Heaven's Postman

Curious people are interesting people. I wonder why that is. –Bill Maher

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Guide to Becoming Heaven's Postman

Number 1:

Collect letters inside red mailbox by opening with given key. Read them and know the writer's purpose in writing. You must then bring back hope to the living. At the end of day's job, you are to be automatically brought back to Heaven. Leave letters by assigned angel's desk. Only bring back if letter is free of crude language and unsuitable content.

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Chapter 1 – Curiosity Killed the Cat

Unlocking the red, wooden mailbox, Sasuke took all the paper inside and locked it with the silver key again. He shoved all but one letter in his messenger bag with a sigh. Finding a good spot in the grass and sitting on it, he carefully ripped the envelope and read…

Mom,

Are you doing well? What is it like there? It's been 7 years since you left this world, hasn't it? I can't believe that 7 years has already gone. I'm married and I have a daughter, Mom. I must be childish. Though I'm married and even after my daughter's been born it feels like I'm still playing with toys, because in your eyes, I'm always a child. I guess it can't be helped. Today, I looked through the window and waved down to my daughter who had turned six this spring. She was wearing a yellow dress and she disappeared amongst the fall leaves... all of a sudden, I wanted to talk to you. I've been missing you so very much. Sometimes, in the night, when my husband is not looking, I cry at the memory of you.

Your daughter,
Chiaki

The Next Day

Haruno Sakura walked slowly toward the red mailbox on top of the hill. Today, she had walked instead of riding her bicycle. She was not the type to rush and to worry about time. Time was just time. She slept when she wanted, she woke up when she wanted and she had her meals when she wanted. During most afternoons, she spent the time scribbling down letters. Then the next day, she would leave them in the mailbox that held legends and secret power.

Sakura clutched the letter at hand; the one that was tucked in an envelope with red cherries in front. Seeing the old, wooden thing she collected her breath and bit her lip before sliding the envelope in.

There, she thought. Now I can't get the letter back anymore and regret writing it.

Rather parched, the pink-haired girl took out a plastic bottle of water and drank from it, waiting until her belly stretched. The water dripped at her tongue as the bottle slowly ran dry. Seeing a filled water bottle pushed at her view, she took it without hesitation and drank all the water from it too.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that taking water from strangers is dangerous?" someone said from beside her.

Turning, she laid eyes on a pale boy with dark, spiky hair. His onyx, glassy eyes bore on hers. This man was the one who had given her the water bottle. His expression didn't give out anything.

"Are you a dangerous person?" she asked.

"I'm not saying I am." The boy eyed the cherry key-chain attached to her bag. Then he wandered to the mailbox beside her and inspected it for a second.

"Who are you?" Sakura questioned. He did not appear to be willing to put a letter so what would be the point of coming up here?

He did not hesitate to answer. "I'm a postman from Heaven."

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Like in fairytales?"

Instead of answering, the man took out a silver key and unlocked the back door of the mailbox, taking its insides once again and placing them in his bag. Sakura thought for a second and figured that he was stealing the letters. Even the one she had put all her heart and soul to write.

"Hey! Stop that!" She grabbed his wrists and pulled. The man was stronger and did not move an inch.

"If I don't finish reading this batch of letters by tomorrow, I'm going to be in trouble," he stated firmly.

Sakura smirked at how childish this man was; believing he was a Heaven's Postman and everything… She was not the type to believe in myths, but she sent those letters out of curiosity. Wondering how this man was going to go about this, she lessened her grip on his wrists.

"I've heard a buzz on the internet that a handsome man appears once in a while on this very hill and delivers mail to heaven," Sakura said casually, crossing her arms and pretending to scrutinize his face. If he knew her statement was a lie, he did not make a reaction toward it. "What's your name, postman?"

He studied her for a second and then resumed to sorting through the envelopes. "Sasuke… Uchiha Sasuke."

"Are you a ghost?" she asked. Then he pointed to his legs. "But you have legs! That means you're not."

Sasuke shook his head at her. "I'm an angel." He grinned.

The pink-haired girl burst out laughing until her sides hurt. Her laugh, Sasuke noticed, was a sound that stopped the birds from chirping so that they could to stare at her for a while. "If you are an angel, then fly!"

Sasuke tucked all the paper in his bag and faced her, leaning against the mailbox. "Fly?" He thought she was comical.

"Yes. Fly. All angels must know how to fly," she said, watching his actions carefully.

"All right then. I'll fly before your eyes." He shrugged. "Close your eyes. When I count to three… open them."

She stifled a laugh.

"Don't peek!"

"I won't!" Placing her palms over her eyes, she counted in whispers. "One… two… three!" When she reopened her eyes, she saw Sasuke running off down the hill like he was set free off his cage. "Oh, c'mon that's not fair!"

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Sakura eventually found Sasuke sipping coffee in a near-by coffee shop, blending in with the other costumers. She stuck out her tongue when he saw her, but inside, she could not deny that she was happy to see the man again. Sakura thought that he was… fun. Despite the fact that he was a stranger, the curious girl took a seat across from him. He gave out no emotion as he stared.

They began to chat like Sakura brought up questions about being Heaven's Postman again. She considered the thought that he had some sort of mental illness. Like that news about a man who had been killing the neighbourhood cats (for obviously no-good reason) that they always played on TV.

She asked, "What sorts of letters do you get?"

"Lots of different letters come—Letters from children who lost their parents, a letter from a wife to a husband, letter from a friend to a friend or a love letter from a lover to another, because people who are left behind believe that there is a heaven," he explained.

Sakura got a feeling he quoted it off the internet or a book. Maybe even the Bible. Those were words of a wise man. She nodded thoughtfully anyway.

"But one of the letters is seriously wicked. If that person were normal, they wouldn't write that," he went on, changing his tone, obviously quoting. "'You're so bad—dying and leaving me behind. You cheated on me! You're a terrible person! People like you just need to die!'"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Sakura looked down at her folded arms.

"I cannot send a letter like that to heaven. It's rude, first of all. Not to mention full of hate and anger."

"What a narrow minded person," she mumbled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That person is you."

She made a face. "Why would I write such a thing?" Her voice slipped an octave and she wondered if he noticed.

He took another big sip before continuing. "The envelope was decorated with red cherries. Judging from your attire," he nodded at her cherry earrings, key-chain and necklace, "you are the woman. You're name is Sakura, is it not?"

Suddenly feeling conscious, she shied away toward the back of the chair. "Maybe it is."

"Because of you, I had to hunt you down and lecture you about it. If you were any other person, I would not have been sitting here and speaking with you."

Sakura suddenly felt an explosive anger well up in her lungs and heart. Anger that she had bundled up and kept in the corner of her mind, but now that someone was telling her off about her own letter… "You think that I have so many problems that I have to be preached by an apparition? To tell you the truth, I wanted to put a bomb inside that letter! I wanted to send a bomb to Heaven! So that when my ex-boyfriend opens the letter," she smacked her fist against the table, "BOOM! He is ripped to pieces!"

Sasuke studied the ripples Sakura created on his mug of coffee while speaking. "But he's already dead."

For the first time in a while, Sakura was speechless. The dark-haired boy raised his eyebrows, waiting for a comeback.

"Waitress!" Sakura called suddenly.

Immediately the waitress who had given Sasuke his cup of coffee earlier came at request. "Yes, m'am?"

Sakura pointed to Sasuke. "Do you see a floating coffee cup there? Do I look like a crazy person talking to myself? Is there a person there?"

Blinking twice and glancing at the boy, she nodded. "Yes, there is a person there."

"He says that he is an angel from Heaven, delivering letters to the dead," she whispered to the muddled waitress.

"I suggest that you stop talking to him and leave," she replied back in a whisper. The girl bowed and shuffled away, tending to another costumer.

"You know, Sakura, I heard all that," Sasuke said casually as if he wasn't bothered their remarks.

Sakura smiled innocently, wanting to change the topic. "So what exactly are you?" She tapped her cheek with her index finger. "Ahh, I know! To make people believe you're a postman to Heaven, you wait near the mailbox and come and go pretending to be a ghost, right?"

He thought about it. Sasuke had a special key that opened up the mailbox that no other mortal had. The narrow slit on the front of the mailbox was not wide enough for a hand to reach in and grab the insides. Not even a child. He wanted to tell her this, but he decided to put some humour into his reply, just to tease her. "It's a part-time job."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Part-time… What? Are you by chance insane?"

"No. Perhaps I'm just helping people who lost their loved ones."

Cautiously, Sakura leaned forward, dropping down to a whispering tone. "So what is that? Give me more details!"

He grinned, though he knew she was joking around and teasing again. Sakura seemed to forget that he was just yelling at him two minutes earlier. "There's no more, because it's a secret..."

Sakura groaned and rested her forehead on the table in quick defeat. Curiosity got the best of her.

"Unless you're going to help. Then I'll tell you more."

Sakura peeked from behind her bangs as she looked up. "What?"

Sasuke folded his arms on the table, telling her that he was being firm and serious. "If you can, let's do it together. It's a handful to do it as one person. I'll give you a salary—two thousand yen an hour."

Her jaw dropped. Converted, that would be twenty dollars. Thinking, she did need a job instead of relying on money her mother sent her monthly from abroad. It was enough to feed and pay for the rent, but she never got to spend the money on something she wanted like clothes that were in the latest fashion or even to buy a goldfish as company in her empty house. "Two thousand yen?"

He slowly nodded.

Sakura laughed, throwing her head back. "No."

Author's Note: First chapters are always fun to write. Hehe ^^ So in this chapter, Sasuke and Sakura are introduced and they cross paths. Usually chapter stories use two or more chapters to introduce one character first. I'm doing it differently. If you did not understand any part in this chapter, feel free to message or send a review. I'll explain happily!