Little
Joey woke up today and he had a smile on his face. He'd been waiting for
this day for a year. He hadn't seen his grandmother since exactly one
year ago. He spent the entire year waiting for this day. He marked
it on the calendar and worked hard to save money so that he'd be able to make
the trip to see his grandma.
He
remembered the last day that he saw her. She slept peacefully in the box
in the front of the room. He remembered she looked so beautiful, so calm.
He asked his mom why Grandma was sleeping inside the box.
"Grandma
is just taking a little nap. She'll be awake sometime soon." She
explained to him.
He smiled
and went out of the room looking at all the crying faces around him. Some
hiding their faces in tissues and others carrying on conversations with those
standing nearby. A lady, she was in a red dress, stopped him and picked
him up. It was his aunt. He remembered his mom telling him who she
was. He hadn't seen her in a long time and had to be reminded.
"You
ok, Joey?" his aunt asked him.
"Yes."
He smiled. He saw the streaks from her eyes. "Are you?"
he questioned her in return.
She
sniffled and nodded. She gave him a big hug and replaced him back on the
ground. He looked up at his aunt. "Mom says that gram is just
taking a little nap. Do you think she'll be awake soon? So I can
play with her again?"
She gave
a half huff of a laugh and smiled. "It might not be soon, hun.
But you will get to see her again and spend all the time that you want to
with her. She's taking a trip though."
"Where
is she going?" He asked.
"Well..."
she paused. " She's going to Heaven. It's very far away."
"Oh...ok"
he said when something caught his attention and he ran away from the lady in
the red dress.
He
thought on this idea that Grandma was just taking a trip and that she would
return. He wasn't sure where Heaven was, but he knew he wanted to
surprise his grandma and visit her someday.
------------------
A
few months later Little Joey sat outside on a nice day at a table and sold
lemonade. He saved his money in an old coffee can. He remembered
everytime that the change jingled inside how his grandma used to drink this
brand of coffee. He smiled.
"What
are you saving for, Joey?" one of his customers asked him.
"I'm
saving to visit my grandma" he said with a smile. "She went on a
trip, and I want to visit her."
The lady
put a few extra dollars into his coffee can. "Thank you!" he
expressed with a really big smile.
----------------
He had a
few more lemonade stands throughout the rest of the year and saved all of the
money he was given for his birthday and holidays. The coffee can was just
about filled to the top. He carried that can with pride down to the
kitchen, where his mom was preparing his breakfast before he had to go to
school.
She
laughed when he placed the can on the table. "Honey.. what is that
for?"
"Today's
the day Mom." His excitement couldn't be contained. "I
want to go see Gram... Can you take this and buy me a Ticket to Heaven?"
His mom
stopped what she was doing. Tears built up behind her eyes and pushed forward.
"You don't need all of that to see grandma, sweetie. Grandma
is in your heart. She's with you everyday, you just can't see her.
She is there, though. Every decision you make and every moment that
you smile it's because she's right there with you."
He looked
at her confused. "But I want to see her."
"I
know you do, baby. But where Grandma is.. we can't see her there.
Where she went, she became a superhero. She's invisible now.
That's the power she was given so she can watch over you wherever you
go."
"So
I don't need a ticket to Heaven?"
She
tapped him in the heart as she said. "No, Grandma is with you right
here."
He smiled
at his mom as her tears still streamed down her face and he hugged her tight.
"Now, go get ready for school." He nodded and started to
walk out of the room.
As he
walked through the doorway he looked around only seeing the walls around him.
He looked back at his mom and then turned back around. "I love
you, Gram" he said to the empty room. Just as he finished saying it,
he felt a breeze ruffle his hair a bit. "I'll see you again,
someday"
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