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When Himeko opens her eyes it takes a few moments to adjust to the brightness. Wispy clouds stretch through the sky to kiss snow-tipped peaks. Conifers, rich in their greenness, huddle together just before the ground turns steep. She turns in place and sees fluffy grass and a plain unpaved road.
And a cow.
“That’s Matilda,” a woman says as she rides towards her on a short chestnut bay, barely thirteen hands high. She speaks German-accented English and looks awfully familiar.
“You’re Kiana’s mom,” Himeko breathes.
Cecilia smiles, dismounts, and hugs her. “I am. But so are you. You have my eternal gratitude for being there for her when I could not be.”
They walk up the road, horse and cow in tow, towards a pretty little house that blends in with the rolling grassland around it.
“Is this heaven?” Himeko asks.
“I think so,” Cecilia says. “If it’s hell, it’s not as bad as it was cracked up to be.”
“Heaven looks an awful lot like the Austrian Alps.”
Cecilia barks a laugh. “It’s not all like this.” She points down the road. “Two kilometers and you’ll reach a seaside city. They keep changing the name every few months, but the seafood is always good.”
“We’re up in the mountains.”
“This world, whatever it is, has very creative ideas about how terrain is formed. As for why I’m here...” She allows herself a deep breath. “I fell in love with my husband’s homeland. I think maybe this is my way of being close to him, close to my family.”
“Then why am I here? No offence, this is a beautiful place, but I have no attachment to these mountains.”
“You’re here because I wanted to be the one to welcome you here. Not everyone has an easy time adjusting to being dead. It goes better with a friend.