Gabriel was sitting on the couch, his little legs in a position I could not mimic, his hands on my knees as I told him stories of my dad. "My dad, named Vo, loved motorcycles. He had motorcycles to ride in the fields, on the roads, on uphills, and on racetracks," I leaned in close to Gabriel, "Vo would be impressed with your bicycle riding; you are so fast!" Gabriel listened thoughtfully. He asked, "Where is Vo?" I smiled into Gabriel's eyes; "Vo died long before you were born."
A little frown on his brow, "Why did he die?" he asked.
"He died because he was old." as soon as I uttered those words, his lip quivered as if his heart knew the depth of life, his heart, you could say, was on his sleeve.
I knew how Gabriel looked at me; he was thinking, "Do you think Vavie is old?"
With a child's honesty, he solemnly said, "Yes. Why aren't you dead?"
Looking into his sweet baby face, I grinned,
"Because it isn't my time yet. I am here, and hopefully,
I won't die so we can play for a long time."
His frown softened.
Chelsea added, "Do you remember what Mana (his other grandmother) said about people who die?"
"Yes, they go to heaven."
"Do you know heaven is?" I asked.
"No, it is in the sky. Do you know?"
"I want to believe it is love, a big happy love, love that holds us all together forever."
And with that, he said, "Come play with me."
And I did.
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