Heaven

• Xiaodi Liu, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2015

Waking up, he was no longer lying in the familiar bedroom. Looking around, he was on a giant marble staircase somewhere over the rainbow.
“Where am I?” he asked himself.
“You are on the staircase to heaven,” a deep voice answered from the clouds below. He remembered his promise of never leaving her alone.
‘I will be able to see her soon,’ he thought, ‘she will be very glad to see me again.’ He began his ascent toward heaven’s gate. With every step, he could feel the anticipation grow inside him. He couldn’t wait to reach the wonderful place of happiness, and embrace her again, to hold her in his arms. A trace of fear emerged, but it was so subtle that he dismissed its existence.
At the gates of heaven, he saw two angels. They made him think of her. She looked so much like an angel.
His fear increased when the angels didn’t seem to recognise him.
“May I enter?” he said, approaching one of the angels. And the angel shook her head. He didn’t understand. “Why can’t I enter?” This time, the angels didn’t move.
“You have sinned, my child,” the same voice from the staircase answered. It was the Lord.
“Sins, my Lord?” he asked, searching his memory for the possible sin he might have forgotten.
“Theft is not right, even if it is for your loved ones.” The lord answered. Then he remembered the only time that he had stolen something. A necklace. He sold the necklace to pay for her treatment costs. He knew it wasn’t right, but never found the courage to confess.
“I was wrong, Lord. I was too young and stupid.” He knelt down, and confessed. “I never quite summoned the courage to confess.”
“Always keep in mind, the evil will be punished.”
“Yes, my lord.” He answered. “May I ask one thing?’
“You may, son.”
“How is she in heaven?” he asked. A promise has been broken, it seems, and he desperately wanted to know how she was.
“She is not here. She is in hell.” The Lord answered.
“But why? She has never sinned. She’s like an angel.” He was confused. She did not deserve to be suffering for his sins.
“She is an angel.” The Lord answered. All of a sudden, he felt like all the pieces fell into place. Her love, her tenderness, her gracefulness, her somehow supernatural predictions. She was an angel. This realisation added weight to the guilt he felt. ‘The Lord sent me an angel, and I made her suffer.’ He thought.
“Why did you sent her there?” he asked
The Lord remained silent for a while, and said slowly. “She asked for it. She asked where you were, and she said she must stay with you. The promised in front of me.”
“Stupid girl. You should have stayed in heaven,” he murmured.
“She’s not stupid,” the lord said. “She said her only heaven is right where you are.”