Heaven's Postman

Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. –Eskimo proverb quote

Chapter 11 – Openings of Heaven

Sakura ran thoughtlessly through the road, dodging a car and ignoring the angry honks and stares she got from drivers. Running and grabbing her umbrella first was not in her head. Instead she kept thinking of that familiar face that she sought to find now.

The first place where her feet dragged her was the hill with the legendary red mailbox. It was the first place they had met and crossed fate. By the time she got there, Sakura was soaking wet. Her clothes felt heavy and her hair clung uneasily to her face. Her breathing came shallow and quick.

She staggered and looked around her, trying to find any traces that would indicate Sasuke was in the field. It was a mistake to dismiss him from her life. Sakura shouted his name over and over despite the sore throat that began building because of the cold rain. She stumbled and fell, thought she kept getting back up again like a force on the ground pushed her up.

Quickly thinking again, Sakura took the bus to the lighthouse. The bus driver didn't bother asking her why she carried no umbrella. She plopped herself down on to a seat, gaining her breath back. Fifteen minutes of waiting and sitting didn't do for her. Sakura had to be there ASAP.

"Misuta, can you please drive faster?" she told the driver.

He nodded without a second thought. "Yes, I apologize." The driver had noticed the empty space next to the girl. It was the first time she rode the bus without the boy he saw always.

When the bus stopped, she flew out the door and muttered a thank you. Sakura ran through the slippery concrete path, reaching out to the lighthouse with one arm in front of her. It seemed so far away from her reach. Throwing the door open, she ran down the stairs, skipping steps by two…

Sakura was surprised to realize she broke down to a cry when she saw the empty room. There was no familiar face to greet her. With the last of her strength, she walked, staggering across the room and using the wall for support. She had never run so fast in her life. Looking at the photos attached to the net on the wall, Sakura discovered that Sasuke was missing from photos. In each one, it was only Sakura and the empty space next to her. It was like he had vanished from the face of the earth.

She laid eyes on the piece of white, folded paper on the wooden table. Her hands shook as she reached out and grabbed it. Unfolding it, she read the letter.

Sakura,

Thank you for spending the last few days with me. I'm sorry. The time I spent with you, it was fun. But now I have to leave all this behind. I told you, didn't I? That it'll be the end if I am caught lying. Someone caught me and ordered that I'd be back in Heaven by the end of today. I still had three days left in the world of the living. Sakura, I didn't get a chance to tell you about myself.

I was really pathetic. Before I was brought to the ICU, I started my own business and became wealthy. Without any hesitation, I did anything I wanted. Back then, I thought life was a game. Soon, everything went wrong. I lost all friendships and relationships I had—friends, co-workers and even my family. Money was the most important thing to me back then. I thought the whole world revolved around me and I ignored others who I thought was below my status. I get distressed by it when I think about it now.

Then I got into an accident. While driving, my tire blew up on the highway and my car flipped when I lost control. I landed on a ditch when I passed out. It was then that I was brought to the ICU.

When I had found this job as Heaven's Postman, I felt happy knowing that I still could be worth something despite the faults I did. After I met you, my perspective about life completely changed. It felt like I had found something special. This is the truth. The time I spent with you was the best thing that had ever happened to me, honestly.

I was thinking, instead of delivering other people's letters, I should write a personal one. I worked hard and put thought into writing this letter. It's the first time I have ever done something like this. Sakura, I am very thankful. I haven't fully confessed my feelings towards you, but it doesn't matter now, does it?

Good bye.

Sakura collapsed on the floor with her back against the wall as she cried. Everything around her was disappearing—the kettle, mugs, food and plates were disappearing from the table that was now bare. The colourful post-it notes on the wall, the lamp and clock went as well. The writings Sasuke wrote on the chalkboard evaporated into the air. They were all a product of her imagination as she hoped there would be some evidence Sasuke was still there. Now that she knew he was gone, it all simply disappeared from her vision.

She looked up at the ceiling, thinking that she had lost the most precious person in her life.

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Sasuke laid his bag of letters on the glass table in front of the angel who bore white-feathered wings. He was back in the office where the angel in the while suit before him gave him orders. There was a map behind him of the world and clocks above it with different time periods from places like Ottawa, London and Hong Kong.

"I'm very disappointed with you, Sasuke," the angel said calmly. There was a hint of disappointment in his flawless face.

"I apologize," he replied sincerely. He wondered what would become of him now.

"Now your work is done. But I am also glad because you did a great job in your ten days in Earth despite not completing your duty for fourteen days."

Sasuke met his eyes in confusion. How could he be saying that knowing that he was caught lying to the living? It was strictly laid out as a rule to those who work as Heaven's Postman.

"We've been very thankful of you working. You helped a lot of people as well," he said, giving him praise.

"No." Sasuke shook his head, denying it. "I've realized that lying isn't a way to fix things… so I did what I had to do."

"We have forgiven you a long time ago, Sasuke." His blue eyes softened, reassuring him. "You've helped Sakura become bright and positive."

He swallowed. "Hn." Hearing her name struck a nerve.

The angel tucked the bag under his desk. "Because of the remarkable job you've done, is there something you want as a reward?"

Sasuke thought about the word "reward." He thought that he had everything he wanted as a soul. Wait a second… He shook his head and told himself he was lying. He wanted Sakura—the girl that had brought meaning to his life. The girl he was recklessly in love with.

"You may go back as a human."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, muddled, and cocked his head to the side. "Wh-What? I thought you said—"

"I know what your heart is telling you. You do too. Since your body is still in the ICU, you may go back," the angel said, smiling and flashing his angelic dimples.

Sasuke exhaled, feeling a sudden sense of joy overwhelm him. Maybe he was dreaming. Could souls dream? "Th-Thank you." He bowed from his waist to his head.

The angel nodded. "Use that door," he said, gesturing to one of the many doors in his office.

Sasuke hesitated toward the door, thoughtful about what would happen after he got back to his body in the hospital. He turned toward the angel who was filling out a piece of paper. "Excuse me?"

"Yes?" He looked up.

"What about my memory of ten days?"

"It will be your dream," the angel said, looking back down at his paperwork.

"But… I'm the type to forget my dreams," he explained.

"I am not responsible for that."

"What about Sakura? She was with me the whole time. What about her memory?" he questioned next.

The angel was irritated a bit. Usually, a soul would be more than happy to be sent back to Earth and would practically run through the door like there was a bomb in the room. Sasuke in particular, was only making himself worry. "You will find out when you get there, won't you?"

"Right."

Sasuke opened and door and closed it behind him. He looked around the dome-shaped hallway that was twice as huge as a football field. Glass was arced over the hallway, making the clean, sparkling lake, white buildings, greenery and birds behind it visible. Sasuke had imagined Heaven to be packed with clouds and singing angels, not huge buildings that didn't compare beauty with those in Earth.

He kept walking forward, trying to reach the end of his walk and into a portal. He figured that this hallway was the connection between your body and Heaven. Many of souls were coming from the other end, they had all recently died. Sasuke paused for a while to look at all the women, men and children around him that had died.

Sasuke was surprised to see Shinchi, Kumiko's father-in-law. He then, had died recently as well. Shinchi's face grew a huge smile when his deceased wife met up with him. They both exchanged lengthy embraces. Sasuke's heart warmed at the scene.

Continuing, he closed his eyes when he saw the bright light ahead. In an instant, he was back inside his body.

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Nurse Aya read over Uchiha Sasuke's files. She glanced at his body that was connected to a bunch of tubes and wires for a second and jotted down that Uchiha Sasuke remains unmoving in day ten since hospitalization. A sudden beeping sound made her heart jump through her rib cage. Looking at the heart monitor, the man in bed's heart rate was slowly returning to a living human's heart rate. Nurse Aya shook her head, clearing her jumbled thoughts.

"Doctor! Doctor!" she shouted, running down the hall. She slipped once, but bounded right back up again. "It's Uchiha Sasuke! He's breathing again!" she yelled, waving her arms in the air.

"No way!" another nurse expressed.

"This is a miracle!"

"Get the doctor! Phone his parents!"

Epilogue

One month later…

Haruno Sakura sat backand studied her work, debating whether the shapes and patterns on her postcard design should be colourful or black and white. Sakura was hired as an Illustrator—the one that designed postcard's exterior. Because she was new to the business, her boss treated her like a servant and often told her to drop off deliveries to the Post Office. Nevertheless, Sakura loved her job. She liked the thought that someone in the future would use an envelope designed by her and would send it to a loved one, hoping to give joy even at first glance with the help of her pictures.

"Sakura, can you take this down to the Post Office?"

Looking up, she saw his fat-bellied boss with a stack of rectangular boxes in his arms. He placed them in front of her. She knew it was a rhetorical question. Sakura smiled, but mentally sighed. "Of course."

"Thanks," he said, winking. "I'll see you later."

As the man strolled away, Sakura shrugged on her coat and collected the boxes. She loaded them in her car's back seat (a car lent to her by her work company) and drove swiftly through the roads until she had reached the town's Post Office.

Some kind gentle-man had opened the door for her when he had seen the pile of boxes she carried, making both her hands useless for other things. Sakura gave him a thank you and exhaled as she set the boxes to balance on the edge of a tall table. The pinkette only let go of the boxes for a second to get a number, when they had tumbled over on the floor.

The conversations of people around her hang mid-sentence as they turned to stare. She wondered why she was so clumsy as she bent over to collect them again. Suddenly self-conscious, she hid her face with her hair. Sakura wished someone would actually help her, rather than to stare.

Pale hands quickly picked up the rest of them.

"Thank you," she nodded as she grabbed the boxes from the person's arms.

The man smiled crookedly and proceeded to speaking with one of the costumer service workers. Sakura froze with her jaw hanging open. "He looks familiar," she thought. "Where…"

Events a month ago suddenly ran through her head. There was friendship, trust, heartbreak and lies. She had clearly remembered that everything had ended with disappearance. The man who was before her was none other than Uchiha Sasuke, expect with more colour to his skin and light in his eyes. Sakura shook her head, refusing to believe that the ghost she had seen before had come back in human form.

"A ghost… maybe?" she asked herself aloud.

"I'm here to check over something…" he muttered to the man behind the desk.

If he was a ghost, the costumer service worker wouldn't have said something back to him. If he was a ghost, the young women around him wouldn't have chatted amongst each other, constantly eyeing the handsome man. If he was a ghost, she wouldn't be seeing him right now.

"Did you get your ticket number?"

Zooming back to reality, Sakura realized he was speaking to her. She quickly closed her mouth and looked at his familiar onyx eyes. "I forgot," she muttered, nervously scratching the back of her head.

He walked away to retrieve a ticket number from a front desk. Then he handed it to her. When she didn't take it, he asked "Do you want me to hold on to it?"

She shook her head again. "Uhh… No, that's all right," she answered, taking it this time. She looked at the piece of paper. The number fifty-six was printed on it.

"Number forty-nine. Number forty-nine, thank you," someone said over the intercom. Seven people were ahead of her.

The man took a sharp turn around her and walked away without another word. Sakura wondered if he had forgotten about her. Something knotted in her chest. Part of her wanted to forget him, but she had always risen above it.

Sakura thoughtlessly ran out the door after a moment, leaving the boxes in the building alone. Her eyes scanned the street but did not see him again. He couldn't have gotten far, she thought. Sakura knew it was a wise decision to avoid searching all the departments and stores around the post office to find him. Sighing, she walked back in the building, her body feeling numb.

She was imagining things again. That was a normal procedure that happened over the past month. Sakura remembered various humiliating moments when she would suddenly imagine Sasuke's face in a different man's body…

"I think you almost forgot those boxes you brought in."

She looked up too quickly to seem nonchalant. The man grinned at her and then gestured to the boxes up front with his chin. Instead of looking away, she gawked at him again, wondering if he was an apparition. Slowly, she approached him. He stood without reacting as if he was remaining still to survive.

"Have we… met before?" he questioned, searching her emerald eyes.

She blinked, wondering if he was starting to remember her now. "Yes… but where?"

"In the plains, in my dreams. A mailbox in the grass…"

"On a hill," she added.

"In the bus."

"The lighthouse's basement."

"Kazuma restaurant where we met a man," he said.

"Coffee shop," they both said simultaneously.

He blinked at her in surprise and she giggled softly. He realized it was the same sound that he was longing for since he recovered from his injuries. Sakura touched his coat carefully as if it was priceless. Stepping forward, she hesitated before she embraced him—wrapping her arms around his back.

Sasuke… Sasuke was alive and he wasn't dead and she was hugging him at that very moment. She considered the events that took place a month ago was a long dream that told her that she was fated with a man named Uchiha Sasuke.

He was still at first but after a while, he dug out his hands from his pockets and embraced her around her shoulders. Looking around, he noticed that everyone had turned to watch the heart-warming scene. "This is the post office, Sakura. Everyone's looking."

She ignored his worries. His presence was all she cared about. He even remembered her name. "Sasuke… You're not dead?"

Sakura felt him smile. "I'm back from the dead."

The pinkette buried her face in his chest, treasuring the moment. She giggled again in happiness.

Sakura's POV

After that, Sasuke became a real postman and I was noticed as a talented illustrator after my boss saw my design of a red mailbox in a grassy hill. It would be really great to have someone use the postcard that I designed. That's what I thought of when I picked my career. I knew that the time I spent with Sasuke opened my heart to the world and I realized my surroundings. I feel like I have gone through every experience that a person could—love, heartbreak, betrayal, sorrow…

Every so often, Sasuke had to try to resist opening the mail he delivers. He reunited with his friends and family and apologized. He received forgiveness in return. He donated some of his money to charity and treated his friend and family well.

So this is where our story has come to an end… If a man you do not know stops and asks "Have we met before?" or if he says "You are the heroine to my never-ending dream" on the street, that person might just be your destiny.

Author's Notes: So that was it guys! It feels great to know that I've completed a story :) Now, I want plenty of reviews to pour in! What was your overall impression? Good ending. Bad ending. Could I have put more effort into this or did I warm your hearts? I'll take anything! Thanks for reading, guys and hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I loved writing it.

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