Heaven is full | Teen Ink

Heaven is full

October 3, 2023
By bridgetbucari BRONZE, Westwood, Massachusetts
bridgetbucari BRONZE, Westwood, Massachusetts
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

“Heaven is full”, that's what a booming voice coming from the end of her road said. The voice's owner looked well-fed and as if he knew it all. He looked down at the girl on the street corner, eyes darting around her setup. The three blankets and a bag perched on the cement ground, her home. 

He was someone who looked like you should listen to him, he seemed important, or maybe he just didn't look dirty, like the men Lily was used to knowing. 

Her gaze watched the man like a hawk, he had stopped before her and was beginning to kneel to meet her height.  She gripped the small knife she always kept with her between her fingers, she knew exactly his weak spots just from scanning him. 

When he was at eye level with her, he spoke softly, unlike he was before, his voice made the girl soften the grip that she had on the knife, her knuckles regaining their normal pale color. 

“Do you want something, little girl?” Said the man.

“Little girl?” Lilly shot back, “I'm almost an adult and yes I do want something.”

“I can give you anything”

“My wants are more than you know,” Lilly said to him in a defeated tone.

“Try me, ” the man said back, almost sounding sympathetic.

“A home, maybe a meal, a shower, any of those, not to sleep on the streets, but that's not something you can control, it's nothing I can control.”

“That's where you're wrong, I happen to have a place you can stay”

The girl sat up straight, tilting her head in confusion, “its a bit f*cked up to tell a homeless girl youre able to help her you know that right, human morals and all that”

The large man let out a loud laugh “I understand you may not believe everything I have to say. But if you'd just come with me, it's only 15 minutes down the road and there are more people just like you who I've helped, let me help you today.”

“And what if I do come with you? What will I owe you?”

The man shook his head slowly, “No nothing, you'll come with me, you'll meet my wife and you'll meet who I live with' 

 “So you just help people? Why?’

“As I was saying, heaven is full, it's not full. My home is part of a community. We have our spots labeled for us, if you do join us we give you a spot.”

The girl stood her frail body up, attempting to match eye level with the large man. 'What's your name’ 

‘Jonathan’ 

“Jonathan why should I trust you”

The man starts to soften his face, and his eyebrows drop down. “I had a girl your age, I wanted to give the world to her, but when I couldn't I decided to give the world to everyone else.”

Lily didn't know why she trusted the man, for all she knew he could tie her up and kill her within ten minutes, but for some reason, she went with him. She climbed to the back of his van, and sat, all of her possessions on the ground next to her. She didn't know how she was supposed to just go with some random man she met on the road, her mother always taught her not to talk to strangers. 

The drive to the man's house was bumpy, and using the word house is an understatement. It had sprawling lawns and giant buildings that she could only assume were used as apartments, there were people everywhere. There was a sense of peace and happiness that fell over Lily at that moment. 

That moment was soon over, she saw the working people's faces. Looks of despair were painted across each one of them, she could physically feel her heart drop to her stomach. He lied to me. That's all she thought. This isn't a place of happiness this can't get me into heaven, this place is actual torture. She looks at her surroundings seeing the locked car doors, her seatbelt felt restricted. The car passes through a gate that was opened by the man's loud voice, the sound of the gates slamming shut behind her made her spine tingle as she took her final look behind her. 


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