HEAVEN.

Karen got to her favourite spot in the woods, she leaned onto a tree trying to catch her breath for a second.

" It should be here somewhere" she said as she stared at the tall tree standing in front of her eyes.

The tree was named Macy, it was part of the last memories she had of her mother, They had both planted it together before she died.

Karen made sure she took good care of it at all costs, before getting married to Allen previously, she had come to the same spot to bury the letter she had been receiving all through high School when she found out they weren't been sent by Allen.

If they were around then maybe just maybe this could make some sense to her, she began to dig and scatter the dirt around with her hands.

" There is no way I'm crazy, I can't be" she said that she finally reached the box that was placed carefully on the ground.

She pulled it out settling it down before opening the box, her eyes popped open as she could not find any of the letters, they were all gone.

She sat on the ground out of exhaustion and disappointment.

" It was all nothing but a dream?" She questioned but there was no one to provide her with an answer.

She was about to drop the box on the ground when something caught her attention,  it was a gold bracelet.

It was hide at the bottom of the box, in between the wood, she pulled out the bracelet staring at it for a few seconds before memories came flooding back, the bracelet was a gift that Allen and his family had gifted her on the night of their engagement.

" But if this is still here, then where are the letters?"

She stood up holding the bracelet, the bracelet was proof that she indeed got married to Allen and it wasn't a dream.

" Maybe I buried them somewhere else" she asked herself trying to recall if she had done anything of such.

Karen took a step to turn to the other direction in order to look for the spots where she might have buried the letters but she could not complete her mission as the ground began to spin around her.

She started feeling excruciating pain travelling from her chest down to her legs and to her head, her body almost immediately made contact with the base of the floor.

She opened her mouth trying to scream for help but she the pain was too much, causing her to close her eyes and passing out once again.

          

             **** ***** **** **** ****

Karen's father was pacing up and down the room he haven't seen his daughter all day after she had left for school that very morning, of course, he was supposed to be worried because he also got a call that she had fainted.

" Hello, she hasn’t come home yet?" Oyin asked as she stepped into Karen's home.

" No and her phone is switched off at the moment" he said with a visible worry plastered on his face,

" Karen is going to be fine, I'm sure she's on her way home, maybe she needed to stop by somewhere and got carried away, you know how forgetful she can be" she assured him that she was safe.

" I can't help it but feel a bit worried, this isn't like her, she always tells me if she isn't spending the night home and besides you're the only one she sleeps over with" he addressed.

Oyin's mind began to wonder as to where he best friend might be, she tried to recall places where Karen would have gone to, she had already gone to all the places she could think of and could not find her anywhere, it was getting really late and yet no sign of her anywhere.

         Meanwhile Karen was lying on a very unfamiliar place on a comfortable bed, she could feel a burning sensation in her throat, as she could also feel her mouth dried.

Her eyes were shut tight as her body was weak and needed rest, therefore it forced her to get that rest it needed.

After a few hours, she opened her eyes to see stars sparkling on the ceiling with tiny clouds around them, It felt like she was lying outside under the moon.

" water!" the words rolled out of her mouth as the burning sensation hit her throat again.

" Here!" a voice called out, passing a glass of water to her.

" Thank you" she replied before sitting upright and sipping from it then gulping down the glass of water, it immediately quenched her thirst. She returned the glass before realization hit her as she was more aware of her surroundings.

She noticed she wasn't home, neither was she in Oyin’s home, Where am I? was the question she asked herself as she slowly turned to the person that gave her the glass of water.

" Hello" Xavier greeted with a friendly smile and wave.

She studied him careful from his curly brown colored hair to his slender fingers that were sitting on his crossed legs, he's beauty was something she couldn't doubt.

" Where am I?" She asked, staring at him as she moved slowly to the opposite side of the bed.

" Well I don't know how to tell you this but...." He hesitated

" But?"

" I'm actually an angel" he said watching her carefully.

Karen knew he’d definitely pass off as one because his smile was so heartwarming.

" An Angel?"

" Yes!"

" Then where am I?" she asked staring at him, 

" You see, something happened and you died" he said demonstrating with his hands " And this is the afterlife" he said watching her reaction.

" So.. you're saying, I'm dead?!" she asked just to be clear.

" Yes, You are. Which means you're not going to see your family or your friends anymore for a while" he explained

" I can't be dead, today was the weirdest day ever. First I dreamt I died and now I'm actually dead now" she said trying to wrap her head around it all.

" Exactly honey, death is such a cruel fate and you see it doesn't allow us to bid farewell to our families or loved ones who will be truly hurt with our departure" he said trying to control his urge to laugh.

" Father" she voiced as he was the first person that popped into her mind.

" Don't listen to anything he tells you" Lewis said as he walked into the room.

" Lewis? You're dead too?"

" hahahaha, I like this one. She fell for it, seriously!" He said laughing

" Wait you were lying?

" Of course honey, well not about the Angel part because I'm actually an angel but you're not dead"

" Thank goodness" she sighed.

" I can't believe you thought you were really Dead!" He said still laughing.

" Why wouldn't I believe it…. I woke up in a strange place with a stranger by my side, what did you expect?" She asked almost laughing at herself.

" That's enough, How are you feeling at the moment?" Lewis asked as he moved closer to them.

" I feel a lot better, just a slight headache" she replied with a smile.

" That's going to go down in no time, here drink this" he said passing her a cup filled with some sort of mixture.

Karen stared into the cup for a few seconds before reaching the conclusion, that there was definitely no way she was going to drink that.

" No thanks, I'm good" she said, turning the cup back to Lewis.

" I will drink that if I were you, it's going to actually help you a whole lot than you think and besides I heard you haven't shifted yet and you have been given hormones at your school. This is going to help you develop much more faster" he explained trying to convince her to take a sip.

" How did you know about that?"

Xavier glared at Lewis quickly waiting for him to clean up the mess as usual.

" Well I overheard you this morning talking with Nurse Stella about it" he said lifting up his injured arm.

" Ohhh that's true, how could I forget your arm. How do you feel now"

" it's a lot better" Lewis couldn't help but smile.

Xavier on the other hand couldn't help but feel disgusted as he watched Lewis blush, he could tell because both his ears and palms were glowing red.

" You should drink it now" he cut into their conversation short, Karen looked back at the cup, still having doubts but she closed her eyes and took it down in one go.

" YUCK!!" she coughed wanting to throw up the very moment. " That was disgusting, what in it?" she asked.

" Well a lot of things, what does it taste like" he inquired observing her cautiously.

" Blood, it tastes like blood" she replied.

" Blood, really. So you've tasted blood before?" He gave her a mysterious look.

"No but never mind"

" Do take me seriously, It's really going to make you feel better"

" thank you but next time I'll definitely not taking any of that again" she made it clear, still having the taste in her mouth.

" I promise not to give it" Lewis said with a chuckle.

" Is this your house? you are quite loaded" She said observing the room she had been sitting in, the furniture  were of expensive and exquisite taste.

" Of course it's his...."

" Its Xavier's apartment, I share it with him" Lewis said cutting Xavier off.

" Yes, it's my apartment, you can tell from my skin. Karen you see this loser has nothing to his name… even as small as a cent"

" Xavier!" Lewis called out between his teeth.

" What? it's not your apartment after all" Lewis gave Xavier one of his death glares making Xavier put out his tongue.

Karen couldn't help but giggle as both were being so cute, it reminded her of her brothers.

" Anyways I'm off to find something to eat in my own home" he said standing up from where he sat all this time.

" It was nice meeting you and advise you to rest a lot it would help you feel a little bit better"

" Thank you mister Xavier"

" You're welcome and as for you, you owe me a five hours long skin treatment for the next three months" he said before walking off.

" I'm sorry about Xavier, he's not right in the head" Lewis apologized

" There's nothing to apologize for, he actually reminds me of my brother, he's funny and nice… I like him"

" I'm glad you don't feel offended by his jokes but Karen on a more serious note you need to be careful" he said changing his tone to a serious one.

" What's with everyone and telling me to be careful. I'm not a child, you know"

" I know that but you were lucky we found you this time, because who knows what would have happened to you. I just want you to be careful that's all I asked from you. You shouldn't be alone at any point for now, just in case you pass out… you should have someone by your side. You may feel alright but you are definitely not, trust me" he made emphasis with a worried face.

" Wow, you're just as serious as you were at the clinic, thanks for worrying about me, I'll definitely watch myself from now on" she added with a smile trying to convince him.

" I will leave you to rest" he said about to stand.

" Hold on what's the time" she asked

" it's 10:35 p.m."

" OMG, my dad is definitely going to kill me" she said about to stand but was held back by Lewis.

" Calm down"

" You don't understand, I should have been home a long time ago" she tried explaining.

" it's too late to go home now, your phone was down I had to plug it, just give him a call. You need to rest, from here to the city is more like an hour drive" he explained.

" I need my phone first"

" Alright but first back on the bed" Karen quickly sat waiting for her phone, Lewis walked towards the other side of the bed. " Here!" he handed her the phone

" Oh no, this is a lot of calls" she said scrolling through her phone to see calls she had missed. She immediately dialed her dad's number, she couldn’t imagine how worried he was.

" Hello Dad?"

" Sugarplum!! where the hell are you? I was worried sick, I even sent your brothers to look for you"

" I'm sorry, I'm at a friend's house we had a project to submit soon so I had to stay but I lost track of time" she lied

" Digwe Karen Prudence, don't you ever do this ever again, if you want to stay out late I should be the first person to know" he voiced

" I know that Dad, I'm sorry" she apologize.

" What about your health, nurse Stella said you fainted"

" Yes I did but I feel great at the moment" she replied

" It's getting really late, send me the address of where you are, I'm going to send your brothers to pick you up"

" Dad there is no need, I can come back by myself"

" Not after what you pulled off today, there is no way in hell you're coming back by yourself tell me where you are now and I’ll ask your brothers to come pick you up"

" Okay Dad" she replied before disconnecting the call.