Visiting Heaven

• Sarah Salvini, Grade 8
• Poetry
• 2010

My life hadn’t always been like this. I had a brother, and a Mum and a Dad, I had a puppy that used to sneak under my covers and sleep with me at night, I used to have friends who cared what happened to me, hell, I even had friends! I had a boyfriend who was nice and smart and I used to swim and I was good at it. But that all changed when my family died in a plane accident when we were flying to one of my many swimming competitions, and now, I lived with my Grandmother who had the emotional climax of a tea spoon and the face of a dried prune. I’m sure she loved me and all, but, she never spoke to me, never showed any physical affection and went to play bingo every night and left me by myself with her yappy Chihuahua. I only had one friend, who would jump at the chance of popularity if she was given the chance, and she didn’t really like me. At least I was getting good grades.

I checked my reflection in the mirror one more time. My black fringe covered my violet-like eyes and framed my tanned, heart shaped face and cascaded down my shoulders in neat, night-black waves. My hands twisted nervously in front of me, and the long slender fingers itched to play the piano once again. The light blue, public school uniform didn’t do much to compliment my figure, but the shortish skirt showed some of my long, lean legs. I slung my back pack over my shoulder, and headed out the door for the bus stop. My white canvas shoes thumped against the pavement rhythmically and I hummed to myself. I had rounded the corner when I heard the growling. It was a deep, foreboding sound. I turned cautiously, making sure not to make any sudden movements. The dog was foaming at the mouth, its muscles tensed and ready to run at me. Its long pointed teeth were bared, and its lips were pulled back to reveal the pinkish-brown gums. It was foaming at the mouth, and I picked out the features of a Rottweiler in its face. I had never been scared of dogs before, but this dog scared me to the point of hyperventilating. I took a step back and it lunged. I turned and ran across the road. And that was the moment that changed my life forever. I didn’t look to see if there were any cars coming, but the screeching of tires and a honking horn alerted me a second before the startling impact jarred me. It wasn’t like slow motion in the movies, this was faster than lightning, and so fast I found it hard to pick out the events. I flipped around to face the rusty Ford a second before the bonnet hit my legs and hips and crunched my bones along my hip. The impact sent me spinning. I cried out in pain as the car swerved to avoid the most of my body, but hit my left arm. My head hit the asphalt with a sickening crunch before everything went black.

I couldn’t tell how long I was gone for before I started dreaming. Maybe dreaming wasn’t the right term for it. Everything felt so real! I was in a meadow. The grass was a deep beautiful green, with tiny violets disrupting the perfect green every few metres. The only tree was a huge oak that swayed in the non-existent breeze. The sky was an endless blue, so blue that it was startling; only a few clouds dotted the sky, like tiny puffs of cotton. I wriggled my toes, and the soft grass tickled in between my toes. My hair was disrupting my view, as the silent breeze blew it gently into my face. I looked down at my body; I was wearing a long white strapless dress. It covered my toes and was made of the finest silk, it felt light on my body, but hugged my frame. A movement in the corner of my eyes caught my attention, and I turned to face it. There was a beautiful light, and it was growing and getting brighter. There were all the colours of the rainbow, and much more. My mind automatically triggered a memory from one of my books, the white light. The light you were supposed to walk into when you died. This startled me, I didn’t want to die. My life wasn’t the best, but I still wanted to grow up and be a famous pianist or swimmer. I was thinking so hard about dying that I didn’t realise that I wasn’t the only person in the meadow until she spoke.
“My daughter” the voice was soft and kind and my heart squeezed violently. I stared into the eyes of my mother. Her eyes were the same violet as mine, but her hair was caramel, and she was pale, slim and delicate.
“Mum” I whispered. She opened her arms for me and I dove into them. Her familiar sweet but tangy scent filled my nose and her hair tickled my face. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as her stroked the back of my hair. I didn’t realise I was sobbing until she was rubbing the tears off my face.
“There is nothing to be sad about, sweetie. I came here for a reason” She said kindly, and memories came flooding back. I was five and we were planting sun flowers in the garden, trying to brighten it up a bit. I was twelve and she was telling me not to be nervous about my first day of high school. I was ten and she was hugging me tightly even though I was wet after a swimming race, I had just won gold. I was thirteen and we were playing piano together at Christmas.
“What was the reason?” I asked, still keeping hold of her.
“Honey, right now, you are in the in between, it is your choice whether you want to cross over, or if you want to go back to your life” she murmured softly.
“Bu…but…you…I…how…what?” I stuttered, “I want to stay with you” I whispered. “I know honey, but that would mean you dying. And I want you to take a look at who would be missing you if you left” she took my hand and suddenly, we were whirling around, it was like that cliché, my whole life flashed before my eyes. Then, suddenly we were in a white hospital room, and six or seven people were crammed into the small space. The TV was on, but no one was paying attention to it. A girl was lying on the bed, her arms pale against the bleach white blankets. Her night black hair was fanned out on the pillow, and was startling against the white of it. Her eyes were closed, but her face was peaceful, happy even. And suddenly, I realised who it was. It was me. That was me lying on the hospital bed, with tubes coming out of my arms and a tube hooked up to my nose to help me breathe. I looked around the room in my ‘spirit’ body. Grandma was sitting on the end of the bed, and she had tissues splayed around her like white, snotty flowers. A man had a hand on her shoulder, and I realised that it was my Uncle. A few kids from school were standing in the back. And I realised that Mandy, the girl who was my only friend was there. James, who was a guy on my bus and has shown some interest in me, was there as well. But, what startled me the most was, Jack Dunn, who was one of the popular guys at school, was standing there as well, his blue eyes sad. I didn’t even realise that he knew I existed. A couple other relatives were standing around.
“I didn’t know so many people cared” I mumbled.
“That’s why you have to go back, sweet heart. It’s not your time, and they would all miss you dearly. Grandma wouldn’t have any company, she wouldn’t have any grand children left” My Mother put her hand on my shoulder.
“Okay, I’ll go back. But Mum?” I said, turning around to face her.
“Yes?” she asked her eyes quizzical.
“I love you, and I always have. Tell everyone that for me. You’re the best Mum any girl could ask for” I hugged her tightly, knowing this was the last time I would be able to hug her until it was my time to go.
“I love you to baby. More than you know, and we will be waiting for you” She murmured into my hair. And then I got a pulling feeling, like I was being drawn back to my body.
“I love you” I said, and I held her tighter and smelled her scent one last time, before she was gone. And then I was in my body, and blacked out again.

My eyes fluttered open, and my mouth was dry. A bright light blinded me temporarily, and then I heard gasping a sobbing, and suddenly, I was smothered. I could smell Granma’s musky, old roses perfume, and my Uncle’s soft smelling cologne.
“My Grand daughter, Oh my baby” my Grand Mother sobbed .People were kissing my fore head and holding my hands.
“Okay, give her some room” the Doctor’s gravelly voice said, and everyone backed off slightly. I was entirely grateful for it. And as I looked around the room at all the smiling, tear stained faces, my life looked brighter. And things were starting to look up for me.