“For eternity?” Joe gasped, his voice almost robbed of sound by the shock threading through his body.

“Yes,” she smiled at him, her radiance seeming to grow. “I want you to come back to me, my beloved…come with me, Joe.”

He just stared, his mind racing with questions; his heart burning with pain – how could he say no? He started to shake – how could he say yes?

“I don’t have much time,” Iola continued, “we are given but a breath to do the business of our hearts.  And my heart has brought me here….Your body pulses with a pain that I feel even in death. So many times I have wished I could just cocoon you in my embrace and tear you away from what is hurting you. And then I realized that it was me who was causing you this pain. I can see it like a color pulsating around you; your body throbs with its mournful palette…. But now I can finally take that all away from you…if you will let me.”

“I won’t kill myself,” Joe stated with conviction, knowing his family would never recover if he took his own life.

“This is not suicide – it’s just letting go of life.”

“I don’t see the difference,” the teen admitted.

“You wouldn’t,” she smiled in sage understanding. She knew he couldn’t, and had no way to explain it to him. If he accepted her offer, he would just know…afterwards.

“But why?” Joe asked bluntly, still reeling over her presence, and her offer.

Iola looked at him, her brilliance strangely confused.  “But why, what?”

“Iola—”  Her name was a whisper across his lips, “I – I hurt you—”

She started to interrupt but this time it was his fingers that stilled the protest, even as he shivered to touch her.  “That day – at the mall—” he tried to explain, “that girl…”

Iola smiled, knowing exactly what he was talking about. She gently took his hand and moved his fingers away from her mouth. Her warm brown eyes saddened in comprehension. “I was mad at you,” she admitted, and then continued as she felt guilty pain skewer his soul, “But now I understand.” She smiled.  “You really are a great actor, beloved, much greater than anyone has ever given you credit for…”

Joe stared at her in confusion, unsure of why she had changed the topic.

“I look at you through the eyes of an angel and I can see so vividly, it cries out to me. But these same eyes, when mortal, could not, and I was angry – felt jealousy…did not understand it…”  Her fingers caressed his cheek, and he closed his eyes and swallowed hard, not comprehending why it still hurt so much, even with her standing next to him. “You really do not see your own worth, do you?”

The boy opened his eyes as she continued, “Inside this self-confident, almost too cocky-at-times young man is an unsure, tentative child; a child who craves constant reassurance that he is wanted, that he is lovable…a child who is flattered by the attention of anyone, even if his heart is not.” Joe’s eyes widened in shock and this time it was his soul that trembled, not his body, “There was no mal-intent that day, only appreciation.” She quirked an eyebrow in that way that always drove him crazy.  “An appreciation that I saw and was angry for…I am equally to blame for being as fooled as the rest when it came to your intentions. I should have seen the insecurity that lurked beneath the bravado. But I didn’t because I didn’t want to…it was much easier to be angry with you…”

“I didn’t – don’t want anyone to see,” Joe admitted quietly, sighing heavily and rubbing his eyes. Around them was silence but he never noticed it as he looked wearily at his angel.

“But one always does. Frank does,” Iola commented softly.

Joe gave a slight chuckle as he shook his head.  “I’ve never been that good at fooling people. He can always see right through me.” He looked at her intently.  “Most of the time, anyway…”

Iola nodded in understanding and moved just a bit closer to him. Automatically his arm went around her, drawing her close. She felt him trembling.  “You are afraid?”

He nodded slightly but said nothing.

“Why?” she pressed softly, leaning her head against his chest and enjoying the comfort of his embrace.

“How can I make this choice?” he whispered. She felt his heart beating beneath her cheek and smiled at its familiarity. In some ways, she knew his heart better than he did – and in some ways she did not. “I miss you so much it hurts to breathe at times…” he admitted, “but if I go with you, what about the people I leave behind? Won’t I miss them too?”

“It will be different,” she promised him, sitting up a bit so she could look at his face.  “Your pain suffocates you because it comes from death. The ones you leave behind will not be dead. They will still be living – breathing…“

“And I’ll be dead,” Joe stated slowly, releasing her and turning to look into her serene face.

“Yes,” she agreed, “you’ll be dead…to them.”

“And what will I be to you?”  He had to know.

Her smile lit her face. “You’ll be my angel, of course.”

Joe turned to look at the closed bedroom door. Beyond that door was the family and friends he loved on the eve of Christmas – cheerfully dressed and pleasantly spirited. Sitting next to him was an angel…his angel.

“Please Joe,” she implored softly; her moment was almost up.  “please come with me—”

He turned away from the door, his pain exquisite, as he knew what would happen if he said ‘no’. She would be gone…again. Not in a fireball this time, but in a way even more painful, as this time it would be banishment, by him.

Joe smiled, reached out and ran his fingers through the silky strands of her hair. She was so beautiful.  “How can I say no?” he whispered as he cupped her face and drew her close for a kiss. As their lips brushed, a solitary tear streaked down his cheek…

He pulled away, “But how can I say yes?”

And in that instant she was gone….

“I’m sorry,” he whispered and then lay down on the bed and curled up on his side. He could not go – this horrible, longing pain that he felt at her loss was something he could not leave for his parents or his brother on Christmas Eve. Not on Christmas Eve or any other day…

And in the way of angels, she understood.

As the sound of music filtered through his grief, Joe sucked in a shaky breath and smiled…

‘Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee… All through the night…Guardian angels God will send thee… All through the night…’

Closing his eyes, the child slept….

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.