She's coming! They're coming! I can smell them! A dog's echoing cheer rang out into the lavender sky as she raced across the landscape, small pieces of evaporating clouds to flying up as her paws raked across the soft ground. Angel loved running here. It gave her an exhilaration that she hadn't felt in years. When she had arrived here, she was no longer an 11 year old, brittle, wasting away, blind, near deaf dog who could barely shuffle around her house; she was back to her prime, a 3 year old puggle with short brown fur that seemed to glimmer in the golden light, her muzzle black instead of white and grey. Angel hadn't been able to run like this in years. She didn't feel any fatigue in her muscles, no pain in her joints, no limp, no struggling to breath. She could even see and hear now. She lolled her tongue as she skidded to a stop in front of the golden gates, sitting down quickly, her curled tail swishing across the clouds.

She couldn't wait to see her family again. She could smell them. She hadn't smelled them in a month. Every second, they seemed closer. She could almost see them, their faces lighting up with excitement and happiness when they saw her. They always did that when they returned to her after about a week of leaving her with a relative. She could almost hear one of her owners, Shelby, squeal with excitement as she saw Angel sitting there. Shelby always loved to see Angel. Angel had never realized it when she was on earth, but Shelby had always paid the most attention to her. She would lay on the floor with her and let Angel use her blanket when she watched images on the big black screen. She would race Angel to the kitchen to feed her. When she was busy eating or writing or laughing, she would always stop what she was doing and let Angel outside. In the cold months, she would wait at the door for Angel, to make sure she didn't sit out in the snow. Angel let out an impatient bark, her floppy ears set high up on her head, her big brown eyes wide. The gate swung open.

Angel's tail slowed to a stop as she gazed up at the short woman who stepped through. She didn't look anything like her family; none of them were blonde, like this lady. And none of them were as short as this pale arrival, not even the youngest child, Alexis.

Angel did remember this human. She had never had much of a memory back on earth, but once she had arrived in the sky, a place everyone here called Heaven, she remembered everything. This woman vaguely looked like a relative of her owners' family, that visited them once every year, but this woman was younger, looking more like she was in her 30s, rather than how Angel remembered her. Instead of thin, permed, bleach blonde hair and wrinkled, sagged skin that Angel remembered from when she last saw this woman, her hair was much longer, and was sandy brown in color, curled around the frame of her face. Her skin was smooth and glowed with a loving light, completely separate from the golden shine the atmosphere around them emitted.

The woman looked down at Angel and rubbed behind her ear, which Angel immediately melted into; it was one of her weak spots. "Oh, I remember you." The woman spoke. Her voice was gentle, with the slightest hint of an accent. "You're Kristy and the girls' dog. Angel. Oh, it's nice to see you."

As her hand pulled away, Angel leaned forward and sniffed the woman's hand. It smelled exactly like her owner, Kristy. Angel let out a small whimper, sitting back down. The woman's attention was no longer on the puggle, but on a group of people a few meters away. There were three middle-aged men, and a woman with one of her arm hooked with one of the men's. The new arrival approached them quickly, her heart fluttering.

"Och, sprawiły, że miód." The woman spoke with a thick Slavic accent.

"Czekaliśmy dziesięciolecia, Theresa." The first man spoke.

"Mamo, tato. Tęskniłem za tobą." Theresa responded slowly, speaking Polish for the first time in decades. She wrapped her arms around her parents, placing a kiss on each of their cheeks, which they returned lovingly. Her soft green eyes sparkled with moisture, but it never threatened to spill, for there were no tears in Heaven.

Then, Theresa turned to the two other men, who had gentle smiles. "Joseph." She whispered softly, wrapping her arms around her husband.

"It's been years, darling. I've been waiting forever to hold you close again." Joseph responded, his accent much heavier than his wife's. His skin was smooth and blemish-free as well, his gelled, wavy brown hair never falling as he moved. His grey-blue eyes held a joyous light. Angel's ears heightened slightly in interest; those grey-blue eyes belonged to one of her girls- Alexis, the smallest one. She had those same irises, although they were much rounder, surrounded by a bush of long eyelashes.

Joseph let go of his wife, gesturing to the young man to his left. He looked strikingly similar to Joseph, except he had Theresa's nose and green eyes. "You may not recognize our second son, Brian. He passed here decades ago as an infant. And here he has grown into a fine young man under the watchful eyes of our Lord."

"So he has." Theresa whispered, her voice barely audible, but what could be heard was pure longing and grief turned to relief and joy.

Angel let out a defeated huff, turning away from the reunited family, repositioning herself as she stared ahead at the gate. Any minute now, her family would surely arrive. They never left her on vacation for longer than a week. Why would this be any different?

But she sat there for a long time, and disappointment flooded her body. The sun began to set, and all around her, the billions of stars in the universe began to sparkle like jewels in a abyss of blackness.

"Angel, how long have you been waiting here?" A voice called behind her, and she glanced back, her eyes gleaming with a sad light. The man who addressed was tall and stocky, his reddish-brown hair beginning to thin on the front of his hairline. Sitting on the bridge of his nose were a pair of large glasses, popular to the time he was stuck in, and behind them was a pair of pale blue eyes, very similar to another one of her girls, Shelby. She let out a high pitched, short whimper at the thought of her as the man approached her, a bouncing black Labrador at his heels. She could just recall who this was from her past. It was her owner, Michael's, dad- Johnny.

"Angel, you're family won't be coming for a long time, puppy." He said, leaning down and gently stroking her head. Her body shook slightly at the words. It wasn't true. They'd come for her.

"Ang, Michael isn't even 40 yet. You're oldest girl just turned 17. If we're lucky, we will be waiting a long time for all of them to come. They deserve full lives like you and me." Johnny explained, sitting at Angel's side. The black lab bounded up to Angel, trying to get her to play, but Angel ignored her. "Duchess, down." At that, the dog ran to Johnny's side.

But I miss them. They've forgotten about me. They aren't coming. Angel explained in her head to Johnny.

Johnny's shook his head. "They miss you a lot, Angel. Alexis still hears your claws clicking on the kitchen tile. Every time Michael steps on something, he jumps back, thinking it's you. Shelby has a picture of you on her dresser, and wants to get a tattoo of your paw prints of her ankle." Johnny consoled.

Angel let out a long whimper. I miss them.

"I know, puppy. They'll come for you one day. And when they do, you'll find the truest happiness. Until then, enjoy this safe haven. And for now, you have us." He smiled, standing up. Duchess let out a reassuring bark, bounding around Angel, once again trying to get her to play.

Angel glanced one more time at the gates, before letting out a playful growl, nipping at the air next to Duchess. Duchess hightailed it away, and Angel followed her, bounding with a quick burst of energy, peace settling on her heart with assurance that one day, her owners would return.

She would be waiting.