short story: the train to heaven

 Written by 17-year old Karina when her grandpa passed away. March 2019. 

She sits on the red, velvety seats of the Train to Heaven. In her hand she holds a golden ticket- a thick, shimmery piece of paper with the words “Visitor” written on it. She smoothes it out on her lap before slipping it into her bright pink backpack, careful not to wrinkle it. She looks out the window and sees fluffy white clouds, reminding her of the soft, creamy ice cream at home. It still amazes her that the train runs solely on tracks that magically appear as they soar higher and higher into the sky. She closes her eyes and whispers “Thank you” for the once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Heaven. 

“Next stop, Summer Fields! ” shouts the train conductor. She jumps in her seat. This was it. Her stop. The train comes to a stop as she eagerly leaps onto her feet and puts on her backpack. There were four regions of Heaven- Summer Fields, Winter Slopes, Spring Hills, and Fall Leaves. All the other regions sound amazing, but her grandpa lives in Summer Fields and that’s where she was going. She had left Earth just to visit him on this special day; she hasn’t seen him since he left Earth last year.

She climbs out of the train, thanking the conductor as she makes her way to the gate way. She breathes in the heavenly scent of fresh sunflowers and honey. The fresh air tickles her face and the warm afternoon sun dances on her skin, nothing like Earth. Each region of Heaven had a gateway, an entrance to check in with your ticket. Summer Field’s gateway is beautifully decorated with carved gold leaves wrapping around the railings and a huge gold plack with Summer Fields written on it. Under it, a lady in a navy blue suit stood behind a desk. 

“Hello, welcome to Summer Fields,” greets the gateway lady. “What can I do for ya?”

“I’m here to visit my grandpa,” she says softly, pulling out her gold ticket. 

The gateway lady takes her ticket and examines it, making sure that it was real. She stamps the ticket and hands it back to her.

“Alright you’re all set, sweetheart, make sure to come back by midnight to catch the train. If not, you will never be able to go home,” the gateway lady warns.

She had already knew that, but she nods anyways.

The big gates open slowly, revealing acres of fresh flowers and miles and miles of green grass hills with houses on top of them. 

She slowly walks in as the gates close behind her. She digs in her backpack and pulls out an address book, her grandpa’s address written inside. 

346 Sunny Lane, Summer Fields

Walking there was no trouble, she was always good at directions. Even though she was only eleven and a half years old, her father nicknamed her “Miss. Explorer” for she was always the one to guide her family on big trips.  After walking through three gardens of roses, leaping across streams with little fish, and waving to a couple of residents, she sees her grandfather’s beautiful house from a distance. Tall redwood trees surround his cozy cottage and vegetable gardens so large it looked impossible to run out of room to plant. His house was made of red bricks, which reminded her of the three little pig’s home. She walks closer and sees her grandpa watering his newly planted vegetables. Her grandpa looks up and she waves, a big smile on her lips. 

“Isabella!” he shouts delightedly. 

She drops her backpack and jumps into his warm arms. Her grandfather didn’t know she was coming to visit today, Isabella wanted to surprise him. 

“Hi, grandpa,” she says as she buries her face into the crook of his neck. She breathes in his scent - the mixture of the outdoors and pine - and for the first time in a year, she finally feels at home. 

“I brought you something,” Isabella says. She opens her backpack and pulls out a mango from her grandfather’s mango tree back on Earth. He had planted it right before he left and he never got to see it grow.

“Oh from my mango tree! Thank you, Issie!” her grandpa says. They go inside her grandpa’s house and Isabella was immediately greeted by Cookie, her grandfather’s golden retriever. 

“Hello, Cookie!” She ruffles his ears. He barks and runs in circles as Isabella makes her way to the kitchen. Her grandfather makes his famous broccoli cheddar soup, something Isabella has missed so much when he left. She takes a big sip and feels a rush of delight. Just like old times, she thought. 

For the next couple hours they take walks around Sunny Fields with Cookie, go on a picnic at a nearby park, play board games, and even visit her grandpa’s favorite garden shop. They buy new plants and mango seeds and plant them together in her grandfather's enormous garden.

It was getting closer and closer to midnight. Isabella had to make it back to the gateway in time or else she will miss the train and not be able to return home. Her grandfather takes her little hands and they walk to the gateway together.

“I’ll miss you, grandpa. I’ll make sure to write to you and tell everyone at home how much you miss all of them,” Isabella says sadly.

“Oh Issie, I’ll miss you so much,” her grandpa says, pulling her into a hug. “Give your whole family the biggest hugs for me.” Tears trickle down Isabella’s face and her grandpa wipes wipes them away with his thumbs. 

“I love you, grandpa,” Isabella whispers softly. 

“I love you too,” says her grandpa. 

The gateway doors open and Isabella walks out. When she reaches the other side, she looks back at her grandfather. Memories of them together flood into her mind- the way his eyes gently crinkle when he smiles, the sound of his melodious laughter when he wins a game of connect 4 and even the time they sat on the curb and ate ice cream cones in front of her favorite ice cream shop.

Isabella waves back until the doors close and she can no longer see her grandfather. She checks her watch. 11:59 pm. The Train to Heaven pulls up and she climbs onto it, sinking into the red velvety seats one last time as she falls into deep, deep sleep.