Heaven

The little boy looked at his grandfather. His eyes wandered across the deep wrinkles on his face and the tanned skin, like an old oak tree with its many twists and he was so sure that if he cut it open he would find age-rings. Like the oak tree that his father cut down because "it was getting too big for our garden, lad."
"You see these rings, my boy?" his father pointed to the curious lines on the stump, one circle inside another, and another; the smallest and innermost circle was a small pupil, a mirror image of the young boy's innocent stare. "They're age-rings. Every year, the tree would grow a new layer of bark, that gives a new ring. That's how you can tell how old a tree is. You count the number of rings in its belly."
The boy tried to count the rings in that stump, but some of the lines were not clear and he often lost count.

He stared at his grandfather in his bed, his weak eyes barely open but the boy knew his grandfather was awake.
"Come to visit me, my boy?" The grandfather rasped, the air in his lungs barely enough to support these words of welcome.
"Yes, Grandfather." The boy replied, and he gave the old man a little kiss on the cheek. "I brought you something I made."
The little boy took out a small toy car from his pocket and laid it on the table next to his grandfather's bed.
"I made it all by myself." He added proudly.
At this the old man chuckled and grinned. "You clever boy, you ought..." but he never got to finish his sentence before his chest heaved into a coughing fit.
"Ah. Age." said the old man when he recovered, after a glass of warm water and some soothing medicine. He glanced cheekily at the boy, and joked, "Well my boy, what do you think heaven looks like?"
"Ummmm..." The boy replied, unsure what to say. "The grass is green and plentiful"
The grandfather frowned. "Are there people? Will I be lonely when I get to heaven?"
"Of course there are people," the boy answered, smiling. He was happy to play this game. "Some people you know, some you don't. And if you're lucky, you might even find Grandmother!"
"Oh, your Grandmother?" The old man chuckled. "Who else will I see, my boy?"
"Oh, you'll find your friends there, Grandfather. Although some of them may have moved on... but all the people in heaven are very nice and friendly."
"Go on, tell me about the people in heaven."
"There are all sorts. People who have done good go to heaven, but there are also people who have done wrong there too. But in heaven, all people are nice. They help each other."
"What else, my boy?"
"In heaven, people still have fights but they love one another and they forgive everyone everything.  Every morning, they wake up and see the sunlight filtering through their windows and they are so happy. They say, "Another day? I get another day to spend?"..."
The little boy trailed off because the old man had stopped listening and had fallen asleep.

***

Unfortunately, the little boy never got to speak to his grandfather again.
Well.

...Not in this heaven anyway.