Getting To Heaven

Part One

“Excuse me” there is no response from the man so the little girl gives him a poke into his side and he stirs a little.
“Yes I know I know I’ll move, don’t sleep in the park it’s a public place” the man begins to sit up.
“Sorry?” He opens his eyes and sees a little girl standing before him.
“Hello?” the man says to the little girl who smiles back at him with a massive grin.
“Do you know how to get to heaven?”
“What?” he asks
“Do you know how to heaven?” she turns her head slightly.
“Look kid can’t you see I'm sleepin. That is my heaven I don’t have to put up with this shit of a world when I'm asleep”
“Sleeping?” She questions “But I sleep every night and I never see”
“Look I don’t have the answers go pester someone else” The little girl does not move for a second and just stares but then gets bored turns and walks off down the field and out of the park.

Later on the little girl is back at her house sat in her chair ready for dinner
“Grandma...”
“Yes” the Grandma replies looking up from her dinner and gives the young girl a smile.
“Why is mummy still sleeping for so long?”
“Sleeping mummy isn’t sleeping dear she’s in heaven” The young girl looks back at her Grandma confused for a while thinking about this and then responds with
“But heaven is sleeping” Even as she says it the little girl looks unconvinced even to herself. The Grandma puts down her knife and fork and looks across the table and says.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Somebody... he wasn’t very nice” she turns her nose up and takes a fork of peas but most don’t even reach her mouth so she picks up the spoon and uses that instead.
“Well, you know the rule don’t talk to strangers because they are very nasty people”
“Yes Grandma” She pauses “sorry”
“That’s alright now eat up your dinner and we will think of something to do afterwards”

After a few games of hide and seek the little girls Grandma is now fast asleep in her chair and Sophie creeps past the living room door and runs out of the house down the garden path and out of the gate. She pulls the zip on her coat further up and walks on. A couple of teenagers are all sat in their uniform on the street corner and she slowly walks up to them.
“Do you know how to get to heaven?” None of them respond so she carries on talking. “Because he said sleeping was heaven but nothing happened last night, I never saw mu”
“What do you want?”One of the girls snaps and turns around to look at the little girl.
“I was asking if you knew how to get to heaven” Sophie looks up towards the girl.
“No such thing” she turns her head and spits down onto the pavement. Sophie looks at it disgusted for a while and then says
“There is, Grandma told me” Sophie looks confused at the young girl.
“Grandmas wrong kid there’s no such thing”
“But that’s where mummy is” All the teenagers look at each other in shock.
“Oh yeah sorry course there is” one of the girls speaks out from the back.
“So you know how to get there?” Sophie smiles at them all.
“No. Do you?” The first girl asks.
“No ... he said sleeping was heaven but it’s not or I would made it there by now my bedtimes at 7” The first girl bends down to Sophie’s level and says
“Sorry I don’t know where it is either” she looks around and can’t see any adults “Where’s your Grandma now?”
“Asleep in her chair so I thought I would come looking for mummy because Grandma doesn’t seem bothered and wont take me to heaven but I'm going to find it. Trust me I will” She smiles at them all full of pride and confidence and then shrugs her shoulders and walks off the way she came.
“Wait where is your house?” the girl calls out and runs over to Sophie.
“Just over there” Sophie points down the road.
“Okay well I will walk you there” She takes Sophie’s hand and walks in the direction she pointed.
“What's your name?”
“Sophie what’s yours?”
“Chantelle” Sophie smiles holds tightly onto the older girls wrist as she walks her back home.

“Sophie I told you, we can’t go to heaven and you must stop asking people where it is”
“But she’s my teacher she’s meant to know how to get there she knows everything” Sophie looks upset for a while and looks down at her plate and then looks up and says “I miss mummy and I want to see her” She looks back up at her Grandma. Her Grandma leans over and holds onto her hands.
“And I know she wants to see you, but we can’t get to heaven yet. We just can’t right now you will see her one day”
“When?” Sophie sighs.
“I don’t know but not any time soon” She gives Sophie’s hands a squeeze and lets go.
“Doesn’t she want to come back, she said she was going to the shop”
“Sophie please no more of this”
“If this is a game she better know it’s the worstest one ever. You’re meant to take it in turns to hide” She walks off towards the dog in the garden.
“Molly can you take me to heaven” The dog stares at her and barks “didn’t think so”.

“HEY... HEAVEN KID!” Sophie turns around. “What are doing it’s not safe at the park this time of night” Sophie looks at him a little funny.
“So did you go to heaven last night, because I tried sleeping for ages and I never got there?”
“No me neither kid. Couldn’t sleep for hours. He takes out a cigarette and lights it.
“Grandma doesn’t like them, she always tuts when she sees someone with one” Sophie points to the cigarette.
“Well your grandmas right they are nasty things” Sophie takes a seat next to him and the tramp looks a little uneasy and puts the cigarette out.
“Where’s your house?” Sophie asks swinging her legs back and forth on the bench.
“I don’t have a house”
“Why?”
“Haven’t for a long time and doubt I ever will again”
“Where’s your mummy?”
“Haven’t seen her in a long time either”
“Maybe she’s with my mum”
“Yeah, you’re probably right” he gives Sophie a cheeky wink.
“Don’t you get cold out here?”
“A little” He laughs, theres an awkward silence for a while then Sohpie says,
“Wanna play tag”
“No I'm alright” He looks around awkwardly “You better be getting back soon your Grandma will worry”
“She will be asleep for hours and hours” she reaches forward and tags his arm “IT”
“Pardon”
“Your it!” She starts to run off and the tramp rolls his eyes but he gets up slowly stretches and looks at the little girl laughing in the park and chases after her. Then after a few minutes of playing around he screams
“Boogie monsters going to get you” Sophie screams and runs laughing at the same time and trips over into the mud. “Ooo careful" the tramp says and picks her up. Meanwhile across the park the teenagers from the other night run over screaming.
“OI get away from her you dirty tramp!” Sophie looks over and asks
“What do you thinks wrong with them” the tramp stands back and moves away.
“Come here. SOPHIE, come here” She looks over confused at the tramp. The teenagers run over and the teenager girl called Chantelle from last night grabs her arm and puts her behind her back.
“Pick on someone else your own size dick” she spits on the floor. “Touch her again and there will be trouble” She shouts. “Let’s go... we taking you home kid”

The door knocks and the Sophies Grandma stirs from her sleep and gets up to answer it. She opens the door to see a girl from the town called Chantelle with Sophie holding her hand covered in mud.
“SOPHIE! What are you doing outside what has happened to you” she looks at her muddy coat.
Chantelle looks down at Sophie for a while and sees her put her head to the floor so she answers for her, “We found her in the park that dirty tramp was with her, lucky we arrived looked like he pushed her in the dirt” she points at the coat again.
“He didn’t we were playing” Sophie speaks up and looks from Chantelle and her Grandma several times.
“Get in Sophie” her Grandma snaps.
“Thank you Chantelle for bringing her back” Sophie walks in and stands behind her grandma and begins to take her coat off. “How is your mum?”
“She’s alright I guess, misses dad but she’s alright, catch you later Mrs Thorn” Sophie’s Grandma closes the door and turns around to see her walking up the stairs.
“SOPHIE” she screams, Sophie jumps and turns around “How did you get out?” Sophie looks down at her feet.
“I was just looking for mummy and I was only playing when she went and brought me back...she went crazy I only fell over”
“playing with whom?”
“A man in the park”
“Sophie you know we don’t talk to strangers” Grandma walks over to the stairs climbs a couple sits down next to where Sophie stands and sits her on her lap. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you as well so please don’t do that again” She grips tightly onto Sophie and begins to rock her.

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I hope you all enjoyed part One of Two of my new fictional story called How To Heaven. The story idea came a while ago when myself and director Sam Milletti were talking about film ideas and it was one we spoke about and I went a wrote it very rough but didn't think about it for a while but have just gone back and re-written it properly. So again hope you all enjoyed it and keep looking for Part Two and find out if Sophie gets to heaven.

Text & Image (from my series called Homeless) Copyright Michael Sweeeney Photography