Emily's Hope (Flash Fiction)

Emily's Hope

     It was a peaceful yet tearful Tuesday night for the Carlton family. Mathilda and Spencer Carlton went to their friend's funeral with their 6-year-old daughter, Emily.
     "Mom? Do people have to die?" Emily asked politely in a curious tone.
     Mathilda was just about to take a sip of her coffee at that moment, then she looked at her daughter in the eye "Well, it's not like we should nor we have to, honey. It is what it is, people die and we can't do anything about it. Everyone reaches that point in time." and she smiled.
     "Where do they go then, mom?" she asked her mom again.
     "Wait, why are you asking me this, Emily?"
     "Nothing, I was just...wondering," she replied while playing with her teddy bear named Gus.
     "Well, they say, after we die; we'll be going to this place called Heaven. They say it's a beautiful place, a place every one of us would want to be." Mathilda replied then smiled at her daughter again.

     Few hours have passed, the family already got home and was already about to sleep.
     "Mommy? Have you seen Gus? I can't find him anywhere." Emily shouted from her room.
     Mathilda walked in with Gus on her hand "Here, you left him in the car alone earlier." then she handed Gus to Emily.
     "Awwww, I'm so sorry Gus. Are you sad? Don't worry I'm right here..." she said to her teddy bear.
     Mathilda just smiled after what she just saw and left the room already.
     It's already 3 o'clock in the morning and Emily was woken up by her mother's excruciating voice. She was afraid to go see what's going on until a few minutes later, it stopped. She then went out of her room to go check what just happened.
     She opened her parents' room door and saw her mom and dad lying on the ground with bubbles on their mouths. It seems like the couple was poisoned during the funeral and Emily doesn't know anything about it.
     She approached her parents and poked her mom's shoulders.
     "Mom? Are you okay? What happened?" Emily asked her unconscious mother and was about to cry.
     "Did you and dad go to heaven without telling me?" and then she started to cry and hugged her parents.
     A few minutes later, she went back to her room to go get her teddy bear, Gus. And brought him to her parents' room.
     "Look at them, Gus. They left me without even telling me," she said as she let her teddy bear see what happened.
     Emily stopped crying and sighed "Okay, Gus. I'm just gonna do something and I want you to stay here for me. Watch over my parents okay? I'm sorry I won't be able to bring you anymore, especially not where I'm going." then she placed her teddy bear on the floor leaning on her parent's closet.
     She then walked towards her parents and said "I'm going after you mom, dad. Wait for me." she then walked towards the door and waved to Gus.
     She went to the staircase of their three-story house and stood on the edge. She then faced behind the staircase and closed her eyes, and wholeheartedly let herself fall. Hoping that she'll meet her parents in this place called Heaven.