When I woke up, I wasn't in Heaven.
I was curled up against the cow's warm belly. My fever had broken, my head clear.
I crawled out of the shed just in time to see men lifting Grandma's coffin, carrying it toward the gate.
Panic seized me. I scrambled to my feet, chasing after them. "Grandma! Where are you taking her?"
Zachary Logan blocked my path. "Naomi, stop. We're taking her to be buried. She's already gone to Heaven."
I froze.
So she was really gone.
My dad glared at me, his eyes full of venom. "You little curse. You just won't die, will you? Your grandmother is dead—why don't you go die instead?"
I opened my mouth to tell him I was planning to do exactly that, but the procession moved on.
"Let's go," someone urged. "Don't miss the auspicious hour."
I watched them disappear down the road.
Once they were gone, I turned and walked slowly toward the icy river at the edge of the village.
