Visiting Hours in Heaven

I’ve waited an entire year for this day. You only get one visit from a loved one from heaven, and I was thankful to get that one visit with my little sister, Katrina.

I sat on the worn but sturdy wooden bench overlooking the pond. The pond rippled as the ducks splashed, dunked, and quacked happily.

The birds were chirping and chasing one another while the hummingbirds zipped around in the nearby bushes. I kicked off my shoes and let the overgrown grass tickle the bottom of my feet as I squished my toes into the soil.

I let nature distract me from my anticipation of my sister’s arrival. I relaxed my body on the bench.

“Am I interrupting you?” Katrina laughed.

I jerked myself from my relaxed position and flung my arms around her. I took in her familiar scent of warmed sugar and listened to every cadence of her giggle.

“I have missed you so much!”

“I know, sis.”

“I am so sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most. I’m sorry that I didn’t do more to help you. I’m sorry I didn’t try harder.”

“Get a hold of yourself. I am only here for a limited time, remember?” Katrina said.

“I just… I don’t know what else to say to express my deep sorrow for not being there for you. You could still be here on Earth if I had tried harder”

“Stop it! I mean it. I only get one visit. I know how you’ve been feeling since I left. I’ve watched you be sorry for the past year. Listen, because I am only saying this once. It wasn’t your fault. You have a big heart and would’ve done anything for me. I just had to ask.”

“But you loved with every ounce of your heart. I should’ve seen that this time you wouldn’t make it out of your depression. You deserved that from me. ” I sobbed.

“I should apologize. I knew the depression was different this time. I thought I could do it on my own. But, sis, I am good now. I feel at peace. Seriously, look at me.”

I looked at Katrina with her short dark brown hair flowing in the breeze, and her big brown eyes softened as she blared her contagious smile at me. She looked the same but somehow better. Maybe because she looked healthy and had a glow that can only be described as peaceful happiness.

“See. I’m fine. Now, can we move on to other topics, please?”

“Okay. I placed you in the same cemetery as our grandma, grandpa, and aunt. I try to visit you often and planted a few flowers around your head…”

“I know all of that! You are just as annoying as I remember,” Katrina said with a wide smile. She was teasing me. I raised my disapproving eyebrow at her, which made her smile wider.

“And thank you, sis. Really. But can we gossip and talk like we did before I left? That is the part I miss. Make some of your motherly comments so I can slam them with my superior sarcasm.” Katrina continued. A game-on kind of smile spread across her face in anticipation.

We spent hours discussing so many things that didn’t matter.

We rattled on with things like the neighbors being caught with their own pot farm, that I was finally going to teach at a high school, how our brother talked me into buying chickens, my husband planning on getting rich with his big money-making plans, how I went back to school again, and how my son got birthday cake up his nose.

We laughed until our bellies hurt. We shot insults at each other to see who would get the other to be speechless. It was me. Her dark humor and sarcasm always trumped my light-hearted, loving humor.

“Damn, you look tired,” Katrina said.

“Hey! Not all of us can live in the divine garden with no worries, brat!”

Our giggles slowed to a stop to look at the orange and pink shades of the sunset and to listen to the stillness of nature surrounding us.

My sister kicked off her shoes and squished her toes in the soil as I had done earlier. We knew our time was coming to an end.

This time, I saw the tears trickling down her face as she wiped them away quickly, trying to hide them from me. She always shielded people this way. I placed my hand on top of hers.  

            “It makes me happy knowing you are okay now,” I said.

            “I am, sis, I really am. Promise me that you won’t be sorry anymore, and you will make every effort to enjoy life,” Katrina said.

            “It’s so hard without you, but I promise— I will try. I just miss you so damn much. I want to tell you all the little things that happen daily as we did before. It’s a hard life without you.”

           “I know. That’s why we got it all out during our visit today. We will share the rest of the little things when you join me in the divine garden someday.”

            “I love you, Katrina.”

            “I know. I love you too”

And just like that, she faded away with the sunset. I didn’t know what it would be like to have visiting hours in heaven, but it was more perfect than I could’ve ever imagined.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you enjoyed this, you might also appreciate exploring other fictional short stories.