It had felt almost instantaneous, but I somehow intrinsically knew that time had definitely passed before a flash of bright light blinded my eyes, revealing an enormous crowd scattering all over an evergreen field.

I stood still in an attempt to make sense of my bearings but before my eyes could adjust, I heard his voice.

"Ma!"

Even when he appeared in front of my eyes, I couldn't believe who I was looking at. It felt as if it had been tens or even hundreds of years since I had laid my eyes on him. It felt real but also felt like a dream, a floating limbo between them both. 

Wei appeared like how he was when I last saw him when he was eighteen, but he also looked like the teenager who climbed trees, the child who took on chores with his bony frame, and the toddler who was always excited for potatoes.

"Ma! It's me, Wei! I've missed you." Wei smiled that smile that I have had the privilege to witness countless times when he was still alive. And with that, I knew that I was reunited with my son.

I reached a tremoring hand towards Wei's cheek.

Wei grabbed my hand midair and placed it over his cheek. "It's me, ma!"

The warmth that I felt in my hand was real. I started to sob. The heavy grief that had settled deep in my soul all these years had finally found it release.

Wei waited patiently until I caught my breath. "Ma, you would've been dehydrated if we were still in the human realm."

He chuckled in the end, which was how he always was, trying his best to lighten the mood wherever he was. Wei was still the same boy.

"What is happening? Am I dreaming? Why are you here?" I asked, my questions tumbling over each other.

Wei shook his head ever so slightly, still smiling. "No, you're not dreaming. This is the heavenly realm. As with the reason of why I'm here, it's because I was waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?"

Wei nodded. "I promised you that I would return when I left for the west." He paused and lowered his head in a grimace as the memory of his broken promise resurfaced but lifted his head again before continuing. "But I didn't. So I figured out that I should at least wait for you here."

My eyes softened. Always the thoughtful boy. "Oh. You should've continued your journey and be reincarnated. There's no need for you to be waiting for your old mother. It must have been lonely for you! If I knew, I would've joined you sooner."

Wei frowned at me. "Ma! Don't think of it that way! And besides, if you had tried to leave the human realm before your time is up, you wouldn't be able to. You'll just hurt yourself unnecessarily."

"Oh." 

"And it wasn't as lonely as you think it is. I had the chance to meet so many different people when I was here. I saw Sun Tzi the other day and had a debate with him on his book."

I grinned at the image in my head. "Of course you did."

"Peiyang Niang Niang?! Peiyang Niang Niang?! Anyone with that name? Age forty-five!" A person with billowing clothes called out as she cut through the crowd.

I turned to the source of the voice. "Th- That's me!" I raised my hand and stuttered, unsure if I had broken any unspoken rules in the five minutes that I was in the heavenly realm.

The person spotted me and relief washed her face as she rushed towards us. Up close, I could see that she was a woman who was around her late-forties with greying hair at her temples.

"Peiyang Niang Niang?" She asked before realizing Wei was standing beside me. "Wei! What are you doing here?"

I looked at both of them curiously. Feeling my questioning gaze, Wei answered my unuttered question. "She's Meng Po. She's in charge of anything and everything to do with reincarnation. You don't know how much time I've spent negotiating with her so that I'll be allowed to stay this long to wait for you."

Wei then turned to Meng Po to answer her question. "Peiyang Niang Niang is my mother."

"Oh! So this is your mother! Good to meet you." Meng Po curtsied and I returned the gesture.

"So why were you looking for my mother?" Wei asked.

"She's set to ascend to a deity." Meng Po nodded towards me. "Your mother here has quite the following in the human realm.  I think the current emperor and his brothers opened up a shrine in her name. And as time passed, more and more people travel to it to offer their prayers. Most of them are parents who are praying to Peiyang Niang Niang so that their children would be thoughtful and generally, kind and nice. I think someone even started a branch of the shrine outside of the capital recently."

Wei looked at me with his wide, proud eyes. "Look at you, Ma! I'm so proud of you."

Meng Po turned to Wei. "I'll need to bring her to the Jade Hall to meet the Jade Emperor. But before that, I believe that it's time for you to move on to your next incarnation." Her voice was somber towards the end of the sentence.

I reached for Wei's arm. "Wh-what does she mean? Are you leaving again?"

Wei's hand swallowed mine and patted me consolingly, with not just a kind smile but also kind eyes. "I have to go, ma. I've overstayed for far too long. And I'm so happy that you'll be ascending to a deity."

Tears pooled in my eyes. "No. Don't go."

Wei continued. "I heard that gods and deities would be turned into beasts if they ever enter the human realm. Promise me that you won't look for me once I'm reincarnated."

"No. Please." A sob was caught in my throat which made me gasp.

Wei gritted his teeth. I could see that he was also struggling to maintain his seemingly calm composure. "I won't even remember you once I'm reincarnated. And I don't want to hurt you that way. When you had took such great care of me. I hope that I will meet you again one day. When I return here to the heavenly realm."

"No." I choked.

Wei removed my hand in one determined move before squeezing me into a tight hug. "Thank you, ma. For everything. You are my hero. Always."

By the time Wei let go of me, my tears were already uncontrollably streaming down my face. Wei turned away before I could stop him. But I knew how much more he didn't want to leave when I caught sight of the tear at the corner of his eyes when he turned to leave.

"Please stay here. I'll be back after I send Wei off." Meng Po said before she grabbed Wei's leaving body and both of them disappeared into thin air.

When Meng Po returned, I was crumpled on the grass. The tracks of tears had dried and left their mark on my emotionless face. Once again, I was an empty shell with all of her insides gutted. I lost my son. All over again.