White Gates of Dawn

Anita was sleeping in her Sunday dress. The ground was mossy and soft, and the morning light heralded the coming sun to ban mist once again. Gentle flutes sang of morning glory. Anita stirred, finding herself at the bottom of a tree. She pushed herself up. The ground was very soft.
This was not where Anita lived. It wasn't anywhere near it. Looking around, all she saw was forest. Tree after tree after tree. Except in front of her, where a white gate stood. The wood wasn't painted white, it was just white. Behind the fence was a group of fauns playing various flutes.
"Why don't you come in, Anita?" Said a young male faun. He had dark brown fur and smiling eyes. He was sitting on a tree.
"How do you know my name?"
"Your sisters told me about you."
"Helena and Antonetta? Where are they, where are my sisters?"
"They went home."
"Then let me go. I need to be with them, I need to be with my sisters."
Anita was winding herself up into a state of panic. The faun, bored, dropped an acorn.
"I didn't say they went back. I said home. To live with God."
"How can I trust you?" Anita asked, "You're a faun."
"You can't. But you're going to. Because it's just us and the birds. Come on over. Cross the gate. Dance with us."
"I don't even know where I am."
"We're in Dawn."
"Dawn's a time, not a place."
"You only say that because you haven't been here before."
"I haven't, but I've been awake at dawn before and it's nothing like this."
"You is dumb."
Anita shrieked. "Why should I join you? You only speak nonsense."
"Because the sun is about to rise. A new day. And if you're not safely within the gates of Dawn, you'll be there when the day ends."
"What happens when today ends?"
"Today ends everything."
Anita shuffled her feet. "I don't even know your name."
The faun made a series of clicking and vowel sounds with his tongue. "That's my name."
"I can't say that."
"It isn't a human language, but it's possible."
"I had a friend named Whiskers. I could call you that."
"Would this friend Whiskers be a kitten?"
"Maybe."
"I thought so."
"What about Matteo? I read that in a book once."
"It's not my name. But you can call me that for now."
Matteo jumped down from the branch. He held out a hand to Anita. "Come on, I'll help you over."
"What happens when I cross over?"
"the night will end. We'll wait for the sun to come up. Today will be your first day in Heaven."
Anita grabbed matteo's hand, climbing up the gate with her feet. Matteo helped her gently down. "Welcome to Dawn, Anita."
"Hey look, the girl finally came in." Said a faun sitting at the bottom of a tree. There were a few fauns nearby, all eyes curiously focus on Anita.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there before." Anita said.
"It's not a very high gate. And don't even think of giving me some silly nickname." Returned the faun. She was young, but older than Anita, past her adolescent years.
"Let it go, you" Matteo said, "She won't be here very long anyway."
"Only until the sun rises." Said the new faun.
One of the new fauns, a male with auburn fur and a beard said "Aren't you going to tell her what happened?"
"What? What happened?" Anita was looking at Matteo, confused.
Matteo bent down to bat at face level with Anita. "Listen, Anita. there was an explosion at the factory. That's why your sisters came here. And now you."
"No!" Anita shouted. "I have to get to the factory, I need to save my friends."
"Little girl," Said the auburn faun, "There's nothing that can be done anymore."
"You're only seven. There's no way could help anybody in the factory." The she-faun said consolingly.
Anita started to cry. "But - but my friends and family work there. I want to see them. Now." Tears kept falling off her face.
Matteo got choked up. "Anita, most of them made it."
"No." Anita said. "I'm leaving. I'm going to the factory and I'm going to help whoever I can."
Anita started to climb a tree no get back to the other side.
"Please come down." Asked Matteo.
"You'll hurt yourself. You won't be able to go back." Said the she-faun.
Anita kept climbing. She tried to reach for a branch but fell back to the ground. Anita was bawling.
The she-faun hugged Anita. "Ssh, sshh, it's okay. Look at the moon. Can you see it?"
"It's so faint. It's hardly there."
"It's just a sliver of silver. And yet it's so pretty."
The auburn faun added "Look at the trees."
Matteo chimed in "And the mist is so soft."
Anita's crying had calmed down to a sniffle. "Will I ever see any of them again?"
"Most of them." Matteo said quietly.
"When?"
"When the sun is risen, and you'll be in Heaven."
"Where will you be?"
"In Heaven, with you. Dawn ends for us today."
"Why don't we go sit on the moss? It's more comfortable." suggested the auburn faun, "We'll play our flutes."
"C'mon," Matteo helped Anita up. They went to sit with the rest of the fauns. Matteo sat with his back against a tree, and Anita leaned on him. The she-faun and the auburn faun sat nearby.
The music sounded like birds and rabbits, of secret places newly found. Anita couldn't  help but hum along.
As they sat and played their music, and faced away from the gates of Dawn, the mist began to vanish. the sky ahead of them was getting brighter. Anita didn't notice at first.
The birds joined in the music, Music replaced mist in the air, everything became clearer. Brightness rose in the sky. The tip of the sun lifted above the horizon of trees.
Anita felt as if she was awakening from a dream into a much more complex reality. It was like leaving a painting to be in the real world. Anita began to feel senses she never had before.
The clouds were burning orange, beating back the half light of Dawn. Anita and the fauns watched the sky as the sun rose higher and higher. The mist was completely gone now. Everything was clear and brightly lit. The fauns kept playing their music.
When the sun was well above the trees, it shined pure white. The white light encompassed everything, it was warm and welcoming and not at all blinding.
Soon everything became white. In the distance Anita saw something. "What is it?"
"Go toward it." Answered matteo.
Anita  grabbed ahold of Matteo's hand. She started walking toward it. The white light made her feel warm and refreshed. As she walked forward all her memories felt like distant dreams.
The closer they got to the object the clearer it got, but Anita didn't see what it was until they got right up to it. "It's a gate." She said. It was made of a white pearly substance that glowed ultra violet.
Matteo pushed the gate open. "After you."
Anita stepped it, and Matteo walked in after her. Anita's eyes adjusted to the pure light. She saw everything. She saw every color, and every color that Earth doesn't have. She saw huge plants and animals. her eyes saw further than ever before possible. Anita couldn't believe the strange animals and landscapes before her.
"Anita!" Said two voices. She turned to look. I was her Helena and Antonetta, her two sisters. Anita ran to them and hugged them tightly.
"I was afraid I wouldn't see you again." Anita burst.
Behind Helena and Antonetta were most of  Anita's friends and family. They each heartily welcomed her.
Matteo walked and greeted Anita's family. "Anita, There's someone you need to see."
"Who is it?"
Matteo guided Anita behind Anita's family. There was a huge figure sitting on a throne, kindly looking down.
"Welcome home, Anita."