Where do we go after - Taniyn Quest

"Where do we go after?" A question so blunt could only be asked by a child. Amelia was just that, although she often seemed wise beyond her years. It was in her eyes - big and brown, with an unflinching gaze. Fatima couldn't lie to Amelia. No one could. She always knew when you did, and you'd always feel terrible afterwards. So Fatima told the truth. "I don't know." Amelia pondered this for a few moments. She was asking because she was about to die. Dozens of doctors and healers had passed through her village to try and help her, but whatever she had was incurable. Fatima was there to guide her spirit once she passed, and the two had taken quite a liking to each other. At first you couldn't even tell that Amelia was ill. She would run about the village with the other children, disturbing the peace of the local farm animals - and then the peace of the local farmhands. But then she slowed from a run to a walk. From a walk to her bed. And there she stayed, staring out the window into the world she used to explore. Amelia turned back to Fatima, ready to bludgeon her with another question. "Is it going to hurt?" Fatima's breath hitched. Her grip tightened on her staff. "...I don't know." Amelia stuck her tongue out at the woman. "You don't know much, do you?" This garnered a wry smile from Fatima. She shook her head. "Compared to you, Amelia, I'd say I'm the child and you're the adult." Amelia grinned, jumping on her bed until she launched into another coughing fit. When it finally settled, she wrapped herself under the covers, clutching them against her, as if they would disappear if she let go. Fatima could only focus on how small the girl looked in her bed, and her heart shattered. "Well do you know what I think?" Fatima swallowed hard and shook her head. "I think it won't hurt at all. It'll be just like taking a loooong nap." "I see." "And when I wake up, all my friends are gonna be there. And we'll run around and chase Uncle Rosh's ducks just like we used to before I got sick. And after, Aunt Claire will make me my favorite mango smoothie, and we'll have fun forever and ever and ever." Amelia continued, describing every wonderful thing that awaited her after she died. Fatima sat on the floor, her back against the side of the girl's bed so that she could hide her tears. By the time she was able to dry them off, she felt Amelia's delicate fingers playing with her hair. "Don't you think, Fatima?" Fatima got up and turned to her, beaming. "You know what? I think you're absolutely right, darling." Amelia smiled back at her, an unfair attack that threatened to dismantle Fatima yet again. "See! I knew it." Fatima nodded, squeezing the girl's hand in hers. "Get some rest, okay Amelia?" "Okay!" Fatima left her, closing the door behind her and letting the tears flow once more.