Heaven Regained Us E-Book

Tara Larsen

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 121

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

When Celestia passed away, her memories were a blur. She was embraced by the welcoming arms of Heaven and for the first time in years, she felt content. Yet, what could change so quickly that one would desire to live again?

Leseprobe

Beautiful sun, beautiful day

Let our angels find their way

Their Heavenly future

They will seek

And gain the purpose

That shall complete

Beautiful sun, beautiful day

Let our angels find their way!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – Arrival

Chapter 2 – Eudaimonia

Chapter 3 – Heartache

Chapter 4 – Liberty

Chapter 5 - Limit

Chapter 6 - Treachery

Chapter 7 - Naïve

Chapter 8 - Responsibility

Chapter 9 - Wake

Chapter 10 - Rebirth

Chapter 11 - A Jewel is Born

Chapter 12 - Sightless

Chapter 1 – Arrival

**

A gentle breeze rustled through the grass and stirred the cherry blossoms. Sunlight sparkled on the surface of the pond. Everything had a reason to exist and the reason behind it all was combined with the meaning of life. She sat alone on the rock. The plain grey marble was smooth and yet not cold to the touch. Being alone can make us long for things we cannot have, but she did not long for anything. She was one with nature. She did not feel empty or lonely – loneliness was not a concept for her. She felt content. She held a fishing rod, the line dangling in the pure turquoise water. Every once in a while, the line became taut and she reeled it in to find a precious stone. She had no idea how a stone came to be tied to the line, but in Heaven you didn’t question such things. She was content with her fortune, because all her needs were met. There was no dissatisfaction, and there were no advantages or disadvantages if you compared one person to another. This time she found herself holding a beautiful kyanite. She examined its rough blue surface. It was perfect, just as every other stone she had discovered, although it was unlike any other. She added it to her pile of treasures − citrine, rose quartz, yellow aventurine, lapis lazuli, bronzite, emerald, yellow jaspers, black diamonds, amazonite, hematite, moonstone, and howlite. She knew not why she was collecting them, only that collecting them made her content.

**

Now, you may be wondering about her name and other personal details. There is not much to say, and details about her appearance are irrelevant, so you may imagine her as you please. People do not need names in Heaven, nor do they have any memory of them from their past lives. Identity is unimportant. However, if you desire a name, you are welcome to choose your own. She did, and now we learn that she called herself Celestia.

**

Celestia wandered back to her tiny cottage. It was airy, cosy and just the right size for one person. She placed her treasures by the front porch and opened the birchwood door. It was still early morning. She liked to watch the sun rise and the sky brightening to vivid blue. It was a joy to listen to the waves lapping gently against the rocks. You could easily fall asleep to their rhythm. Once every couple of days, Celestia would sit there and lay her head on the rocks. They were warm in the evenings and she would listen to the sounds of the night.

**

When she opened the door, she found the vase filled with beautiful brightly-coloured flowers. This happened every morning. Celestia always wondered who had brought the flowers, but there was never any sign of anybody. She lay down on the sofa and gazed at the oaken clock. It made her think of her past life and the few memories that remained in the back of her mind. You may be wondering why she could not remember her name, but that is not important as it will bring you more joy to hear about her happy memories, rather than insignificant details. Celestia did not think about the bad memories. The bad memories were in her past life and they did not matter. What mattered was that she was happy and content.

**

By the oaken clock stood Celestia’s glass jars filled with the precious stones she gathered every morning. She liked looking at them when the sun streamed in through the lace curtains. They were a reminder to her that they had been here for longer than she had. They encouraged patience. In front of her, on the coffee table, lay a beautiful crystal tray. On the tray was a ceramic teapot, containing an aromatic herbal tea, and next to this lay apple slices, cut perfectly and drizzled with honey. Again, Celestia did not know who had left the tray and its contents on the table, but this was not to be questioned. The same went for her small, charming cottage when she had arrived – she received no answers to her curiosity. You quickly learned that this was something you had to live with, ironically enough. She was simply grateful, which was only to be expected if you were as lucky as she: to be in Heaven. She took a bite of one of the apple slices and the honey oozed into her mouth. She drank a sip of the hot tea from one of the ceramic cups. It tasted of raspberry, lime and summer sunshine. As Celestia set down the cup, she glanced happily around her beautiful cottage. The bed had been made, without her having to lift a finger. A sage-green blanket lay fittingly at the foot of the bed and the white sheets were clean and fresh. The bed was made every morning after Celestia had gone to the pond, and yet she did not question this for one second. Colourful fairy lights were strung from the ceiling. On the walls there were paintings of pretty landscapes. In a corner stood a set of shelves with a dozen or so books. They were exactly the kind of books that Celestia loved. She took one and reclined on the sofa among the soft pillows. While she read, she was aware of the ticking of the oaken clock, reminding her that time still existed. Celestia did not know what day it was or even what year. It was a mystery never to be solved, not even by you, dear Reader. As long as she was content, there was nothing to be dissatisfied with.

**

The sky darkened and mid-afternoon arrived. She looked up from her book and to her slight surprise the glass tray was nowhere to be seen and had been replaced with a new tray. The new tray was hand-painted with cherry blossoms. Two scones were placed on china plates along with a bottle of milk and a bottle of water. Beside these items there lay a crispy golden apple pie, which was still hot, as you could tell by the steam arising from it. She gratefully ate both scones and drank from the bottle of water. It did not taste like ordinary water, but it would be a shame not to drink it. Celestia took a bite from the apple pie and left half of it on the plate. She put her book back on the shelf and decided to go for a walk through the fields – the same walk that she enjoyed almost every day, and sometimes even twice a day. It was not cold, so she could easily go outside in a short dress, walking barefoot. There was no wind, only the sounds of trickling water and birds chirping. All was calm. She scanned the horizon to see if there was anyone in sight. But there never was. Never had she seen a sign of another human being. There were animals though, sweet creatures, and there had been a tame deer, a doe that came right up to her doorstep every once in a while. She never felt frightened of it, nor did it fear her. It was a deer unlike any other and Celestia could tell by its tender brown eyes that it would never hurt a fly. The doe would turn its head towards the fields, as if to show her something. Celestia never followed, because as soon as it turned its head it was gone in a split second, galloping through the fields.

She noticed some birds skimming the sky. Bright blue they were, and rarer than jewels. Celestia couldn’t take her eyes of them, until they were far out of sight. It was probably around late-afternoon now and she wasn’t sure how far she had walked, but oddly enough it didn’t take her very long to walk back. When she arrived at her front door, she picked up a handful of the beautiful stones and jewels and dropped them into a jar, which she put on the bookshelf this time. There was a pair of knitted socks lying on the bed. Celestia put them on. They were very soft. She decided to take a bath. Candles were already lit and the bathtub had been filled with warm rose water, as though someone had read her mind. A fluffy white towel hung on the rail. Beautiful music soothed her as she descended into the bath. She stretched out and sighed with bliss. Seconds, minutes or hours went by and she began to fall asleep in the bathtub, but she was woken by the sound of logs crackling in the fireplace outside the bathroom door. Celestia quickly finished her bath. When she was dressed in a beautiful silky robe, she walked over to the fireplace and stretched her hands out towards the flames. Sometimes the flames reached so high, that you would have thought they would flicker through the top of the chimney. At other times they dwindled to almost nothing. Still, to her delight, the fire kept on warming her. She arose and once again took her familiar book from the bookshelf. She sat down on the sofa and began to read. The fire continued to crackle and the oaken clock ticked comfortingly. Celestia saw that the floral tray was gone again from the coffee table. This time it had been replaced with a sky-blue tray containing a dainty teapot and a pair of dainty cups. She briefly wondered why there were two cups instead of one. But she knew the ways of Heaven, and it would not help matters to question things. She might never understand.

Beside the tea, were two plates of mashed potatoes, a Caesar salad, a fresh loaf of bread and hot tomato soup. Again, it was surprising to her to see two plates, but the meal looked delicious. As she took a mouthful of salad, she was startled by an alarming sound: the unfamiliar ring of a doorbell. Celestia hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do. Surely there must be some mistake? She tried to put the sound of the ringing doorbell down to her vivid imagination. But when she took another mouthful of salad, the doorbell rang again. And again. This time she scurried to the door, stopping at the mirror hanging on the wall and realising that she was not dressed for company in any way, but this could not be helped. Why was she even thinking about how she was dressed? She trembled with anticipation to discover who or what was on the other side of the door. Celestia opened it carefully. To her astonishment, the person standing on the other side was someone she knew. She could not believe her eyes. She stood staring for a full minute and smiled – at her sister. Celestia’s own little sister was standing on the doorstep. Why was her sister here? How had she got here? Had she simply decided to pay her a visit? But no…that was not possible. Her smile faded as it finally dawned on her. If her sister was also in Heaven, this could only mean one thing. Her sister was dead.

Chapter 2 – Eudaimonia

**

“Do you not recognise your own–?” her sister asked. But before she could complete her sentence, Celestia embraced her. Tears streamed from her eyes and she could not or would not stop crying, even though she should know better. She was the elder sibling. Celestia wasn’t crying because she was upset. You were rarely sad in Heaven – you always felt perfectly content. But now it was as though someone had pressed a button in her heart and there was one emotion sticking out. She was crying with joy. Celestia was ecstatically happy. Her little sister did not mind her tears and simply hugged her. She understood. She didn’t seem worried or even afraid of this strange place. It was as though she had been waiting to arrive.

Celestia led her sister inside and they sat down together on the sofa. Celestia gave a few sniffles and sobs, and some time passed before she could utter a word. Her sister waited patiently, as she had always done. Her sweet, shy, caring little sister. Celestia bit her lip and dried her eyes with the back of her hand. It was as though all the longing suddenly came back in one giant chaotic mess. She could not control herself.

“It has been such a long time since I’ve seen a familiar face. I haven’t seen anyone since…” Celestia paused for a moment, as she looked outside. The sun was slowly disappearing. Celestia turned her attention back to her sister, and swallowed before she spoke:

“Since I died.”

Her sister smiled sympathetically and stroked Celestia’s back as their mother had always done. They had not imagined ever seeing each other again. It did not feel real. Celestia was about to say something again, but a tear trickled down her cheek, and she hid her face in her hands. A thought struck her, as she sat with her face buried in her hands.

“Do you remember?” she asked suddenly, quite out of the blue, removing her hands from her face. Her sister looked perplexed.

“Remember?” she whispered. Celestia could not help smiling. She was so fond of her sister and it pleased her to see the exaggerated expressions she always made when she was confused.

“Do you remember us?” she asked. “Do you remember who we were?”

Her sister looked thoughtful for a moment and nodded. “I do have memories,” she said, quietly. Celestia nodded. She felt the same