School building, Lee Herman wearing jeans and long sleeve shirt, the weather was cold as he chopped the wood.
Since he got his jobs as the gardener, female students trying to get his attention, he ignored it by doing his jobs. They tried to get his attention but didn't dare to talk with him.
Until he met Poppy and her twin brother Vincent. Vincent will accompany her if she wants to see him. He liked the twins, so polite as they talked to him. He feels safe around the twins just like Poppy said before, she feels safe when she is around him.
Lee Herman.
"Hi".
He looks over his shoulder, then turns his body. Facing the three high school girls whom he knows about, these three girls are the sexiest classmates.
He hears about them, not just them _ other students and teachers. He may be a gardener but his ears are everywhere.
They nickname these girls Plastics of Shit.
"You're not supposed to be here. Go. Back to the class, you're not welcome back in here".
"Of course we are. This is school property, we can go all around we like. That includes '' here".
One of the girls said with a smirk. "I'm Joan. This is Candy and Alisha. I bet you know who we are, we are kind of famous and rich in town".
Lee Herman shaking his head ignoring the girls. He resumed chopping the wood. "We think you are super handsome". Said Joan again. "We control the school and that includes you".
"You don't own me". He smiled. "You don't. Before I chop you girls head, better run off. You remind me that I used to be. And I don't want you to be one of my victims".
He raises the ax then points at the girls. They run and vow to get him back. He watches them running. Corner of his eyes, he saw Poppy and something she brought with her.
Lowered then dropped the ax back on the ground. Afraid he scared her, or screamed right in front of his face. But she didn't. She didn't scream or run from him, she approached him.
Always with her sweet smile.
"That's great what you did to that plastic shit. There's a rumor that said they want you".
She takes a seat on the wood stump that Lee Herman just cut with the ax.
"I brought you something".
He said. "Where is your twin brother? He is always with you if you want to see me".
"He got into a science competition in the labs. He knows where'd I go and he lets me".
"That's good to hear, please just sit there and don't move while I'm sitting on the ground". She obeyed him. "What you brought in here, Poppy?"
She looked down on her laps. "Cookies. My mom made it for us, so I bought it for you too". She handed small tupperware to him, and he reached for it. "My mom is the best cook in our family".
"Your father must love your mom very much. I bet she's beauty".
"She is. But? We don't have a father. We never knew him, not even his picture. We know our mom keeps his profile a secret and doesn't want us to remember about him".
Lee Herman nod understand. "That's kinda hurt".
"What about yours? Do you have your own family? Wife and kids".
Smile. He laid the tupperware on his lap.
"Once. I have a wife. She's beautiful. I never laid my eyes on, she took my heart and we were so happy back then. Until I made a huge mistake that hurt her very much".
"Where is she now then?"
"Somewhere she lived, a place that brought her joy and happiness she wanted. New life without me".
"Don't you miss her?"
Blushed, he said. "Of course. Every single day. I'd never forget about her. No matter what I tried _ she's always in my head".
Poppy smiled.
"Thanks for the cookies. I will return this to you tomorrow, because I hear every mom will scream if they lose one of their tupperware that they collect".
"She will".
Lee Herman and Poppy laugh.
Meanwhile at Belle's office. She and her male patient stare at each other's eyes. Focusing on his eyes, she found the answer that he had been searching for his entire life. She wrote down his files, he noticed.
"What is it, Doctor? Tell me what is it? Is it my fault or just my wife who is not interested in me anymore. We've been married for twelve years, with that God blessed us with a daughter, we name her Carmen. Such a beautiful little girl we raise in our family, but then _ everything is changed. Has my wife cheated on me, Doctor?"
Belle about to say but he cut her. "I know I've been working so hard. She can't blame me for that, I work for my family and she keeps taunting me, asking me for lots of money when I come back home. Demanding. She wants more. If her friends have that, she wants it. If her friends have things, she wants those things. What I'm supposed to do, she drives me crazy!"
"Mr. Strings please. This is not a courtroom, that you can scream at the judge's face. I understand between you and your wife situation".
She wrote it down again. "It wasn't your fault, it's hers but _? As a husband you should control her possession, which means you and your wife need to come in here and need a new therapy section".
"She doesn't know I'm here. She will think I'm crazy. No. I can't".
Belle closes his files as she eyes on him.
"Then you can't change her. I need you two in here because I want to help and that is why you are here. You need my help, your wife needs my help".
She pushes the chair, walk toward her desk.
"I'll tell you what, Mr. Strings. Tell her that you are cheating behind her while you are away, and let's find out if she is coming with you".
"Was that work?" He asked.
She nodded, said. "A woman tried to kill me when I was young. So, back to my story, the husband tells the wife that he's cheating. And the wife follows the husband in here and they meet me. Everything is under control".
"That's not make any sense, Doctor".
"It is". She walked toward the door, swung the door open for him. "Trust me. Just do what I said. She'll listen".
Decker's apartment later that night. She doesn't know how sudden she fell asleep, it has been a year since Gibson died, she never dreams of Emma. But tonight she did.
Emma sat on the bench waving at her in a smile, asking her to sit beside her and she did.
Grown up Belle meets younger Emma in _?
She doesn't know what she is supposed to call this place. Heaven. Maybe. If she is in heaven with Emma, that means she could see Gibson. Her eyes looked for him around the place. And nothing, she can't spot him everywhere.
She wanted to hug him, but she missed him. She wants to tell him that he's now a father, a father he can't imagine and desire for. He really wants to be a father for his kids and he is.
Twins. Beautiful twins.
Wiping her tears, she turns to Emma.
"I'm sorry, Belle". said Emma. "Because you're going through this all alone. No, wait. Your parents are always with you".
She smiled again.
"Looking for him?" Belle nods. "Since now I've never seen him in here, I expected he's in Hell".
Belle shoots her eyes up on Emma. She laughed. "I'm joking. No. I don't see him here. I swear for the mother of God, he's not here".
"How are you so sure about that? Don't you look for him. He'd be here somewhere if this Heaven. He must be here, I can tell".
"Well, if I walk past the gate, Hell. I give him a wave. And tell Lucifer that motherfucker killed me. No. I don't know where he is".
She stared. "Belle? I'll make sure he won't stay in Hell, look what he did. He protects you from that bitch".
"You saw her?"
"What do you mean I saw her?"
"In Hell. Yeah! Have you seen her there? My ex art teacher, Veronica Bilson, her name".
Emma touched her nose, she may have remembered that name. But where?
"Like I knew her somewhere. Maybe I saw her".
She closes her eyes trying to remember, second pass, her eyes wide open.
"Ah ha, that woman. Hell yes I saw her. How I wonder where, of course in Hell".
Belle gets closer to her, excited. "Hell? She is in Hell. How can you see her but not my husband".
"Now, you called him husband".
Emma laughed.
"Just her when she met God. Admit she sinned. Then Michael sent her to Hell. Without your husband. No one does. She stayed in Hell with the others, you know what hell is like?"
Emma asks Belle. "Afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Underworld or world of the dead. She stay".
"Michael?"
"The angel of course".
Silent in a minute. She spoke back.
"Michael's brother rules Hell. Don't you know? Look, if I saw him. I'll tell you. Let's change the topic, let's talk about your twins, how's they doing?"
Belle smiles. "They're doing great".
"I know you will be a good mother to your kids".
She suddenly hugs Belle. She is so cold that she can feel when Emma hands her around.
So, this is what people called after we died. Cold. Like Casper and the friendly ghost. Emma wasn't a ghost, she's an angel.
"Thank you for letting Betty make my wish come true. You know how I want to be an FBI agent when I grow up. She's perfect. Just like me".
"How I miss you, you know that. Betty's is your incarnation and it took it well. I will tell my twins about you and I will tell everything about their father. They really need to know".
Emma wiped Belle's tears. Both hugging again, until Belle jolted from her sleep. She looked around the room and found Poppy standing at her frame door with a glass of water in her hand.
She stood there in silence, staring at her mother. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Few minutes. Who are you talking to in your sleep? You want a glass of water?"
Belle nodded her head yes. Her throat suddenly dried after she met Emma in her dream, and needed water to lose her thirst. Poppy handed her mother a glass of water she brought out from the kitchen, then took a seat beside Belle's bed.
"So? Is that a bad dream".
Belle shaking her head no. She said, "It was a wonderful dream. I've met my sister, my friend that I love so much".
"Is she dead?"
"Yes. She was sixteen when she died".
"Causing what?".
Belle smiles weakly, rubs Poppy's head. "I'll tell you later. Now, go to sleep. I will tell everything about her, and your father".
"Promise?"
Belle nods. "I promise. Now, go".
Poppy jumped up from bed, walking back toward her room. Belle drinks the water till it drains then resuming her sleep in peace with a smile.