

For a moment or two, Angela was quiet as she pondered the question she'd been wanting to ask Shiroi since he'd answered her question silently in the cathedral. She finally just came out and asked it, but as a comment instead of a question. "I thought all Angels had wings."

Shiroi chuckled at her as he straightened again. "They do."

"Can I see them?" She looked up at him and watched a small smile creep across his lips.

"Close your eyes." Shiroi whispered gently.

Angela closed her eyes and waited, hearing a rustling sound as Shiroi slid his trench coat slightly up and then off, letting it gently slide to the floor behind him. There was silence for a few more seconds, and then she felt the softest feathers she had ever felt in her life brush her cheek.

"OK…now you can open them."

Angela's eyes opened and went wide. "Wow!" She whispered in amazement. There stood Shiroi without his trench coat, his glorious dove-like wings exposed and spread, spanning about eight to ten feet. They sparkled slightly, as if someone had sprinkled white glitter all over the feathers.

Shiroi smiled gently down at her. "Would you like to come fly with me?"

Angela's eyes grew large as she nodded her head vigorously, holding her arms up to Shiroi. Shiroi's smile turned to a grin as he reached down and lifted her easily into his strong arms. He unlocked and opened the door with the force of his mind, and Angela became all the more excited when she saw him do this.

"You ready?" Shiroi asked as he carried her outside and stood in the front yard, wind gently ruffled the sparkling feathers of his wings.

"I'm ready." Angela whispered back, hanging onto his neck. She watched his wings suddenly snap open once again and rise slightly, the muscles of his back rippling with the movement.

Shiroi bent his knees, then flapped his wings once and leapt into the air, kicking up a small amount of dust because of the breeze his wings created. He smiled at Angela's delighted grin, his wings flapping once every thirty seconds or so and making a gentle whoosh with each beat as he carried Angela up to the sky and towards the clouds. Angela seemed mesmerized by the graceful movements of his wings, watching the faint trails of glittering light they left behind with each beat. Once they were high enough, Shiroi kept his wings open and soared a bit on the wind, having to flap occasionally because there weren't exactly thermals at night.

"How's the ride?" He asked softly.

"Fun!" Angela squealed happily as he flew even higher, so high that they could see the tops of clouds and be beyond the glare of city lights. All around and below, it was a silken landscape that looked like huge pieces of silver-white popcorn in some places, billowy cotton in others and smooth silk in all. Then she looked up and saw an endless sea of glistening stars, all of them glittering like the dew that speckled the grass every morning.

"Do you know the Footprints story?" Shiroi asked Angela as they soared past a huge pillar of clouds.

"It's my favorite." Said Angela as she watched the stars overhead.

He smiled, "Can you see the Milky Way?"

She looked up and spotted it, a ribbon of stars that looked like a paint streak across the sky. "I see it."

"Well, that's made of many, many, many footprints. All by people who took the same journey as the man in the story did. It only looks like a bunch of stars to people on Earth because it's so far away. The sky was the beach that the man was walking on, and the stars were the sparkles on the water." Shiroi smiled as he spoke to Angela, gently angling his wings to begin a slow descent.

"Wow…" She whispered back, then giggled. "Can you fly real fast?"

"Sure I can." Shiroi answered, looking at her. "Want me to?"

"Yeah!"

"OK. Here we go!" He snapped his wings back and they dove down towards the ground, the wind rushing around them as the clouds rushed by and gave way to the brown and green ground below. Angela squealed and laughed as Shiroi let out a shout of excitement during the freefall. They fell for hundreds of feet before Shiroi snapped his wings open again, carrying them back upwards again. He dipped one wing and turned sharply, making Angela feel like she was on an awesome roller-coaster ride. This wild ride continued on for a few more minutes, and then Shiroi gently landed in the exact spot he took off from. He carried Angela inside and put her down so he could slip his trench coat back on to hide his wings from sight once again.

Angela went over to her doll and picked it up gently, yawning as she sat down on the couch. Shiroi settled down next to her and asked, "Did you have a good time?"

"I sure did!" She answered excitedly, but in a hushed tone. Shiroi chuckled a bit as he settled down on his side. Angela giggled and asked, "Is it OK if I lay down with you for awhile?"

"Fine with me." He answered, scooting aside just a little so she could fit on the couch next to him. She curled up next to him, but as Susan had said, she hesitated to just allow herself to fall asleep. Shiroi noticed this and combed his fingers gently through her hair once as he spoke, "Angela, don't be afraid. You will wake up tomorrow…I promise."

"Cross your heart, hope to die?"

"And stick a needle in my eye." He tapped her nose with his index finger, and she giggled while closing her eyes.

Susan found them both asleep on the couch the next morning when she awoke. Shiroi was on his side with one arm under his head like a pillow while his other arm was curled around Angela. Angela had her head burrowed under his chin, some of her golden curls falling against his white neck. She was clutching her doll in both arms, breathing softly in her sleep. Upon seeing that, Susan's heart took a picture, just as easily as a camera would.

About two days later, Shiroi was just finishing a small prayer and was heading out of the cathedral when Susan and Angela came walking up. Angela looked really pale and her features were drawn, making her seem like she would break if someone pressed down too hard on her skin.

"Shiroi!" Angela giggled and twirled around in the brand new royal blue sundress she was wearing. Her golden curls flew around her face and the skirt billowed out. "Look at my new dress! Do you like it?"

Shiroi grinned down at her. "It's beautiful on you, Angela. You look like a little Angel." He lifted his eyes to Susan and the smile faded to his usual small grin. "How are you?"

Combing her fingers through Angela's hair, Susan answered, "I'm doing OK. Busy but OK. And you?"

Shiroi walked along with them as they started into the cathedral. "Just fine." He answered, his quiet voice echoing slightly in the vast expanse of the main worship hall. Since he had already finished his praying, he just stood at the end of the aisle and gazed up at the elaborate and colorful stained-glass windows. Then he went about studying the wonderful painting on the ceiling that depicted several important times in the old days, and smiled a bit at old memories when he saw the image of a white dove carrying the olive branch to Noah's Arc.

After all, he had been the dove.

Susan finished praying first, but she didn't raise her head right away. Instead, she watched Shiroi out of the corner of her eye, wondering what had brought this gentle and mysterious person into her and her daughter's life. He was so childlike at times, mostly because of his strange appearance, but yet something in his eyes hinted at a being that was so ancient that she couldn't even begin to comprehend it.

"…Amen." Angela finished her prayer, and her voice woke Susan from her thoughts. She coughed and stood up, smiling at Shiroi as she rocked her doll in her arms. "Mommy, can Shiroi come with us again?" She asked, looking at Susan.

Susan just kind of chuckled and looked at Shiroi. "If he wants to come."

"Why not?" Shiroi smiled, walking along with his two friends.

A blue-haired woman passed by and gave Shiroi the oddest look. The man with a scarred face and long spiked hair that was with her also gave an odd look. Shiroi didn't mind, because he was used to getting odd looks. So he just smiled at them and they looked away once again.

The nice afternoon didn't last long for them, unfortunately. Angela started to run a fever and the tiny cough she had in the morning had turned to a harsh, hacking cough that came in fits and left her exhausted afterward. Actually, Shiroi had sensed she was going to get sick before she even got sick, and had warned Susan to keep an eye on her.

Shiroi was reading his Bible in the living room when Susan came downstairs after giving Angela something for the cough. He lifted his head and glanced at her as he started to feel her swirl of emotions. Sadness. Helplessness. Anger. Susan pretended not to notice and went about washing the dishes in the sink with shaking hands as she tried to fight back her tears. She had to be strong for her daughter now.

"I can't take this!" Susan hissed as she slammed a fork down on the counter top. "She's getting worse and I can't make her better. And it's happening to fast…"

Shiroi closed his Bible, set it down gently on the arm of the couch and stood up. His trench coat rustled slightly as he walked over to Susan and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know…it's OK…"

"No it isn't! She's dying!"

"Her body is." Shiroi stated simply, tugging gently on Susan's shoulder. "Come, I want to show you something." After saying that, he headed outside with Susan. He left her for a moment as he walked over to a tree and pulled something off a branch, then returned. Susan arched a brow at him as he returned and held his upturned fist in front of her face. Shiroi's fingers uncurled slowly to reveal an iridescent green chrysalis. "Watch." He whispered.

Susan's eyes turned to the delicate chrysalis in Shiroi's equally delicate hand, and she watched as an opening appeared on the bottom, a crack shooting up from that small opening until it covered one side of the shell. The delicate creature inside the shell struggled for a long time, wriggling until it could finally crawl out and stand on the edge of it's iridescent prison. It was a beautiful butterfly with white wings, and it stayed there for several moments, drying its wings in the sun. Then, with majestic ease, the little butterfly pumped its gossamer wings and flew away, leaving the shell behind. The shell looked kind of dull without the little creature inside of it.

"I don't understand…" Susan whispered, her eyes lifting to meet his again. That strange feeling of awe came to her again. It was like there was more then what she was just seeing.

Shiroi took her hand and turned the palm up so he could place the chrysalis shell into it. Then he closed her fingers around it and said in a whisper, "You will." A sudden twinge of pain went off in his chest, and he realized he was feeling Angela's pain. Not liking this, he glanced at the house and said, "We should check on Angela…"

Susan just nodded and jogged to the house. Shiroi followed close behind, his trench coat billowing out around his legs. Sure enough, Angela was worse. Susan had gone back downstairs to get some water for Angela, but Shiroi stayed with her, stroking her hair as she vomited into the toilet. It made his eyes mist over to see her suffer that way, but he tried to comfort himself with the notion that she would be free soon. Free of all the pain of this horrible disease called AIDS.

"Shiroi…" Angela whispered through cracked lips after her dry heaving passed. "G-get my mommy…"

Shiroi looked into the toilet and saw the red swirls in the water. "OK. Don't move." He said gently, then quickly headed downstairs to Susan. "Angela is much worse, Susan. You should take her to the hospital."

"How bad?" Susan replied back as she set down the empty chrysalis shell on the counter until she could find a better place to put it.

"She just threw up a whole lot of blood."

Susan's eyes widened and she nodded quickly, then picked up the phone and dialed the hospital to notify them. Shiroi went back upstairs to where Angela was still hunched over the toilet and crying softly, her lips stained with blood from the repeated throwing up. Shiroi lifted her into his arms and moistened a washcloth, using it to clean the blood away from her lips.

"Danny…" She whispered. Shiroi carried Angela into the bedroom again, picked up the pretty doll and placed it into her arms. His sensitive ears heard the click as the phone was placed onto the receiver, then footsteps pounded their way up the stairs.

"Angie? Honey…mommy's going to take you to the hospital OK?" Susan looked at Shiroi, and he nodded to her silent question. "Shiroi will come too." She gathered a few things in a little suitcase real quick, then ushered Shiroi to her small minivan.

On the way to the hospital, Angela coughed and dry heaved as Shiroi held her. Susan noticed Shiroi grimace each time this happened, but whether it was because of his own pain or as if to sympathize with Angela, she couldn't figure it out.

When they arrived at the hospital, there was a private room in the AIDS ward waiting. The slim, tall dark-haired doctor showed them to the room and helped get Angela comfortable. He kept giving Shiroi odd looks as he ordered tests to be done and medications to be administered. After all that, the doctor finally introduced himself as Dr. Hakushi.

"I'm going to have to ask you to wait in the waiting room while we run some tests." Asked Hakushi as he pushed his thin-rimmed glasses up on his nose and wrote something down on his clipboard. Susan sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"How long is this going to take?" She asked.

"A few hours at most." Dr. Hakushi clicked his pen and added, "excuse me." Then left, heading down the corridor to start running the tests he was speaking of.

"Come. The best way we can help right now is to stay out of the way." Shiroi said to Susan quietly, nodding towards the end of the hall where the waiting room was. While they were sitting there, Shiroi heard voices down the other hall.

"Hey look…there's that freaky guy again. He looks like Piccolo, but he's white!" Said the woman's voice.

"Well, maybe there's more people that look like Piccolo around then we think, Bulma." At that moment, the man and woman came out of the hallway.

"Right now, we have to worry about that broken leg, Yamcha. As soon as we get home, you're getting on your butt and staying there until the doctor says you can get up." The one named Bulma tittered as she helped the man called Yamcha with his crutches. They bickered back and forth until their voices faded down the hall.

Susan didn't seem to even notice them. She was just staring out the window solemnly, and Shiroi could sense her thoughts. They were all sorrowful. He sighed to himself. The wait felt just like it did when Jesus was on the cross. A fatal countdown that nobody but he knew how far it had until it reached zero.

Shiroi finally got up and sat down next to her, laying his hand on hers to at least give some comfort. "It's hard, I know…letting go always is."

Turning her head to look at him, Susan said, "You sound as if you've been through things like this before."

Smirking cryptically, he commented, "I have."

"You're one strange guy, Shiroi. You know so much about me and yet I don't know a thing about you…"

"What would you like to know?"

Susan sighed and started asking some questions. And Shiroi answered them truthfully, but cryptically, dropping hints but not the bombshell. Just as she was about to ask him how old he really was, Dr. Hakushi came out and removed his glasses so he could speak with them.

"Go ahead doctor. We're ready." Shiroi said quietly, taking Susan's hand again to support her if she would need it.

"I'm afraid she's got pneumonia. It's a common thing for AIDS patients, but I'm afraid that she'll only live for a few days, maybe not even that. I'm sorry. If you have any questions, I'll answer them now." Hakushi broke the news as gently as he could.

"Is she in pain?" Susan asked immediately.

"No, ma'am. I've given her something to help her sleep, but she's not in pain."

Nodding to herself, Susan sighed. "Can I see her?"

"Right this way." Hakushi nodded towards the room that had been pointed out earlier. Susan stood up and Shiroi did as well. They followed the doctor to the room, and when they saw Angela, Susan squeezed Shiroi's hand hard as she fought back tears.

Angela was hooked up to a lot of IV's and had an oxygen mask over the lower half of her thin face. The translucent plastic fogged and unfogged as she breathed. One of her tiny arms was wrapped around her doll, and the other was resting at her side. Her golden curls fell about her pale face, framing it like a lacy little halo. Her eyelashes were like a lacy fringe under her eyes, which had dark circles around them. Strange sores covered her chest, just visible above the mottled white hospital gown she was wearing, and her pretty little lips were parched like an ancient desert.

Susan released Shiroi's hand and went to Angela's bedside, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Angela stirred when she was kissed, and her large blue eyes slid open halfway. "Mommy?" She whispered.

"Mommy's here…" Susan whispered, picking up Angela's hand.

"Hey kiddo!" Shiroi smiled down at Angela from the foot of the bed.

"Hi." She whispered back, smiling a little before looking at her mother again. "I drew a picture before I got sick…"

"Oh? May I see?"

"It's at home on my desk. You can look at it when you get home tonight." Angela said back, her voice little more then a weak croak. But a small smile still showed once again.

Shiroi smiled too, then glanced to the corner of the room at something only he could see. Waiting in the shadows was a gentle man in a white robe. He was six feet tall, had long auburn hair, crystal blue eyes and a mustache and beard. The man didn't stay there for long. Just long enough to lift His hand in greeting. Then He turned and disappeared, passing insubstantial through the wall to be near the next people that needed Him to watch over them. Only Shiroi knew what His presence meant.

"Do you want mommy to go home and get the picture?" Susan asked gently.

"OK!" Angela replied, her eyes brightening for a moment. Then she smiled at Shiroi and said, "It's a surprise though. I can't even tell you what it is. Don't you tell either Danny." She said to the doll.

"I think she keeps good secrets, don't you?" Shiroi winked at Angela, linked his thumbs together and moved his fingers like wings, a smile pulling at his lips.

Angela grinned and nodded as Susan leaned down and kissed her forehead again. "Be a good girl, Angela. You've been so brave."

Say, 'I love you' to her…Shiroi urged the idea into Susan's mind.

"I love you Angela." Susan said after a moment, the words seeming to have just popped into her mind. Shiroi smiled slightly.

"I love you too mommy. Bye bye."

Susan smiled at Angela, then walked over to Shiroi. "I'll be back soon…" When he nodded, she grabbed her purse and quickly left, her shoes clicking loudly on the tile floor of the room. She cried as she got into her car and started it. The traffic was horrendous, even though it was the middle of the night. Susan wondered why, but then realized she was coming upon a car wreck. "Oh great." She muttered to herself, then settled down to wait once again.

Shiroi calmly sat down at Angela's bedside, picked the doll up and touched it's face to Angela's cheek, making a kissing noise as he did so. Angela giggled softly, then coughed and looked up at Shiroi. "Why don’t you tell mommy that you're a real Angel?"

"I'll let her know when the time is right." Shiroi answered gently, brushing some of the golden curls off of her forehead as he rubbed the warmth back into her hand. Angela started into another horrendous coughing fit, and Shiroi grimaced as he felt the pain that coughing caused her. She started to gasp a little after the fit passed.
Fly, fly little wing
Fly beyond imagining
The softest cloud, the whitest dove
Upon the wind of heaven's love
A tear slid down Shiroi's cheek, and Angela opened her eyes just in time to see it. "Is it time?" She whispered, a tear escaping her eye as well.

Shiroi sighed quietly and nodded his head. "Yes, it is…" He squeezed her hand when he felt it tighten around his fingers. Already, he could feel her strength slipping away like sand slips down an hourglass. "But it'll be OK. Because you know what? It'll be just like the time we snuck out and flew together. Only you'll go to sleep first. And you can even take Danny with you."
Past the planets and the stars
Leave this lonely world of ours
Escape the sorrow and the pain
And fly again
Angela clutched her doll closer in the crook of her arm and looked up at Shiroi. "Why will I be asleep?"

"Because the way to Heaven is a secret that only a few people know." Shiroi whispered back, leaning down so he could speak right into her ear. Then he reached his mind out to hers and showed her the clouds they'd seen before, all glowing and bustling with magic little people with wings.

"I bet you know." She whispered, her voice softer this time as her eyes started to dim like a candle that was going out. She was weakening more without realizing it, Shiroi's talking to her being the reason she didn't realize she was dying.
Fly, fly precious one
Your endless journey has begun
Take your gentle happiness
Far too beautiful for this
"You're right. And you know what? There will be a nice man named Jesus waiting for you when you get there." He whispered back. "And guess what?" His voice lowered slightly more, "He's my brother." When Shiroi said that, Angela's eyes blinked in surprise, then she smiled. A long silence came between them, punctuated only by an occasional cough from Angela.

"Shiroi?"

"Yes?"

"Can I see your wings again?" Angela asked softly. Shiroi nodded and stood up, moving to the foot of her bed as he reached for the flaps on his trench coat. He carefully lifted it slightly up, then let it slide off, exposing his beautiful feathered wings once again. Flapping them once, he sent a gentle breeze over Angela, covering her in the same warmth a person feels when the rising sun touches their skin.
Cross over to the other shore
There is peace forevermore
But hold this mem'ry bittersweet
Until we meet
"It's time to go to sleep now, Angela…" Shiroi whispered, moving to the side of the bed. "I'm going to be right here with you...so don't be afraid. I'll hold you if you want." When she nodded her head, Shiroi sat down on the edge of the bed and put his strong arms around her, holding her gently as if she were a newborn. His soft wings slowly moved forward and encircled her as he bent his head down to kiss her forehead gently.

The ceiling above them seemed to open up as a ray of light began to shine down, showering them both in glittering light. Shiroi's white skin gleamed in the light, a nimbus appearing behind his head as he rocked Angela gently in his arms, stroking her golden hair.
Fly, fly do not fear
Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear
Your heart is pure, your soul is free
Be on your way, don't wait for me
"Will I wake up when I get to Heaven?" Angela whispered, looking up at Shiroi as the light bathed her.

Shiroi nodded slowly, smiling slightly. "Once you wake up, you'll know the way. But you're not allowed to know until after you've become an Angel." He whispered softly as he continued to stroke her hair. "Then you can fly like we did, but all by yourself."

Angela smiled up at him slightly, then her eyes closed. She put her head against Shiroi's chest, sighed quietly and slowly started to go limp.
Above the universe you'll climb
On beyond the hands of time
The moon will rise, the sun will set
But I won't forget
By that time, Shiroi's whole body was glowing with the light as it filled the entire room. He felt Angela's last breath on his chest, and bent his head down to kiss her forehead as tears sprang from his eyes. He cried softly in a mix of sorrow because she was leaving, and joy because she was going to a place where she could live forever. He tilted his head back and looked up at the light, his eyes closing as he felt the shell around Angela's soul crack open like a chrysalis.

Shiroi looked down at Angela again and saw a glowing line open up down the center of her little body as the light above them turned a golden-white color. With a gentle whoosh, Angela's soul was drawn from her body in the form of a delicate, translucent little cherub. Shiroi could see her as she was lifted away, her brand-new feathered wings folded around her small body and her doll still clutched in the crook of her arm. She was smiling.

And the new little Angel slept as the light slowly drew her towards it.
Fly, fly little wing
Fly where only angels sing
Fly away, the time is right
Go now, find the light…

Susan got into her house and was looking at the picture that Angela had drawn. It was a cute, scribbled image of Shiroi with wings, carrying a scribbled image of a girl with curly gold hair. The image was surrounded by stars, and little clouds were scribbled along the bottom. It was silent, so Susan was quite startled when the phone suddenly rang. She carried the drawing with her as she went downstairs and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello. This is Dr. Hakushi. I'm calling to inform you that Angela just died. It was so sudden that there was no time to call you back here. I'm…sorry." Dr. Hakushi's voice came softly from the phone, sounding professional as always. There was a hint of sadness there too.

Susan gulped, going numb with shock, the breath being sucked out of her as the sensation of a fist hitting her in the stomach came over her. She clutched the phone tighter in her hand and asked in a strained voice. "Was…was she alone?"

"No. I believe that man with the black trench coat was with her."

"Thank you…I'm on my way." Susan said the usual closing comments and then hung up the phone, her eyes briefly falling on the chrysalis shell that Shiroi had shown to her. The paper Angela had drawn on rattled as her hand started to shake. Two tears fell onto the paper, one landing on each of Shiroi's wings in the drawing. Without thinking of anything else but her daughter, Susan left the house and drove back to the hospital.

Shiroi leaned on the wall outside of Angela's room with his hands in his pockets, his head hung low and one foot against the wall. His head lifted when he heard the door open, and Susan stood at the end of the hall. She stood there trembling for a moment, then let out a sob and rushed over to Shiroi. Shiroi caught her in his arms and held her as she sobbed against his shoulder. There were tears on his face as well.

"Was she in any pain when she went?" Susan asked as tears poured down her cheeks and into the material of Shiroi's trench coat.

"No." Shiroi answered as he stroked her hair in comfort. "She just went to sleep. Peacefully." As he hugged her, he looked over her shoulder at the end of the hall. There was light glowing from there, but nobody else could see it. Two figures emerged from the light.

One was Angela, who wearing that blue sundress she'd shown off earlier, and she had beautiful wings like Shiroi's. She fluttered them once and smiled, causing Shiroi to smile slightly back. The other figure was the same man that Shiroi had seen earlier. Both figures raised their hands to wave. Then the taller man took Angela's hand and walked away with her into the light.

"She's OK, Susan. She's OK…I promise." Shiroi whispered, noticing the paper in Susan's hand. "What's that?"

"Oh…" Susan sniffled and closed her eyes. "It's her drawing…"

He smiled slightly, not needing to see it because he saw it in Susan's mind and said, "It's a beautiful piece of art."

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Rays of golden sunlight filtered through trees as lazy clouds drifted across the water-pale morning sky. Dew speckled everything, making the world seem as if it had been doused with sequins. Gentle gusts of wind blew through the area like the whispers of a butterfly's wings, carrying the scent of flowers and grass.

The casket had just been lowered into the ground. People dressed in black were all gathered in the area. Some were leaving, but one didn't. One woman stayed there, the sun illuminating her golden curls and the tear stains on her cheek. Shiroi walked over slowly and joined her, his black boots plodding silently on the ground. The wind ruffled his black trench coat slightly as he came to a stop next to Susan.

"Shiroi…" Susan whispered as she put the rose she was holding down onto Angela's grave. A little white butterfly fluttered down and landed on the tombstone after she backed away. When Susan saw that, her mind briefly flashed back to the time Shiroi had shown her the hatching chrysalis. She finally understood what he was trying to show her.

"You understand now." Shiroi said with a slight smile when he noticed Susan staring at the butterfly. "I told you that you would."

Susan straightened and turned around to face him. "You came to ease her fears and take her to Heaven…it's the only logical explanation." She shook her head. "Or am I just talking crazy?" Her answer came when Shiroi reached out and gently brushed his knuckles against her forehead, then placed his hands on her cheeks. His ruby eyes fluttered closed as he let her see the images of Angela becoming an Angel. Of her soul as it floated out of her body and into the light. Susan gasped several times as she started to cry, and buried her face against his chest. "Oh, my God…you really are an…" She was crying too hard to finish the sentence, grabbing the edge of his trench coat and bunching it up in her fists.

Shiroi just smiled a little, despite the tears on his face as he hugged her. "I told you she was OK…And she'll always be with you, Susan. In your heart, your dreams and your memories. So don't ever think of her as gone. Just think of her as free. Like a butterfly."

"I wish I knew how to thank you for comforting us." Susan said quietly, "I realized that words couldn't do it. So I got you a gift…I was going to give it to Angela when she was older. But I think she would have wanted you to have it." She reached into her purse, pulled out a little gift-wrapped box and handed it to Shiroi.

Shiroi took the little box and carefully unwrapped it, then lifted the black velvet lid to see a beautiful gold crucifix gleaming in the sunlight. For some reason, perhaps the memory it evoked, the gift caused tears to form in his eyes. "It's beautiful Susan." He put it on, then reached over and hugged her gently. "Thank you…"

Susan just nodded, returning the hug. Shiroi caught a glimpse of a pack of white doves as they were released to fly away. "I have to go, Susan. There are many people that need the help you needed. But don't worry, I'll still be around."

She nodded and stepped back, glimpsing the gold crucifix as it glistened against his white muscular chest. "You may just be Shiroi or an Angel to other people. But to me, you're Angela's Angel."

Shiroi smiled his childlike, boyish at her, his head tilting slightly as his antennae fell into his face like messy bangs. The wind caught his trench coat, causing it to flutter around his legs. "Angela's Angel…that's fine with me." He replied as mist started to roll in around him. "My work is never done."

Susan flashed a small smile as she turned to look at the grave and arrange the flowers again. She turned around to give Shiroi the drawing Angela had made, but was faced with the last of the mist as it rolled away. On the ground where Shiroi had been standing, there was a beautiful white dove. "Shiroi…wait!" The dove lifted its wings and took flight. Susan followed it, holding the piece of paper in her hand. "Wait! Shiroi! You forgot something!" She wasn't watching where she was going, so got quite a surprise when she crashed into a person that was walking down the path. "OOF!"

"OOF!" The man stumbled back, his feet scraping on the pavement before he regained his footing once again.

"I'm sorry…" Susan dusted off and looked up at the man she had run into. Her eyes went wide in disbelief, and she put her hands over her mouth as tears formed in her eyes. "Michael!?"

Michael just smiled with tears in his eyes and took Susan into his arms. Up above them, the white dove circled, tailed by a white butterfly. The white butterfly finally veered off to find a good flower to feed on. The dove circled for a few moments more, then veered off as well, flying away over the trees.

Not too far away, the dove landed and Shiroi emerged from the mist, his trench coat fluttering around his legs. He watched Susan and Michael embrace for a moment more. Knowing his work here was done, he turned and walked away into the distance to find the next place he would be needed. 

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