*Inspired by UP among other things.:)
Heaven
You promised me. At the altar, a whole
lifetime ago, you promised I could die first. You promised.
So why did you leave me on this earth
with only your ashes and our lived-in wedding rings for comfort?
I will not bury you. I won’t do it. For
you to go through life only to go to a place filled with grime. My dear, you
deserve so much better.
You deserve soft, warm clouds with
melodious singing and protection from all the evil in the world. You deserve
the soft flutter of angels’ wings as they watch over you.
So I’ve decided it... I’ll get you to
heaven. For you, I will.
That night, we picnicked with the stars
and moonbathed under the universe.
“My… isn’t it beautiful?”
“…”
“My love, we’ll surely be there soon, for
heaven must be right past those stars.”
He remained silent, but thoughtful, I was
sure.
The next day, I packed a bag, settled him
in the front basket of my pink bicycle, and set out on our mission. After five
minutes and some wobbling, I made it to our destination: the neighborhood
bookstore.
He created a library for me... a place
where I could breathe. We would snuggle there late at night by the fireplace
and read to each other. It became our haven. This bookstore is how we stocked
it.
My
books were on the top shelf in the back. I pushed the wheeled stepladder
against the shelf, and climbed my way up. My hand was almost touched one of the
books, when the ladder rolled, causing me to fly through them and the entire
shelf with a CRASH!
A few minutes later, strands of
horrified conversation made their way through the bits of space the books left
to me. When things stopped blurring, my heart stopped for a moment as well.
Where
is my husband?
With that, I shoved everyone aside. I
don’t need their pity right now, I need my man. Where is he? I fumbled, clawing through the books, hastily.
I could breathe again. His tin was
knocked over, but he was still there, so all was good. The clerk and a few
managers started to push the shelf back up, but I stopped them. The books were
all down where I needed them to be, so now I just needed a nice blanket for my
husband and I, and some quiet.
Once they left us alone, we sat down with
our own private sea of books. If heaven
was anywhere, I thought, it would be
in this pile. We dove in.
Bubbles. Bubbles everywhere.
Illustrations swam by and schools of sentences waved to us as we passed. We
looked down to see striped bathing suits oxygen tanks, giving us the ability to
go deeper.
A light appeared. That’s it! I thought! Heaven is close. So close. But...then the
light grew dim… then became dark.
The ocean of words, our safe haven, no
longer favored us. The illustrations stayed away and the schools of sentences
ignored us. Grammar sharks started to circle… we needed to get out. My husband
looked at me as if to say Be brave.
So I was. I took one big breath of oxygen, gave those sharks a disapproving
look, and swam up with my husband, up to the surface.
GASP! We made it! Once above, it was as
if the books ebbed and flowed…back from the ocean, and into themselves again. I
managed to grab a few books for us to look at later. We would just have to get
to heaven another day.
Stairway to Heaven played on our record
player as we dried off by the fire. With each musical note, steps began to
form. They beckoned to me. They beckoned to US. Should I follow? I thought. Is
it safe? The flames seemed to jump out of the fire and wrap themselves
around the steps, warming them as they carried us both up. But, as we made our
way up the spiral stair, something stopped me. I could feel my husband’s ashes
nudging me away in his tin. That light…
that warm, bright light is not of the right sort of light. I’d always heard
heaven’s light was soft, comforting, but this light… this particular light… was
stark and discomforting. This is NOT the right light! We must get away… and
fast!
“Baby, hold on. We’re in for a bumpy
ride!” I yelled. The malicious light, realizing it wouldn’t get its prey
easily, closed its entry point and sent its flames after us. So I reached down
and grabbed a cast-iron tool from beside the fireplace, and jabbed at them. I
ran further down the stairs, but they were too close. So I kissed my husband,
told him I loved him, and flung him to safety. He’ll forgive me later. Then, I
grabbed a picture off the wall beside me, and slid down the staircase toward
the fireplace, when, all of a sudden, the flames weren’t behind me anymore…
they were in front of me! I’m going to
die! I thought, in horror. But, at the last second, the needle lifted.
There was silence. The staircase disappeared and I dropped, cracking the
picture on the floor, expelling the flames. Our room was dark, except for the
tendrils of smoke that snaked through the room.
Realizing my husband was still on the
floor. I ran to him, but found a pile of ash, with the tin dented and open.
“Oh, baby! I’m so sorry! Do forgive me!”
He looked at me. He was not having it
today. But, after a few minutes, he forgave me and smiled. We were a happy
couple again… and we escaped hell. So, we celebrated with a nice dinner.
After we started on our meal, I pulled
out a few books. That’s when I found it. But…
but that’s impossible! I thought. It’s
so simple! Scaring my husband half to death, I leapt up out of my chair,
laughing and dancing.
“Baby! It’s here! We’re here!” I exclaimed.
He stared at me in disbelief. I obviously
need to get back on my medication.
I ran to the back of the house and his
best suit and tie, then picked out my wedding gown…and played our song on the
record player. Then, together, we danced, while songs of wonder filled the air.
Around and around we went. The room started to swirl and blur, until wispy
light clouds appeared. The voice in the song turned to multiple voices… the
voices of angels from on high. Then, finally at peace, he and I layed down in
heaven, side by side, and fell asleep.
They later found us intertwined in our
library. But they couldn’t touch us, no, for we weren’t really there.
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