Heaven
When I wake up again, I find myself biting Scarlet’s shoulder while being carried around outside in the streets.
“Good morning Rose! Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah…Where are John and Sher Aka?”
“Oh, we split up for a bit because we wanted to visit some different places.”
“Ah okay…You can put me down now.”
“Are you sure? You still sound pretty sleepy.”
“Yeah I’m sure.”
She then lets me down and I nuzzle cheeks with Rayla, “Good morning ane.”
“Pfft, good afternoon to you too.”
“Afternoon? Did you carry me this entire time manya?”
She grins at me with a thumbs up, “Yep, but you’re really light so it’s no problem.”
“Still…I’m sorry. I’ve been weirdly sleepy ever since Ifrit changed me. It must be tough for you guys, since you have to basically babysit me each time I fall asleep during the day…”
“Pfft, kikikiki. Don’t apologize for that! It’s only natural for me to babysit my baby sister, kikikiki.”
“I'm not a baby though…”
Rayla pulls out what looks like a small map and says, “According to this, this city does have the biggest church to Holly in the entire world. We could try visiting it, maybe you get a divine revelation telling you your real age.”
“Is that something that can happen?”
“I dunno, maybe. It’s worth a shot, right?”
“I guess…”
Following the tourist map, we come upon what looks like a school for rich people with a big gate around it.
“Uhm, ane are you sure this is the right place?”
“I’m not sure. It does say so on the map. Let’s ask the gatekeeper…Hi, there.”
A human man in his thirties answers from inside a security booth, “Hello, how may I help you?”
“Uhm, we were trying to visit the Church of Holly, is this the right place?”
“It is, but only children and priests are allowed to enter.”
“Huh…Isn’t this a school? Aren’t there any adults picking up their children here?”
“It is a school but only for orphans. It is both a school and a living space for them, entirely operated by the church and funded by donations. In the cases of outside adults wanting to see the children, they usually just visit outside the holy grounds or in rare cases get special permission by a priest to enter temporarily.”
“Are children that don’t live here allowed to visit the church?”
“Of course.”
“Well Thoma, do you want to take a look?”
“I dunno…This place looks pretty big, what if I get lost?”
The guard answers, “You don’t have to worry about that. If you want to enter, a priest will accompany you on the way.”
“In that case I’ll try. Could you call a priest?”
“Sure, I assume you would like to enter?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
The gatekeeper then spins a crank around and raises a small flag, “A priest will show up soon, usually it should only take a few minutes.”
“Okay…Are you not suspicious of me wanting to go in?”
He shrugs, “Not really, I’ve been working here for a while and have seen kids in all different shapes and sizes. Also the priests have the divine ability to know who is a child so they have the ultimate decision making power. My job is just to inform people so they don’t go climbing the fence and incur divine punishment.”
Rayla asks, “Has that happened before?”
“Oh yeah, it happens all the time. One of Holly’s favorite divine punishments is sapping the youth of those that enter the grounds without permission. But because she is a kind goddess she usually restores their youth when they show penance.”
“Wow…”
A woman’s voice answers, “Please don’t tell stories like that in front of the child John, you’re scaring her.”
“My apologies Cardinal.”
With a loud metal sound the gate opens and an Elven woman with white hair, very pale skin and slightly glowing piercing blue eyes appears. She is wearing what looks more like a nursing uniform than religious garb. She is wearing a big apron full with milk bottles, toys and snacks over a green garb with red dots on it and on her back is a big depiction of a holly tree.
She slowly and gracefully approaches me and puts her hand on my cheek, “My, aren’t you pretty. Would you like me to call you Thoma Ahad or Rose?”
“How do you know my names?”
“Our heavenly mother told me. She has also told me that you’ve been a great kid last year.”
“Really? Can you talk to her?”
She smiles, “I can talk to her and she can freely talk to me but I can’t have conversations with her whenever I want. Only the Grand Mater can.”
“Can you tell her I said thank you for the presents?”
“Haha, you can do that yourself.”
She offers me her hand and I take it following her inside the premises waving Scarlet and Rayla goodbye as the gates close behind me.
“Can I ask you a question, Miss Cardinal?”
“Of course. Also there is no need for formalities, you can just call me sister.”
“Uhm okay. Do you not find it weird that I’m a child with the way I look?”
She chuckles, “Not at all. When I became a priestess to Holly, I lost the ability to perceive others' appearances. I can only perceive their soul and you have a very beautiful soul.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it is very pure, radiant and pretty, almost like an infant. Though I also do see many scars on it. You must have lived a hard life up until now.”
“Well…It wasn’t always easy…So you really can’t see how I look?”
“Not at all. Her Holiness even guides my hand when I try to touch you because I can’t see your real body.”
“...”
“Then…Can you call me Rose then as long as we are here? If it’s not weird for you of course…”
She cogs her head and smiles at me, “Why would it be weird? It is your name after all and quite a pretty one at that I must say. It fits that warm soul of yours very well.”
“Thank you sister…You’re also very pretty.”
“Daaw, thank you Rose.”
As we walk through the premises, I see many fun sites. There are many children running around playing with each other, some are learning together and others seem to enjoy different sports or music classes.
“Sister, do you have a playground here as well?”
“Of course, we have multiple!”
“Woah…I’ve been to one for the first time today.”
“Really? Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Yeah, I never had so much fun before. Do the kids here get to play like this everyday?”
“Yes, they can play whenever they want.”
“That’s amazing…Do they not have to work?”
“Of course not, no child has to work but we do teach many professions to those that are interested.”
“And what happens to those that go through puberty? Do you just kick them out?”
“Yes and no. The beauty of this holy place is that a child only ages when they are ready. Many of the children here have deep trauma that makes them unable to mature without years of love, so her Holiness Holly allows them to stay children until they are ready. Everyone that becomes a teenager here is ready to move on and live a happy life outside these walls.”
“Years of love huh…Do you give the children here hugs and kisses when they need them?”
“Of course, they can get them whenever they want to.”
“Do you hit them when they do things wrong?”
She seems almost offended, “Of course not! If the kids do something wrong we just explain to them why it was wrong and usually they don’t do it again.”
Looking around for a bit longer I let out a chuckle, “Hmm…This place…It’s what I imagine heaven would be like…I hope that if I die on my travels a place just like this awaits me.”
After hearing that, the sister looks quite concerned, puts her hands on my shoulders and with a kind voice says, “You don’t have to wait until you die, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”
“I-I wish I could…I really do. But I would miss my sisters and friends too much if I stayed here. Also, I’m sure the children would make fun of my appearance and be uncomfortable around me…”
The sister gives me a warm hug and tells me, “I understand if your family on the outside is too important to you but please don’t think you’re not welcome here. You’re such a good girl, I’m sure everyone would love it if you stayed with us. We want you here Rose, this place can be your home if you want it to be.”
The words of the sister feel like a warm sword piercing my heart, filling my insides with feelings of warmth, pain and sadness leaking out of my eyes as I break down in the arms of the sister and begin to cry. The sister’s hug feels so warm and full of love, it reminds me of Rayla and Scarlet. Then after about fifteen minutes of crying I finally calm down.
“Sorry about that, sister.”
“Not at all, feel free to cry as much as you want. It’s important to let those feelings out.” She says while wiping my tears and snot away with a handkerchief.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Yeah…”
Hearing that, the sister pulls out a water bottle from one of her many pockets and hands it to me.
“Thank you…Can we go to the church now?”
“Of course we can, but are you sure you don’t want to stay like this a bit more though?”
“Yeah…I’m sure.”
I then attempt to stand up but I’m so exhausted that I fall over and back into the sister’s arms, “Damn it…Sister, I know it’s a big ask but could you carry me back to my sisters? I think… I think I need to come back here again tomorrow…Right now I don’t have the strength.”
“I will gladly carry you Rose. Your holiness Holly, please give me the strength to carry this child in need.”
I then see a ray of light envelop her as she picks me up and I pass out.