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It was everything her mother told her it would be. The streets were made of glass, the gates of the most exquisite jewels.
He was there. She could sense him even though she didn’t see him, the warmth of his fatherly love soothing over any pain, silencing any fears. She wanted to run to him, but something was stopping her.
She didn’t understand. She could hear the distant music and wanted to join in the majestic chorus, but she was too far away. She couldn’t make out the melody, could only faintly hear it, sense it as a vague echo of what might have been.
It was getting quieter now, fading further off into the distance. Kimmie was frantic to find out what she had to do to get it back.
Is someone there? Is that you, Mom?
The music stopped, and the pain that battered every inch of her body immediately stole away any memory of the joy or peace she had previously felt. It had all been a dream. There was no heavenly bubble of protection, no glorious music, no majestic homecoming.
She was still alive. For all Chuck’s threats, he hadn’t managed to kill her after all.
Someone was with her, someone watching over her, trying to wake her up.
Mom? Are you here?
As soon as she tried to speak the words, Kimmie remembered her mother was in a different place, the paradise that Kimmie had only managed to glimpse from the other side of an unscalable chasm.
Her mom couldn’t help her now. Nobody could.
Kimmie shut her eyes again, wondering just how much longer she’d have to wait before she heard that heavenly music once again.