Heaven Sent

It all started last spring when a little girl by the name of BreeAnna Brown decided she wanted to go visit her Grandmother. The only problem for Bree – as she preferred to be called – was that her Grandma Rose had died two months earlier and now lived in heaven.

Bree stood about 5 feet 3 feet inches tall, and towered above all the other fourth graders in Miss Holley’s class. She spent most of her time reading and wanting to know how everything worked. Bree’s had jet black hair that she wore in thick braids, her face was round, and she had smooth skin that looked liked rich milk chocolate. Bree kept her nose in a book when she wasn’t in school, reading and daydreaming about all sorts of things – from wondering if Mars really had little green Martians to wondering how far away heaven was. Bree often gazed up at billowing clouds that spanned out as far as she could see, and wondered how long it would take to reach heaven. Bree always imagined walking through clouds and falling snow before she got to a beautiful garden in heaven where God lived. Bree’s eyes were big and brown, her eyelashes were long and thick, and when she smiled her teeth were sparkling white. Her laughter was loud and infectious. Pouty lips and a little pug nose filled her face. Bree wore black frame glasses, and spent most of her time looking up answers to all her questions. Her favorite words were Awesome and Cool––she never finished a sentence without saying either one.

Bree lived with her Mother Grace and Grandma Rose in a townhouse near downtown Des Moines. Bree was an only child. Bree’s Dad lived in Arizona after he and her Mom divorced. Bree spent summers with her Dad and talked to him every day. Bree had one best friend named Hannah. They loved listening to their favorite music together, playing games and coloring for hours. They walked home from school together every day. Bree looked forward to coming home and telling Grandma all about what had happened in school each day. About two months ago, Grandma had gotten very sick, and Bree’s Mom had told her that Grandma was not going to be with them much longer – that she was dying, and would be going up to heaven to be with God. Bree felt sad, and hoped that would never happen to her Grandma Rose. One day, Bree came home and found her Mother crying

“Mom, what’s the matter?”

“I’m sorry, honey. Grandma died,” Grace said. “I’m so sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye to her.”

Bree ran past her Mom and went into her Grandmother’s bedroom. Bree leaned over and hugged Grandma Rose’s body and began crying. Days later, Bree and her Mother buried Grandma Rose.

Bree felt sad and lonely. Even her best friend Hannah did not make her feel better. Then one day, Bree was coming home from the library. The day had been one of the hottest days of summer. Billowy white clouds that looked like balls of light and airy cotton candy drifted overhead. The sun was fading behind the milky white clouds. Streaks of pink and tangerine covered the blue sky above. Bree twirled around and around trying to cool down.

Suddenly she stopped twirling and gazed in amazement at the sky, the clouds had formed small patches that looked like a path, leading higher and higher into the sky. Awesome, thought Bree. If only I could get up to that path, I bet I could go see where God lives in heaven and where Grandma is.

The clouds were swirling and drifting above Bree’s head. The clouds were bright white and gray, some looked like big ice cream scoops, many clouds formed banks and scattered trails across the azure sky. As the sun continued going down, in back of the radiant clouds, a bright light glistened in back.

“Boy, I wonder where all those puffy clouds lead to,” said Bree. Bree found a rock lying on the ground, and leaned forward and picked it up. Bree leaned back and tried to hurl the rock high into the sky as fast as she could. The rock fell a few inches from where Bree stood.