Chapter Four:

Towards the Gate

Robin continued to gaze fixedly at the horizon. There was nothing. Nothing rising up on the horizon. Where was anything? At this this place seemed somewhat right, she thought as she awkwardly took another step into the fluffy clouds.

From the corner of her eye she saw a tree. Robin recognized it, it was the same tree that was at the opening in the ground…or clouds. She sighed. Maybe this was almost too stereotypical.

And now somehow she was going in circles, even though there was nothing to get lost in.

"Excuse me, but do you need help?" Robin turned to the ground to see a little head poking up through the clouds. "You seem lost."

"Yeah, I am." But the little guy tucked his head under when she spoke. She crouched down, curious at how he did that, and heard voices.

"If we bring her to the gate, Peter will know we were out!"

"He'll probably know anyway!"

"He's gonna yell at us again."

"Yeah, and what if there's a reason she can't find it!"

"That is pretty weird that she can't find something, like, three feet in front of her face."

"But aren't we supposed to help everyone in need of it?"

"Right! Like heroes!"

This time three heads popped out. "We'll do it!"

"Okay, but I'm not trying to go to heaven." She explained. "I'm just looking for a friend of mine."

"You want to bring him back?" One asked. She nodded.

"But you can't if he's passed through the gate!" The first one she saw protested.

"That's why I'm not looking there."

"But what if he has passed through?" The third asked, looking up at her with worry.

What if he has? No. Something told her he hadn't…but if it turned out there was nothing she could do, then what would she do? "I don't think he has."

"But he only had to walk a few steps forward and he'd be there! What would stop him?"

"I would!" but he started before her…he could easily have gotten here first…

"Wait!" One of them started. "So you're trying to tell us that you're trying to stop this friend of yours from receiving new life? Anyone here has already died, lady, if you take him from here all you'll do is harm him."

"Oh yeah!" The first exclaimed. "This happened before! If you keep trying to bring him back, Darkness will try to swallow him up!"

"Do you remember the angel that guards the Tree of Life?" The last asked. "That's what happened to his living one!"

Amon could see the horror on Robin's face. "What are they taking about?"

"You're familiar with the Darkness, are you not?"

"Darkness. It was hidden away in every heart and when tragedy struck it would take control." Amon recited. "It was the first thing I heard when I found myself in the world underneath hers."

From below the children continued to speak. "Darkness. It 's hidden away in every heart and when tragedy strikes it takes control."

"Yeah! If you give in to the Darkness in your heart - if you give into the grief- it'll destroy the both of you!"

"The…Darkness in my heart?" Robin repeated, holding her hand up to her heart.

"When someone dies you are supposed to have faith that you will see them again, but in the next life."

"If you keep trying to keep them in their past life, it eats away at their soul until nothing is left."

"But what's this Darkness?" Robin demanded.

"It's the pain of losing someone, all the sadness that a person refuses to let go of." Maria spoke with the young boy. The boy turned towards her and shouted. "Hey! I'm the one telling this story!"

Robin glanced around, confused. She probably couldn't see him or her mother. Like how she couldn't see the gate that was right in front of her. "Who are you talking to?"

"Some lady that looks like you."

Maria turned to Amon. "Please, Amon. Make my daughter happy again."

Amon nodded in understanding.