Heaven and Hell

...slap her or hug her. She had the power to infuriate him which brought with it a certain excitement or calm him like no one else in the world. He could not battle with her now. There was too much to share, too much she had to know. In the end she could do what she wanted with the information and the years of emotion and questions she had built up but right now she deserved the truth.

He reached into the manilla envelope and withdrew a picture. It's edges were frayed and in the center of the picture was the subtle imprint of the key it had been wrapped around. He smiled slightly as that imprint seemed fitting.

Standing in this space beneath the tree looking out at what most would consider heaven, he'd found the answers both of them had been seeking and when he did he believed that both heaven and hell could co-exist.

"It's been a long journey, Violet. I've traveled to both Heaven and Hell and back but not without this," he said, laying the picture and the key on the bar.

She gasped and brought her hands to her heart. She looked from him to the picture and key and back.

"Is this?"