You could hear the ocean waves collide with the sand, as if they longed for each other. As the waves gently touched the shore I felt the dewy grass touching my back feathers, companied with a soft wind that I could feel on my beak. I smell the ocean, the grass, the moisture in the air, but I’m scared to open my eyes. 

“Nieves…Nieves, wake up…” a strange voice whispered.

That voice sounds like yours, reminding me of the time you sang to me when you would cradle me in your hands,  When you would ever so softly caress the top of my small head with your fingertips. Slowly passing your fingertips by every feather.

“No, I don’t want to,” I responded to the strange voice.

“Nieves, what’s been done has been done. The past can’t be rewritten no matter how much we want it to,” the strange voice said.

That voice didn’t sound like yours anymore, it was the voice of a man. It has such a mellow tone, with just the sound of his voice my fear melted away. He placed his hand lightly on my chest, it was warm and delicate like your hands. But you weren’t here, in this unknown place I find myself in.

“Wh-Where are we?” I asked.

The strange man removed his hand from my chest, “This place, this is where sadness and pain doesn’t exist. Where you’ll never go hungry, where you’ll never feel fear, only joy and happiness.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nieves… This is Nirvana, paradise, the Garden of Eden, life after death.”

“Wha-What? What do you mean? I-I’m… I’m dead?”

“Open your eyes Nieves, and you’ll see,” the strange man said.

I slowly opened my eyes, as my eyes were slowly blinded by the light, as if I had my eyes shut for days. I see a blue cloudless sky, as if I was staring at a calm waveless ocean. I could feel more of the grassy dew as I lay on my back, the scent of the ocean grew stronger. I gradually turned my head to the stranger man, I needed to know who he was and if what he said was true. Our eyes locked onto each other, all I could see was an empty abyss in place of eyes. He looked like what ancient scriptures described him as, a skeleton cloaked in a black veil and with a large scythe in one hand. He was on one knee, using his scythe as a support, he placed his hand back on my chest.

“It’s time to go little one, I’ll take you to a place where you can fly freely with your kind and others,” Death said.

“How? How can your hand be so warm?” I asked.

Death chuckled as he stood up and answered, “I’m not as scary as living beings make me to be. This other world is just a second beginning.”

I wiggled a bit as I flipped myself over on my feet. My back all the way to my tail feathers were wet because of the grass. I turned around to the direction Death was facing, we were on a small cliff next to a beach. I looked out into the distance and the ocean seemed to be never ending. I looked up and noticed there was no Sun, no Moon, no stars, just an endless cloudless blue sky. I turned to face Death and just like the humans I was fairly small, only reaching midway of his shins. 

I looked up at Death and asked, “So what now?”

“I’m going to guide you to a place where there are other birds like yourself flying free, where you’ll wait for her,” Death said.

“Her? You mean-”

“Yes, your human companion, Rea. You’ll wait with the rest of the birds of Heaven, and once you are reunited with your human companion you may cross the Rainbow Bridge together in order to enter true paradise,” Death responded.

Rea, we’ll be reunited once again. So I may sing to you as you sang to me once again. So you can hold me in your arms again. Soon we’ll meet again so I can tell you how much I’ve missed you my dear Rea.

“Let’s go, Nieves, the other birds can’t wait to meet you,” Death said.

Death started walking in the opposite direction of the  ocean, as I took one last glance at the endless ocean I turned around and followed him. Soon I’ll see you again, Rea, as promised.