Sadie's Journey

• Kristie Read, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2008

My name is Sadie Young. I’ve a heart condition and I’m 22.

I was asleep, but awoke in a place almost unimaginable in beauty. Like something out of a fantasy...purple skies, soul-piercing lights, nectar atmosphere: a New World beyond hope and shadow, a Portal of some kind created between my consciousness and Paradise. It was a once-in-a-lifetime accident, a magnificent opportunity.

I was determined to find its core, discover its truth. All that I possessed to guide me was my intuition… and all I had to fear was waking up.

A mysterious and golden figure descended from the heavens, and gently it whispered to you, eyes shining with light. “Trust me and follow. You will need to ask the right questions, And to find your destiny, you will need to discover the right answers.”

The Body of Light now stretches out its hand, and I grasped it.
Soaring through the magical air with this Guardian of Paradise, I am brought to a sky-tunnel which I know must lead to the Centre of All Things. But outside the rim of this entrance, standing in midair, the Guardian hovered ahead of me -- gently raising its arm.

“Tell me,” asks the Guardian. "Is there anything holding you back? I know you are fearful, uncertain. But does anything hold you still to the Earth?"
“The memory of my loved ones, letting go,” I replied.
“That is natural,” it said. “It also shows you to be worthy, for to love is to be loving -- and, hence, loved in return. But you need not have any fear. Your loved ones will follow. Now I pose to you another question.”
“Yes Guardian, what is it?” I asked, ready to take the plunge. But suddenly I felt a pain from hell, my heart stopping. “Forget the pain,” it said, “and answer.” My fears disappeared. I started to hear music from within the Celestial Centre, a sound of beauty I have never felt before.

“Have you helped others? Have you led a heart-filled life?” The words echoed inside of me.

I paused, then answer… “Yes, I’ve tried.”
I was whooshed through the opening into a world of breathless calm and mind-bursting peace. As I entered this realm of boundless happiness, I saw three keepsakes to take with me on my journey. The one I choose, if I’m destined to keep it, will reside with me forever. One is a clock, for counting the moments. Another is a mirror, to see inside my mind. The third was a pendant, filled with power. I choose the mirror.


I peer into the bottomless depths of my mind. And, since my mind is good, I see also my soul. Rapture instilled me, and my mind opened wider. Suddenly I see Beings made of light surrounding me, hugging me closer, as the celestial music soars. Heaven welcomed me, holding me deep inside it. I’m completely fulfilled...at long last returned to God, safe and happy.

I didn’t know I died in my sleep.