I sprinted through the woods, each step wider and faster than the one before. It felt like I was floating. I paused to catch my breath and noticed a white mist surrounding me. It looked like the clouds left the bright blue sky and now were connected to the bright vegetation and dirt road. It was a breathtaking view. 

Snap!

I jerked around. My breath shook, my heart pounded. There it was. The black figure. It looked like a storm cloud. A dark, dark gray smoke that flashed an occasional small spark of light. Dust and smoke wafted off of it, as if it were disintegrating. I was terrified, and stood motionless as it started to drift closer to me. It kept moving towards me until finally, I sprinted. I ran as fast as my body could go. Tears were streaming down my face. I glanced behind my back for a split second. It was nowhere to be seen, but I could still feel it. I needed to escape it for good. It wanted to hurt me. I could tell. 

I continued to run, my body slowing down every step I took. I needed to put a decent amount of space between us. Without thinking, I jumped into the bright green forest and started to jog between the trees. Eventually, I started to slow down. The path had to have been a quarter of a mile away. I was safe now. 

I wandered through the forest as I caught my breath. My mouth was drier than the Sahara Desert.  If I was going to run for another second, I needed to find water. I wandered around the forest for another five minutes and then finally, I found a small stream of water. I fell to my knees and cupped my hands to scoop up the cool water. As I drank, I noticed a cut on my eyebrow that I had never seen before. I touched it to make sure it was actually there. When I pulled my hand back from my eyebrow, bright red blood was on my finger tip. “When did I cut my eyebrow?” I tried to figure out where I had been in the past few hours, but the only thing I could remember was running away from the black figure. “That can’t be. I have to have been somewhere before the past hour!” Tears started to stream down my face. “Where am I?” I screamed. That’s when it clicked. It must be a dream. That's the only explanation. “It's just a dream! A terrible, terrible dream!” I paused then screamed. “Wake up! Wake up! Wake UP!” I closed my eyes tight and counted to ten. Slowly, I opened them to see the frightening green forest ahead of me. I layed next to the stream, sobbing. I just wanted to escape this place. The thing that was following me. I wanted it to all go away. 

After I called down, I stood up and instantly felt its presence. I needed to leave. Now. I started to jog through the forest, jumping over fallen trees and dodging muddy puddles until finally, I escaped. 

I stood on a cobblestone path lined with beautiful buildings. It looked like a scene from a fairytale. Like one of the books I had read as a child. A sweet scent filled the air. It was familiar, and tickled a memory from my childhood. It smelled like Nanna’s apple pie. I hadn’t smelled something that delicious in years. I smelled the air again and giggled. It felt like Nanna’s house. I could feel her presence, like she had walked by just a few minutes before. But that wasn't possible. Nanna died four years ago. 

For whatever reason this place felt safe, almost guarded from that evil thing. But I knew it wasn’t. Not really. But for now,  I decided to wander the beautiful streets. I peered into every window I could manage. I saw flowers in colors people could only dream of, and I saw books in more languages than a single person could speak. And there was fun clothing and delicious looking food. It was perfect. I continued to wander the street until something stopped me. There it was. That smell. Nanna’s pie. It was stronger now than before. I looked across the street and gasped at the sight. 

It was a bright yellow building with big curved windows. A set of deep turquoise doors swung open as someone entered the house. A sign hung from the awning. “Nanna’s Kitchen” I whispered to myself. The restaurant looked identical to the house Nanna lived in before she passed. It smelled the same way too. I had to go in. 

I sat at a table alone, my head facing the door so I could watch who came into the restaurant. I ordered a slice of apple pie because that's what led me through this town. “Can I take your menu?” the waiter asked.

“Umm is it okay if I hold onto it for a little longer?” I asked. The waiter nodded and walked away. I held the menu in front of my face so that there was no chance of anything coming in and seeing me. I glanced at the walls, squinting my eyes to get a better look at the restaurant's pictures. There was an old family photo on one of the walls and best restaurant awards on another. As I waited for my slice of pie, I could feel it getting closer. I gripped the menu tighter and made sure it covered my face completely. I looked over the menu, quickly darting my eyes around the room. “I’m good. I’m Safe. He isn't here.”

 I felt a gust of cool wind as the door flew open. I gripped the menu even tighter as I began to hyperventilate. I slouched lower in my chair to make my head farther down in the menu. I anxiously tapped my foot. My heart raced as I waited for it to approach me, but it never did. After what seemed like hours of waiting for it to take me I peered over the menu once more. My eyes widened as I clasped my hand over my mouth to muffle my scream. It was here. My foot tapped faster, my body was shaking. It had been looking right at me. It must have seen me. I needed to leave. I moved around in my chair, sliding my foot around to the left side of it. I glanced behind me as the kitchen door swung open. “Perfect!”

 I took a deep, shaky breath and loosened my grip on the menu. Slowly, I stood up, dropping the menu and I sprinted towards the kitchen door, screaming. I could feel him on my back as I ran to the back door. “Hey! Get out of here!” The kitchen staff demanded. I didn’t listen. Instead, I ran straight out of the door and sprinted through the beautiful town. I ran as fast as I could, looking behind me every other minute to see if it was still following me. It was so close to me. Just a few steps behind me. It was making sounds. Cold, miserable sounds. Until it stopped. 

I ran faster because it had slowed down. “Adaline!” It cried. “Adaline!” I stopped running. I turned around to face it. 

“Hu-how did you k-know my-my name?” I screamed. It didn’t say anything. “I said, how do you know my name?!” I moved closer to it, tears streaming down my face. “Say it again! Please!” I sobbed. I stepped closer to it. 

“Adaline '' The voice was soft and sweet. It sounded like an old ladies. It sounded like Nanna’s. 

I wiped away tears to clear my vision. I looked at the figure, I looked at her. She had a body, and a head, and the occasional sparks of light, that was her heart, beating. 

“Nanna” I cried. I fell to the ground and sobbed. 

“Adaline,” she said. She drifted closer to me and knelt down to my level. She brushed her hand against my face, wiping away my tears. Her hands were warm, her presence was warm. 

I leaned in closer to her and she leaned in closer to me. It felt like she was hugging me. “I miss you” I whispered. “I really, really miss you,” I repeated. 

“It’s going to be okay,” she said. 

“What’s going on?” I asked her. “I’m scared”. 

“I know, baby. I know”. Her fingertips touched my face, stopping on my new scar.

“I-I don’t know where it's from,” I whispered. 

“I do,” she said. 

I looked up at Nanna shocked. “How do you know?” I questioned.

She looked at me and shrugged. “I just do,”. 

“Where is it from?” I asked.

“The car accident,” she said. I stared at her silently, thinking back on my life. 

“Nanna?”

“Yes baby?”

“Wh- what car accident?”

“The car accident that hospitalized and killed you,”. I sat, staring at her shocked. 

“No. No! I was never in a car accident! I was never in a hospital! I! Never! Died!” 

“I know you don’t believe me. I didn’t believe it when I died either. But you need to accept it, and you need to come with me”.

“I don’t want to!” I sobbed. “I don’t want to die”.

“I know. Trust me I do, but it's the only option now”. 

“What about Mom, a-and Dad? What about Sadie and my friends? I'm not ready to leave them!”

“No one is ever ready to leave the people they love, but it's all part of life, and life is a beautiful thing that we all take for granted”. 

“I just don't want to leave them!”

“And you won’t. You never truly leave the people you love. You can be by their side every second of every day for the rest of their lives. All of them. And when they die, you will be reunited with them, and you will be able to talk and catch up on all the years and adventures you missed,”. 

“Where will I go?”

“Heaven,”. 

“Okay… and where am I now?”

“You're between heaven and Earth. It’s a different place for everyone,”. 

“Why is it different for everyone?”

“Because you create it. It's your dream. It's your final hoorah!”

I nodded my head as I processed this information. I admired my dream, the colors, the sounds, the places. “I’m ready,” I said after several minutes of silence. Nanna took my hand and held it tight. We walked down the street towards the beautiful sunset.

“Is heaven far?” 

“No,”. 

We walked down the street for another minute. 

“Is this heaven?” Nanna looked at me and nodded. 

“Heaven. Heaven is beautiful”.