The Wish From Heaven | ✓

chapter 3 : clashing realities

"I- I don't get it. Dawn's wish?" I ask after he finishes.

He nods. "Yes. You see, after you go to heaven, you get only one wish related to your mortal life. It is the last contact any dead can make with the living. The wish can be anything, really. Sometimes it is something very simple, like handling the property, delivering a last message, or warning about something. Other times, it is something complex and needs more work, like Dawn's wish. That's when people like me come to the picture. He-"

"Wait a second." I hold up a hand. "Did you just say heaven?" I blink. "Heaven and hell, these things..."

"God." He rolls his eyes in exasperation. "There's no way I can explain all these to an atheist."

"I'm not- I'm not an atheist. I just . . . are you trying to say that Dawn. . . like, my Dawn is in heaven?"

"Well, did you not expect him to be?"

"That's not it . . ."

This whole thing sounds so ridiculous. I admit I'm not the most religious person in times other than during the exam period, but I think I always believed in a supernatural entity that stands above us all. Probably because it's hard for me to wrap my head around the logic that existence started by itself. But this is still very hard to digest.

I have never given a thought about things like heaven and hell before he died. Death has always been a solid concept in my mind, but what happens afterwards simply did not interest me that much before. And yet, there is a part of me that wanted to believe that Dawn is now happier than he ever was, somewhere in heaven over the clouds. I suppose this is the reason people believe. With faith comes hope. And with hope comes just the drive we need to move on and stay alive. The only way I have been alive the past nine months is by believing that Dawn is in a better place.

And now, all of a sudden, my grief-stricken fantasies are being claimed to be true, by this random stranger who is here trying to teach me about heaven and last wishes, and I simply cannot wrap my brain around it. I think it's because I have always kept my supernatural beliefs and practical life in two different rooms. I never let them meet each other. I never thought they need to meet each other. I go to the first room for comfort, and the next room to continue my life in an organized way.

Though I've been spending a great amount of time in the first room these days, I still can't believe that the God I believe in might really exist.

"Cedar, are you okay?"

"Just- just let me breathe."

"I'm sorry. There's no simpler way I can tell you all this. It would be the easiest to just show you my conversation with Dawn, but that is like, super forbidden and if-"

"Y-you talked with Dawn?" I ask, feeling incredulous. This has to be a joke.

"Er, yeah, I did."

"After he...?"

"Yes, Cedar."

I think my head might be spinning a little. My mouth struggles to form the sentence. "Did he say anything about me?"

The boy laughs. "Alright, I thought you'd have this figured out already, but the whole reason why I'm here is because he talked about you. Dawn's wish is specifically about you, and I have been assigned to fulfill it. Does that clear it out?"

It clears everything but nothing at the same time. I keep silent. This makes no sense. This can't be real. Is this real? Hidden camera? But then, how did he read my mind? Coincidence? Great guessing? Is all of this just a set-up? Is this a prank?