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Synopsis
Eva Eden is born accidentally into a typical middle class English family, one sunny autumn morning. Accidentally because Eva was really meant to be an angel but a mix-up had occurred and her soul which was destined for heavenly realms ended up on earth. Her unsuspecting parents (Winfred and Rachel Eden) thought it was cute that at the time of her birth, rather than the usual heart-wrenching first cry that babies greet their parents with, Eva's arrival was literally music to their ears. They thought it unusual (not strange) that Eva could sing (perfect pitch) before she could talk, could dance (flawlessly and gracefully) before she could walk, and was filled with bubbles of merry little laughter which they heard at least a hundred times more than they heard her cry.
On the family's first trip to the seaside, what had started off as a lovely summer's day had ended up the most windy and blowy day of that summer so that when Winfred and Rachel walked along the sandy beach with Eva toddling between them, clinging onto each of their hands, they had not noticed that instead of three sets of footprints in the sand, there were only two.
On the eve of Eva's seventh birthday, after the little party guests depart, clutching precious party bags and highly treasured colourful balloons, Eva relaxes in a warm strawberry-bubble bath, exhausted from the activities of the day, and falls asleep just as her father grabs her towel. But, there is one more visitor for Eva that night. In fact, an entire host of visitors. Arriving in a cloud of angel-dust from the skies, the magnificent mother angel, Sylvie and others including, Chi-Chi and Cha-Cha, the twin baby angels hover comfortably just in front of the window in Eva's room, lighting up the entire room like a brilliant golden moon in the midnight sky. Sylvie calmly informs Eva that her soul was meant for an angel, not for a human. In order to fulfil her destiny, Eva must keep this a secret and must also practice angelic duties. Sylvie and the other angels leave Eva with three special gifts, a bracelet, a halo and a white rabbit which have special powers and which human eyes cannot see. Before they leave, they also form a ring of light around Eva, vowing to protect her.
Eva's character blossoms beautifully and perfectly as she grows and is loved by almost everyone. She goes about her daily business, punctuated but not perturbed by supernatural episodes. She makes many friends but acquires a few enemies too. Namely, Nurse Greta, who was present at Eva's birth and much to her annoyance, their paths cross again and again; Mr Brian Wood a menace of a schoolteacher whose curiosity about Eva grows and grows until he will do anything to find out her true identity and Amanda Harper, the girl whom everyone loves to hate. The three have more than one thing in common. Firstly, they hate goodness and perfection and Eva is too much of both for their liking. Secondly, unbeknown to any of them, they share an awesome family tie that would bind them together forever. Together they form the perfect bait, which Eva's oldest and worst enemy will attempt to use to stop Eva from fulfilling her destiny. Unlike the other three, this enemy is not an earthly one. He was an enemy of Eva long before she was born, he was there when her soul was diverged to earth and he awaits the time when he can destroy it. The penultimate chapter (Mudrain) plays out the inevitable battle of tactics between good and evil powers culminating in the ultimate showdown.
The story ends (Chapter 12 - Angelsong) when 12-year old Eva and her cousins Adam and Tom visit Lungaria (a heavenly place) on Christmas Eve, via a diverse and impressive array of mysteries and wonders, including a river of light. The preparations for Christmas are in full celestial swing, Eva is unaware that she has earned a named jewel studded star and that against all odds, she has achieved the first of three levels of angelic status. Eva is well on her way to fulfilling her destiny.
Chapter 1 - Birdsong.
Ngaaah! Ngaaa ah! Nga ..ahh!" The unorchestrated cries of newborn babies echoed through the corridors of London Community Hospital, amidst much excitement and anticipation. The proverbial stork had been very busy and a record number of babies were on their way. A chorus of "Ohhhhhs" and "Ahhhhs" mainly, from flushed mothers and flustered fathers welcomed them, but doctors and midwives also contributed their fair share of infantile adoration.
"Excuse me, ma'am, ... .would you be ....so...kind.....as..to.er......er....tell me....er...where I could find Mrs Eden?" A tall, balding, man aged thirty-something with no fashion sense inquired of a blonde, rotund midwife. She was desperately trying to push a trolley of neatly, folded towels and surgical equipment through the busy ward, and did not hear the tall man. He followed her, paused to clear his throat and then continued, "I m Winfred...er....Winfred .....Eden." Another pause to clear his throat more noisily and more nervously than before. The midwife stopped in her tracks, as though some magic word had been spoken and took a good look at the man. She was experienced in recognising expectant fathers. They sweated profusely, clenched and unclenched their fists, and made futile attempts at remaining calm. Mr Eden fitted the bill, perfectly. But more than that, Winfred Eden was a household name. An important barrister who won, without exception, the most challenging legal battles. The short midwife recognised him instantly and acknowledged this with a brilliant smile. "If you would like to follow, me, I'll look her up for you, Mr Eden ." the midwife replied as she stifled a giggle. She had inspected Mr Eden from head to toe and saw that he wore a multi-coloured shirt that looked expensive, but was buttoned up wrongly, causing his fluorescent orange tie to be misplaced. His jacket sleeves were far too long, covering half his palms, and his shoes must have been too tight, because he shuffled from foot to foot as he spoke. She thought he had just stepped out of a pantomime, except he carried a smart briefcase, which he clutched tightly to his chest as though it held a hidden secret. She also noticed his chewed fingernails. Mr Eden thanked her profusely whilst making wild and unnecessary gestures with his free hand and the odd pair meandered their way through visiting well-wishers, hospital staff and an array of sophisticated monitoring equipment. Mr Eden nearly lost the small midwife as she disappeared behind the central desk, and made her way to the whiteboard on the wall behind. The board was covered in what he thought was illegible scribble except the short midwife had no trouble reading it. She balanced a tray of surgical supplies adeptly in her left hand, whilst scrolling quickly down the list with her finger. "It's a mad rush this morning, we haven't had time to write out an alphabetical list," she shouted across to Mr Eden, almost apologetically. He was just about to explain in his usual gentlemanly manner that he understood perfectly, when it happened. Mr Eden had been swinging his briefcase absent-mindedly as he gazed at the midwife's finger scrolling down the board of names. A heavily-built middle aged lady in a long brown suede coat and matching hat, carrying a bouquet of flowers, was the unlucky recipient of the blow from Mr Eden's briefcase. She toppled over and fell ungraciously to the floor, covered in the squashed bouquet. Seconds later, a lanky teenager who lived permanently in-between a set of headphones and whose head was momentarily thrown back whilst taking a swipe from a coke can fell on top of her. Fizzy brown liquid was everywhere but mostly on the lady's hat. Mr Eden was next to topple as he turned around, ready to apologise profusely, but instead lost his foot in the teenagers jacket pocket. He tried in vain to steady himself by grabbing hold of the blonde nurse's trolley, but managed to overturn it instead. Surgical instruments flew dangerously like tiny missiles, towards unsuspecting, passers-by, who ducked for dear life. Finally a pig-tailed student nurse walking in the opposite direction to the lady and teenager, and peering into her notebook for some last minute words of wisdom before she arrived at her first real childbirth class, completed the quartet sprawled across the hospital floor. " Oh dear! Oh dear .is anyone hurt?" The blonde rotund midwife was quick to take control of the situation as she probed and prodded for broken bones in the human pile sprawled across the floor, limbs pointing in all directions. " My goodness! It looks like everyone is fine! Thank goodness!" The lady in the soaked coat and hat, was the first to be recovered into a fully upright position, which was surprising as she had been at the bottom of the pile. She mumbled incoherently to no-one in particular and seemed more concerned about the state of her bouquet than her coat. A dark curly haired man had just arrived on the scene, and explained in a heavy Italian accent that the lady in the coat was his mother-in-law. His wife had just given birth to their first daughter whom they had named after his mother-in-law, Lily, hence her distress over the white lilies which now laid headless and drenched across the floor. He wooed his distraught mother-in-law away with Italian-accented flattery. " Oh, Mamma Mia....Mamma Mia....., donta you worry your pretty head aabouta those flowers aahh! Come and see the ...little...Lilly! She is justaa beautiful....lika you." He held on to her arm and scurried her along whilst the hospital administrator who had arrived silently on the scene, beckoned a male nurse to get replacement flowers. He tried to put some order into the chaos and would arrange for the laundry bill for the coat to be added to his
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