[ 39 ] 2014

-

"You have been a good son, Robert. But just as you have been good, she has been bad. And the bad must be punished accordingly. Claire Feeney had a change of heart right before she died, but then she undid her redemption when she did all those horrible things as a spirit roaming earth."

-

One day, Robert Vega was summoned to the higher power's personal home. It came as a surprise to him, since he had learned that only the purest were to be summoned, and sometimes they were granted special favors. But he felt undeserving of that. He had tried all his life to be a good person, and he felt like he had done a decent job. But not enough that he would get to meet the higher power herself.

This all powerful being was a bright light at the top of the highest mountain in heaven, called Mount Zion. And it spoke to him in the voice of someone he had once known well, his mother. That was what he had been told once before when he was taking Catholic teachings at Sunday school. That the Lord usually manifested itself in a way that one recognized, so as to make the person feel comfortable and safe. When he made it to the top of the mountain, escorted by an angel, he humbly lowered his head in a greeting full of respect when he was shown the way to where the Lord was waiting for him. 

"I was told you wanted to talk to me, Lord." All he could see above was a bright light at the throne, as luminescent as the sun itself. He could not make out what she looked like other than the blinding light. 

The higher power spoke to him with a voice full of warmth and love, like any parent would. It immediately began explaining to him the reason for his summoning. "You have been good for many years, Robert. And you have proven that you deserve to be here in my kingdom." At that, Bobby nodded gratefully, but waited for the Lord to continue and remained silent. "But I can't help but sense that you are not entirely happy with your stay here, and I cannot help but wonder if the accommodations I have provided you with have been enough."

Bobby immediately gave a quick shake of his head. He was wise to keep his head low, as he didn't want the higher power to think he was being ungrateful for what he was about to say to her. "Everything here has just been swell, Lord. I think I've been given nearly everything I could ever want."

"But..." The Lord urged him to speak up.

"There is one thing  that would complete my happiness. But I wouldn't dare overstep my boundaries by asking you for any favors." Bobby started, not sure if he should be bold enough to express himself like that. Sure, the Lord was basically offering him the chance to receive the one thing that would complete his happiness. But he was also unsure of how that would be received by the Lord and the people he lived with in his home in the kingdom of heaven. Heaven was a place earned after all, and while everyone else had earned it, what he was about to ask was for the Lord to grant a piece of paradise to someone who hadn't earned it like the rest. Perhaps everyone else would think it unfair. 

"Name it and you shall have it, my son." Thus said the Lord. And Bobby felt encouraged. If she was willing to grant his request, then he believed he would have it.

"Its Claire." He started, and peeked up as if to find Her reaction. But he was soon reminded that he could not even see her face due to the luminescence of her presence. He gulped back nervously, but continued to explain when the Lord didn't stop him. He knew she was at least willing to listen to what he wanted to say. "I've been watching her sentence in purgatory on the tele and I really think she's learned her lesson. I think I would like to use my favor to bring her to me, if you would grant me that."

There was a bit of sadness, for both of them, as she replied to him. "You have been a good son, Robert. But just as you have been good, she has been bad. And the bad must be punished accordingly. Claire Feeney had a change of heart right before she died, but then she undid her redemption when she did all those horrible things as a spirit roaming earth." She stopped to suck in a breath, and Bobby could already feel like his request would be getting rejected. "I'm not sure if I could grant you something like that, for someone who does not deserve it."

Bobby held his head low, disappointed. It was the one thing he felt he was missing in his life. That, and the fact that he had never gotten closure after his break up with Hayley. When they broke up, she completely cut him off and accused him of having an affair with Claire. For the rest of his days, he always wanted to just sit down and have conversation with her. He wanted to talk to her and let her know that he'd always have fond memories of their relationship and that he had been loyal. He knew that she still looked at pictures of the two of them together fondly. But he was sure he'd get his chance after her passing and he was waiting patiently for that day.

But now that he had the chance to help the woman he had fallen in love with and had a son with, he wanted her back in his arms after what felt like an eternity. 

He remained silent, stewing in his own sadness for a moment, before he turned to leave. "Thank you for your time." He murmured, and decided that he would just head back home. There was no point in really staying there any longer. She had asked him what he wanted, he told her what it was, and she rejected his request. 

As he made his way towards the exit, Her voice stopped him. "Wait, my son."

He turned slowly, not really trying to get his hopes up, but there was something in the pit of his stomach that told him maybe she would grant his request.

"If it would make you happy, I suppose I could shorten her sentence." She finally told him, and Bobby almost felt as though his heart would burst with joy. Though he tried to contain it, a big smile formed on his lips.

"Thank you!" He practically shouted happily.

The Lord then gave him instructions on which path to take exactly. He was to pick Claire up the next morning and bring her back to their little plane of heaven, with all his friends and family. Bobby wasn't entirely sure how well received she would be. Especially considering the fact that Anne-Sophie would be there and she had essentially murdered her. Then there was Ashton, and she had been an accomplice in his murder. But he believed that she repented for everything she did and he hoped that everyone would understand and leave the past in the past.

-

Bobby couldn't sleep that night and got up at dawn. He had his normal morning routine--a jog around the block, a shower, breakfast. It was around eight in the morning at his little home in heaven when someone came knocking at his door. It was an Angel who said he was there to show him the way. Bobby followed him to the end of the block and a portal opened. The way heaven worked was a strange thing, but they had all gotten used to it over the years. 

For each person, or group of people, their heaven was a plane of existence, where everything manifested itself as something familiar from their life on earth. For the people Bobby lived with, it was the neighborhood they all resided in. Bobby wasn't from around there, but in that universe he lived in a version of his former home, but in that neighborhood. And it was just that, the one row of houses together. Once one would get to the end of the block, instead of seeing a new street, they'd be moved to the other end of the block as though in a loop. They never needed food, as it just appeared in their fridge when they were running low. It was like living in a utopia, and they were perfectly happy.

So seeing a portal open up to something else was strange. 

The Angel explained to Bobby that he had to follow the white cloud path, which was the way to the heavens, only he was following it out. When he reached the start of the path on the other end, he would see the fork in the road. One was white and covered with clouds, the other was just an average dirt road, and the one on the far left was engulfed in flames. After opening the door in the black hallway, one would go through and the other two paths would disappear, leaving only one, which was the one the person had earned while they were living. 

It was all confusing, but all Bobby really needed to know was that once he got to the start of the path, he'd have to go down the middle dirt road, because that one was the one that led to purgatory.

He nodded in understanding and was on his way. It took what felt like hours of walking through a path of clouds. Everything was perfect--the sun was shining, the birds were chirping. But the Angel told him not to stop by any means. Because stopping for even a minute on the path made time everywhere else run faster. A minute wasting time and standing there would equal to a year in human time. Bobby remembered hearing that story from his dad when he was a little boy. It was an old Mexican legend about a man who had been about to get married. But bumped his head somewhere and died on the way there.

When he got to heaven, he begged with St. Peter to let him return to the world of the living because he was about to get married to his beloved. Agreeing that it wasn't his time to die yet, he told the man to walk down the path of heaven and he would wake up when he got to the end. And he was told not to stop under any circumstances.

Except the man had stopped when he was mesmerized by the singing of a bird. It was several minutes before he remembered to keep walking and when he woke up, everyone was gone. The place looked dilapidated and dusty. He spotted a man sweeping close by and he asked where everyone was, and that he was there for his wedding. The man replied to him that he'd heard that story. The groom died before arriving, so the girl fell into depression and killed herself soon after.

Bobby was surprised to hear that the story was actually true.

He finally made it to the start of the path and then it was another while of walking down the dirt road that went into purgatory. From the outside gates, he could already hear the pained cries, the moaning, and the groaning of the people inside. To just hear their collective laments made his heart ache. He couldn't imagine how much pain they were in at the moment. But he consoled himself by thinking that it was temporary. If they were in purgatory, they would get out one day. 

The people in hell, on the other hand... 

At the gates, he was met with another Angel that had been informed of his arrival. It was like an insane asylum. One giant building with white sterile hallways, doors on either side of the halls. Bobby could see inside at each person's own individual punishment. After about two doors, he completely averted his eyes due to the horrible things that were going on in the rooms. It was like jail on earth too, but so many times worse.

They stopped at a door labeled Feeney, and Bobby sucked in a deep breath before going inside. As soon as he entered, he immediately recognized what her punishment was. He was met with the sight of the murder scene at Ashton's house. The calendar by the front door read March 15th, 1963. He made his way through the house slowly, seeing everything ransacked and small amounts of blood in the living room and kitchen. But he knew from his own investigation and personal experience that the real blood bath had happened in the master bedroom.

That was most likely where she had been forced to remain as her punishment. He climbed the stair slowly, and made his way towards her. When he entered the room, the scene was playing before his eyes and she was huddled in a corner, knees ot her chest and hands to her ears. Her blue eyes were closed shut and her blonde hair was all over the place, and there were also traces that she'd started yanking clumps of it out due to the stress and horror. She was so engrossed in her terror that she didn't even hear him enter the room.

But he rushed to her and placed a hand on her knee slowly. She first flinched away from his touch, but then opened her eyes and started sobbing when she heard his voice and realized it was him. He held her in his arms tightly, holding her close, and led her out of the house. 

From there, he carried her in his arms, back towards the path that led to their little place in heaven.

-

major filler guys, but i thought i would give bobby something nice even thought claire didn't really deserve it. so i hope you all like the update. i will try to write another one in a bit, if not i will post tomorrow morning.

thank you all loads for reading. 

i really appreciate all of you guys. also quick question of the day: do you all think claire deserved to be saved? tell me what you think in the comments.

have a wonderful night!

-clary