A chance in heaven.
By Summer Mutawe.
Disclaimer: Bleach and all its characters are not mine. They are the property of Tite kubo by copy rights. I am only a fan that loves to read and write about these characters nothing more.
Chapter one: on the edge between reality and dreams.
"Summer! Summer! Come up here. Hurry up or you will miss it all."
I groaned. I can hear my younger sister calling at the top of her lungs most likely from the kitchen area upstairs. Lina was still calling my name repeatedly. Now, I can actually hear her footsteps slapping at the stair's wooden surface as she quickly descended to the first floor. She was persistent as usual I thought somewhat annoyed. I turned my eyes from the screen of my laptop to the entrance of the room expectantly. There, Lina stood under the frame of the door posture relaxed, her arms settled at her sides as if she was not even calling moments ago. Although she looked untouched by me ignoring her calls, her face spoke volumes. She was clearly annoyed and maybe a little ticked off as well.
"I called you so many times and here you are playing on Facebook. Hurry up or you will miss the new year."
I sighed, "Lina you can never miss the new year no matter where you where or what you were doing, unless you are dead of course."
Lina did not miss the sarcasm in my tone. She snorted, "You know exactly what I meant. Fireworks!" she exclaimed in a way of explanation. "You will miss them if you stayed coped up in this room. Let us go; you can resume whatever you were doing once all it is over."
"alright, alright. I'll be coming up right over."
"No," Lina's answer was short and sharp. "You are coming with me. Right now. " she spoke in an ordering tone.
"Ok! I got it." I relented. I moved the warm covers from a top me and left the comfort of the soft bed and billows. I quietly followed her up the stairs to the room on the top third floor. As I entered the darkened room, I immediately noticed that she had moved the huge bed from its place in the middle of the room to the side next to the window. Lina jumped effortlessly on the king sized bed next to her two children Ebrahim and Yousef who waited excitedly for the show to start. She moved closer to the two chattering boys and then looked at me, "jump in." she invited patting the empty space to her side, "it will start in…" she paused as she looked behind me at the digital clock on top of the nightstand. "three minutes." She continued.
I silently climbed on the bed and looked expectantly at the night-sky outside the room's window. The sky was clear of any clouds and the snow covered thickly the quiet landscape. I shivered as a reaction; although the air inside the room was warm thanks to the heating, but seeing the snow always made me uneasy. I was more comfortable in areas that had a warmer weather such as in San Diego where I lived for so many years. My thoughts went back to the sunny beaches and hot summers but before my thought went any further the first of the fireworks came booming loudly in the sky. Lina clapped cheerfully while the kids pointed happily at the intricate design that the fireworks created.
"It is red?" Ebrahim said questioningly. Lina nodded approvingly at her older boy's answer.
"Summer!" She said sweetly.
"yes." I answered not turning to her.
"Make a wish."
I looked at her curiously as if in the moment she finished her sentence she grown another head.
"What is it? And stop looking at me weird."
"Lina, you know that I do not believe in this nonsense. New year's wishes are only for little kids."
"yeah, yeah. It is all rubbish in your opinion." She spoke exasperated. "just make a small wish; it won't hurt you any if you did once in a while."
"Alright." I said tiredly shaking my head in disapproval.
I looked at the sky thoughtfully where the fireworks resumed exploding in various colors and designs. Even though I acted annoyed deep inside my heart I appreciated my younger sister's attention and kindness. Lina as she always had been is a sweet girl, honest and loving. Although the years and kids had matured her somewhat but you still can't miss the little cheerful child behind those fabulous deep green irises of hers. Focus! I scolded myself icily. It is only a silly little wish, just do it and get it over with. In the back of my head I kind of entertained the idea of just pretending that I made the wish but something in my heart screamed at me telling me that lying is never right no matter what the situation was. That voice in my heart urged me to go with the little request that my sister had with no complains.
"Ok! Here I go." I closed my eyelids lightly and softly, very softly I murmured something that was close to a prayer. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at my younger sister. She was smiling I noticed. I blinked few times that is before my sister beamed excitedly, "What did you wish for?"
"It is a secret." I replied smiling teasingly.
"really! Tell me!" she insisted.
"Tell me your wish first." I offered in response.
"Ok! I wished for a happy and bright year for all of us." She answered happily.
"how cliché of you." I spoke losing interest.
Lina buffed up her cheeks with air then let it go, "So what was your wish?" she challenged.
"I wished to be strong to fight temptations and be able to fix as many wrongdoings as I could." I said satisfied with myself.
"That seems alittle more thought of for someone who did not want to wish in the first place."
"I guess." I shrugged then I continued as I tried fruitlessly to muffle a yawn. "I gotta go to bed; it is already half an hour after midnight."
"But tomorrow is a holyday you can stay and have some of the new year's dessert with us."
"Sounds exciting but I still prefer to turn in earlier."
"Fine. Do as you wish." Lina sighed tiredly.
"Goodnight." I waived to her as I strode out the room.
"Goodnight." She called back.
As I settled comfortably back on my bed, I decided to turn something on. Although I was already sleepy usually faint music and sounds made me speedily and relaxingly drift faster to the land of dreams.
I looked into the video's folder on the surface of the desktop on the screen of my laptop searching for something good to put as I sleep. There was so many shows especially anime ones. I moved my cursor on one of the titles and then chose an episode. The opening music started immediately. I had already watched this show dozens of times I thought with a smirk. Yes I did way so many times for my previous roommate's comfort, but that what actually made it so perfect; I knew every sentence and phrase that they used which did not urged me to focus too much and be able to sleep peacefully. The title of the anime came on the screen decorated with a beautiful design of different shapes of reds, whites, and blues. "Bleach" I read satisfied with my choice. I put my tired head on the soft billows and closed my eyes as my body and soul surrendered to the power of sleep.
I heard a shadow of a knock in the back of my tired mind. Closing my eyes even more tightly, I wished for the knocking person, so early in the morning, to just tired up and leave. They usually did, but after few more persistent knocks, I realized that the annoying noise will never stop unless I answer then nicely ask the person at the door away to give me few more hours to sleep. I sat up in the bed my half-closed eyes still clouded with sleep. I moved my legs to the right side of the bed and prepared myself to stand, but as I did I did not feel as If I were on top of my bed at all; that is because instead of feeling the drop beside the bed, my legs were already stretched on the ground.
My sleep-muddled mind did not take in the oddity of the situation, and it still did not even after the toes of my right foot collided hard with something on the floor. I swore loudly in pain, but I resumed my way to the door absently thinking that the object could be one of the children's toys that they usually left scattered on the ground in the room. I reached the door soon enough and begrudgingly tried to reach to the doorknob. I moved my hand around looking for the knob my eyes still somewhat closed, but I still could not find it. The knocks became harder more urgent and closer apart.
I opened my eyes totally annoyed now. To my surprise, I was not faced by my normal honey colored wooden door any more, but by something really different. I rubbed at my eyes hard but the picture did not change at all.
"What the hell?" I exclaimed loud enough that I was sure that my words were carried through the shoji door. Yes dark wooden framed that also framed multiple little framed squares of white rice paper sheets that let the sun light pass lazily through shoji door. I was left in disbelieve.
The persistent knocking seized. I gulped, "This can't be good." I gulped again as if something was stuck in my throat.
"Yes! And if you won't open up soon it will be even worst." A feminine voice talked from behind the still foreign door. Even after straining my mind I did not recognize the voice; it did not belong to anyone I knew I decided for sure. I hesitantly slid the door open to be faced with a busty red-headed female with a big frown on her soft face. I studied the stranger carefully, maybe I saw her somewhere. Her slightly narrowed eyes were a deep shade of green that matched the lushes fields in spring time while her fiery waives swirled in manageable coils down her slender back. The female shifted her weight on her other side and sighed. "You are still not dressed for work." She asked as her frown deepened. "Do you know how late we are."
"B but it is Sunday." I whined childishly.
"exactly." She said sharply. "Are you inebriated or something? You know that you can't drink while you are still taking your medicine." She scolded.
"B but I did not have a drop." I stammered.
"Enough with your whining; we are getting more late by the minute." The busty stranger grasped my wrist and led me inside the room and without even a warning she started hurriedly pealing my clothes off and dressing me with new ones that she picked off a shelf.
I was too shocked with her behavior to even speak. After she was done with dressing me, she started looking franticly around the room as if searching for something very important that her life depended on it. Until that moment I did not speak or move but enough was enough; I really did not appreciate being led around as a blind dog. I had to make sense of all what is happening around me, and fast before I lose the last of my patience and start jumping around as an irritated monkey. I started to open my mouth to question the red haired female but her cheerful exclamation of "I found it." Broke all my thoughts.
"Found what?" I asked as I crossed my arms under my chest.
"Your zanpakuto of course you silly girl. How can you leave to work without it?"
"My What?" I asked stupefied.