The little girl sat alone on her swing...

in the back yard...
It was raining...
But nobody was calling her to come inside...
The house was filled with people...
They were all dressed in black....
And her sister was GONE...
GONE...
Mommy said that she'd gone up to heaven...
that it was very,very far away...
and so she wouldn't be able to come back...
EVER...
Mommy had been crying when she said it...
Her pretty face had been all red...
and there was black makeup smudged under her eyes...
This vision of her mommy had scared her...
Where was the happy, golden Mommy of yesterday...
Why were people in black standing around her house eating cookies ??
Why were they wearing SUNGLASSES on a rainy day ???
Why hadn't her sister said "Goodbye" ???
There was a man playing a violin next to the swing set in the backyard....
He had PINK, FUZZY slippers on his feet...
They looked EXACTLY like the ones that she had
gotten her sister last year for her birthday !!!
He was playing the song that the two girls had always loved !
She didn't know why...
But she suddenly felt like her sister wasn't far away at all...