We walked for a long time along the path between the flower fields, following Grandma Bongsun.
Siwoo walked two or three steps behind Grandma. She never once looked back. As if she knew he was following her—or as if it didn’t matter whether he followed or not. Somehow, that made things easier. For Siwoo, it was easier to follow behind someone who simply walked at their own pace than someone who kept telling him to hurry.
Flowers bloomed endlessly on both sides of the path. The only flowers Siwoo had seen outside the hospital window were cherry blossoms, but here, flowers he didn’t even know the names of stood in rows by color. Red ones, yellow ones, purple ones. Whenever the wind blew, petals fluttered down onto the path. As he walked, Siwoo carefully watched his feet so he wouldn’t step on them.
“We’re here.”
Grandma stopped. Siwoo stopped too.
There was a house among the flower fields. It wasn’t big. It had the low roof you might see in the countryside and a wooden door. Laundry hung in the yard, and several pairs of rubber slippers sat neatly beneath the eaves.
“Is this your house, Grandma?”
Siwoo asked in a small voice. It was the second question he had asked Grandma since coming to Heaven.
“It’s my house, too, and it’s the house of everyone who lives here. The people who’ve just arrived stay here together.”
Grandma opened the door. Warm air flowed out from inside. It smelled like food. Something like doenjang stew. Without realizing it, Siwoo flared his nostrils.
“Oh, Bongsun, you’re back?”
A voice came from inside. A plump Auntie poked her head out from the kitchen. She wore an apron and held a ladle in one hand.
“Yeah. I brought one new family member.”
When Grandma stepped aside, Auntie’s eyes landed on Siwoo. Her expression wavered for a moment. She had the look of someone who knew what it meant for such a young child to have come all the way here. But Auntie quickly smiled.
“Oh my, oh my. I’ve never seen such a handsome new family member.”
Siwoo lowered his head. He couldn’t look Auntie in the eyes. It had been the same at the hospital. Whenever a nurse he’d never seen before spoke to him, he hid behind Mom. But Mom wasn’t here now. Siwoo took half a step back behind Grandma.
Grandma saw it but said nothing. She simply slipped off her rubber slippers and went inside.
“Is the food ready?” “Almost. I didn’t realize you’d be gone so long after you went out.” “I went over to the Bridge.” “Oh, again? You’re always going there.”
Auntie clicked her tongue. Instead of answering, Grandma went into the kitchen and opened the cupboard. She began taking out bowls. One, two, three. Three, including Siwoo’s.
Siwoo stood by the door. He didn’t know whether he should go in. He knew he had to take off his shoes. He changed into slippers at the hospital, too. But his feet wouldn’t move.
“Take off your shoes and come in. Let’s eat.”
Grandma spoke from the kitchen without even looking at Siwoo. She just kept serving rice into the bowls.
Siwoo slowly took off his shoes. His bare feet touched the wooden floor. It was warm. The hospital floor had always been cold.
A meal was set in the small room beside the kitchen. Doenjang stew, white rice, yellow rolled omelet, and kimchi. It was different from what Siwoo had eaten at the hospital. The hospital food was always lukewarm and tasteless. Here, steam curled up from the food.
“Eat plenty. No matter how much you eat here, it won’t upset your stomach.”
Auntie said this as she set a spoon in front of Siwoo. Siwoo picked it up. He scooped up a spoonful of doenjang stew and put it in his mouth.
It was hot. And delicious. It tasted like the doenjang stew Mom used to make. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was similar. Siwoo’s hand stopped. He sat still for a long time with the spoon in his hand.
Grandma looked at Siwoo. She didn’t say anything. She simply ate her own meal.
With his head lowered, Siwoo ate. Slowly. One spoonful at a time. His eyes grew hot, but he didn’t cry.
After they finished eating, Grandma took Siwoo to the room at the end of the hallway.
“This is your room.”
Grandma opened the door. Siwoo stood in front of it, peering inside, and stopped.
It was his robot blanket. The blanket with a white robot on a blue background. A container of colored pencils sat on the little desk, and a picture of a dinosaur Siwoo had drawn was stuck to the wall. Beside the window sat the teddy bear Mom had bought him.
It was Siwoo’s room. The room he had used at home before he went to the hospital.
“…But this is my room.”
Siwoo spoke in a small voice. Leaning against the doorframe, Grandma answered.
“That’s the kind of place this is. Wherever you feel comfortable becomes your room.”
Siwoo slowly walked into the room. He picked up the teddy bear. It was real. Even the slight wear on one ear was exactly the same. Even the spot where its fur had clumped together after Mom put it in the washing machine.
Siwoo hugged the teddy bear and sat down on the blanket. It smelled like sunlight. Like laundry hung out in the yard. It smelled just like the blankets did after Mom washed them.
“Get a good night’s sleep. You’re tired, aren’t you?”
Siwoo nodded. He was tired. It was the first time he had been tired even though nothing hurt. At the hospital, he was always tired because he was sick, but now he was just tired. He had never walked this much before.
“Grandma’s in the next room. Call me if you get scared.”
As Grandma was about to leave, Siwoo spoke.
“…Grandma.” “Yes?” “Can I go to the Lake of Waiting tomorrow?”
Grandma stopped at the door. Without turning around, she answered.
“Of course you can.” “…Really?” “Yes. Really. I’ll take you there.”
Siwoo hugged the teddy bear tight and pulled the blanket up to his chin. The robot blanket was light and warm.
The flower fields were visible outside the window. Petals fluttered in the wind. Somewhere, a bird called.
Siwoo closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, he would be able to see Mom.
Holding on to that thought, Siwoo fell asleep. It was his first sleep in Heaven.