Three women arrive at the gates of Heaven, where St. Peter greets them with a simple rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWelcome to Heaven! There\u2019s just one thing \u2014 DO NOT<\/em> step on the ducks!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As they enter, they realize the place is full<\/em> of ducks. Ducks waddling, ducks napping, ducks blocking paths \u2014 like someone spilled an entire farm across the clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter how careful they are, the first woman accidentally steps on one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUACK!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter appears immediately, dragging along the ugliest man she has ever seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour punishment? Spending eternity chained to this man!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The second woman becomes extra cautious, tiptoeing around like she\u2019s defusing bombs. But the next day \u2014 squish.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another duck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter appears again with another extremely unattractive man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSame rule applies!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now the third woman is absolutely terrified. She walks slower than a sloth on vacation. She sleeps standing up so she doesn\u2019t roll onto a duck. She refuses to blink if she\u2019s near feathers, just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months go by. Not a single duck is harmed. She\u2019s proud. Confident. Victorious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then one day, St. Peter appears\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And he\u2019s not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter stands beside a stunningly handsome man. Not just good-looking \u2014 this man is sculpted like a marble statue that fell out of Heaven\u2019s gym. The third woman gasps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tall. Broad shoulders. Eyes like blue lightning. A smile that could melt glaciers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before she can speak, St. Peter takes her hand and chains her to the gorgeous stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She feels her soul levitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cW-wait,\u201d she stammers. \u201cIs this\u2026 is this my reward? I didn\u2019t step on any ducks!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The handsome man sighs deeply \u2014 almost tragically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he says with a defeated shake of his head. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you did\u2026 but I stepped on a duck!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her jaw drops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter grins, gives them both a pitying shrug, and disappears into a cloud of feathers, leaving the two of them alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She stands frozen, mind spinning. Months of effort\u2026 only to end up chained to a man who looks like he was handcrafted by divine artists \u2014 but apparently isn\u2019t too bright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The handsome man looks around awkwardly. \u201cUh\u2026 sorry again. I\u2019m kind of clumsy. And blind in one eye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The woman blinks in surprise. \u201cYou\u2019re blind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell,\u201d he corrects, \u201cnot blind-blind. More like\u2026 visually spontaneous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s not even a real phrase,\u201d she mutters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExactly,\u201d he says proudly. \u201cI made it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She stares at him. \u201cOh no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Days pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his looks, the man is chaotic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He trips over clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He forgets which way is \u201cforward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One time he tried to pet a duck and accidentally tackled St. Francis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He apologizes constantly. Against her will\u2026 she starts to like him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She finds his clumsiness charming. His innocence refreshing. His smile addictive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every time he laughs, she feels something tug at her heart. And every time he apologizes for stepping on the duck that cursed them together, she notices he means it. Really means it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One afternoon, as they walk across a field of shimmering white feathers, she asks quietly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat were you doing before you\u2026 stepped on the duck?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He sighs and sits down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was looking for someone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSomeone? Who?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He turns to her, eyes soft. \u201cMy soulmate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something inside her flips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut why Heaven?\u201d she asks. \u201cWhy not Earth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He smiles. \u201cSt. Peter told me she\u2019d be here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her heart drops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe said she\u2019d be smart,\u201d the man continues, \u201cand stubborn, and kind. And that I\u2019d know her the moment I met her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now her soul feels like pudding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2026 think that\u2019s me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He shrugs. \u201cWell, you\u2019re chained to me for eternity. Hard to get closer than that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She laughs \u2014 really laughs \u2014 for the first time since she arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s when St. Peter appears again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter smirks. \u201cI see you two have bonded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The woman frowns. \u201cIs this\u2026 some kind of test?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh no,\u201d St. Peter says cheerfully. \u201cJust cosmic irony. The universe loves that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She crosses her arms. \u201cSo you chain us together randomly?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter chuckles. \u201cNothing in Heaven is random.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She raises an eyebrow. \u201cThen why punish the others with ugly men?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He shrugs. \u201cBecause their punishment was vanity, not ducks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her eyes widen. \u201cWait\u2026 WHAT?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He walks closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou avoided stepping on ducks,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut you\u2019re here for a reason. You were shallow\u2026 incredibly shallow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She sputters, \u201cI\u2014 I am NOT shallow!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter gestures to the handsome man beside her. \u201cYou didn\u2019t even try to get to know him before assuming you deserved him as a reward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She blushes deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd HE,\u201d St. Peter says, nodding at the man, \u201cstepped on a duck on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?!\u201d she gasps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man grins sheepishly. \u201cI saw you. You were tiptoeing around like a nervous ballerina. I figured\u2026 if we were chained, you\u2019d have to talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou stepped on a duck\u2026 for ME?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He shrugs. \u201cWorth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She tries to respond, but her heart is suddenly full \u2014 annoyingly, overwhelmingly full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Peter claps his hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood. Lesson learned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The chains dissolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The woman gasps. \u201cWe\u2019re free?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are,\u201d St. Peter says. \u201cBut whether you stay together is up to you now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He disappears into a cloud of ducks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man stands shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo\u2026 uh\u2026 now that we\u2019re not forced to be together\u2026 do you still want to\u2026?\u201d He trails off nervously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She steps closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think,\u201d she says, \u201cthat maybe I stepped on a duck too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He blinks. \u201cBut you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She smiles softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. But I stepped on my pride. And maybe that\u2019s better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He grins \u2014 that warm, ridiculous, heart-melting grin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo\u2026 date in the Cloud Garden?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She nods. \u201cOnly if you promise not to accidentally fall into a duck pond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He laughs. \u201cNo promises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They walk toward Heaven\u2019s glowing horizon together \u2014 not chained, not forced, but choosing each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And somewhere behind them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUACK!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She freezes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid you step on\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNope!\u201d he says quickly. \u201cThat one wasn\u2019t me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They both turn slowly\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And see St. Peter, smiling mischievously, holding a single duck under his arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRelax,\u201d he says. \u201cJust keeping you humble.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three women arrive at the gates of Heaven, where St. Peter greets them with a simple rule: \u201cWelcome<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3675"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3677,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3675\/revisions\/3677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A JOURNEY BEGINS \u2014 AND IT\u2019S NOT WHAT SHE EXPECTED<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
He rambles about random things like cloud density and celestial cheese inventories.
He sings terribly \u2014 terribly<\/em> \u2014 but with so much enthusiasm she can\u2019t even be mad.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTHE TWIST<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
THE ENDING \u2014 A HEAVENLY SURPRISE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n