Whew. Edited as of 6-22-09. It's been so long since I've worked on this; I'm really excited to get back into the plot. Hope you guys enjoy the rewrite. I made the MC older, so if any of you decide to keep reading the other chapters they're as of yet unchanged; I'm working on them. Be mean! Nitpicks, please!
Chapter One
Like many stories, like many trees, like many snacks… it all began with an apple. The object itself was red. It was so clean one could see their reflection in it, and I had a very firm belief that a person’s reflection would indeed affect the taste of the fruit, whether or not the expression in the apple was sour or joyful
This apple, my apple, was sweet. I’d just gotten out of my car with this particular fruit, and had taken my first bite. The juice exploded in my mouth, and being a person who likes to enjoy experiences, I closed my eyes in pleasure. Kids behind me jostled my arm, and the apple hit my chin. “Watch it!” a small boy snapped. My town was so small that our school combined all grades; all the older kids were mixed in with the young ones. Ignoring him, I clutched the apple in my hand and found a spot on the curb.
I had my purse under one arm and my bulging book-bag hitched up on the other shoulder. Needless to say, it was a very uncomfortable position, but I just had to take a bite of the apple I’d grabbed from the fridge that morning. My stomach was rumbling, and I wanted to taste that juice again.
It was then that it happened. Then that my end began. It was then that would put a conclusion to all that I had in the living world and start something crucial and strange in the after. I stepped off the curb to cross the street, as all the other kids were doing.
And I dropped my apple.
So many things could have happened then. The adult crossing the street could have stopped and helped me, instead of hiding me from sight from the woman with the stop sign. I could have left the apple. I could have taken the apple and turned back. But, as it was, I bent down to pick up the apple; an adult crossed the street right in front of me and hid me from view; and, after the apple was in my hand, I continued on my way across the divide of my life and my death.
It was then that I died.
A car, having been given the go-ahead by the woman with the sign, surged forward. Afterward, I could imagine that foot hitting the gas, and the driver spotting me one second too late, but, at that moment, I was hit by the front of that car. I flew back and hit my head on the pavement.
I never got to see what happened after that. I never got to watch the reaction of the driver, or of the woman with the stop sign, because I was flying.
The only thing that I could think of while I was flying was, So it’s true. There is a tunnel. It was like I had been told. Everything all around me was darkness. But at the end, I could see a vivid light, almost like the beam of a flashlight, shining like a beacon.
But I did not experience the joy, or anticipation, or fear that I’d heard some people felt. The only emotion I felt was… unhappiness. I wasn’t ready to leave my home yet. I wanted to stay, to live. I had plans to be an English teacher when I grew up. I wanted to see my sister’s baby when it was born. I was only sixteen! I’d been healthy, I’d been a good student. Why did this have to happen to me now?
And as I neared the light, I became more and more agitated and angry. It was an odd emotion for me. I was rarely angry; it was just who I was. At home, I really didn’t have anything to be angry about. I had no siblings to annoy me. School didn’t bother me, and I got along with all my teachers.
The strange, new anger flooded my being, and I began to flail my arms and legs. It was as if I was in outer space, and there was no gravity, because nothing happened. I merely continued floating my way towards the infuriating light.
I fought at the air, trying to hit it as if it had a face. My anger only grew when I felt like I was being ignored. No one had ever ignored me in my life.
“You’re so stupid!” I shrieked at it, kicking and thrusting my arms out some more. “I hate you! I’m going to make you miserable!” It was what my mom had said to my dad once.
The light was becoming brighter and larger, and, as I neared it, I felt as if I was drawing to my own death, though I had already died. I began to scream, and then wail; my sobs sounded like short gasps, as if my lungs were out of air. I gave up, sagging, and the cool air all around seemed to gather me closer. I stared at the light, lips trembling. The desire to live within me had silenced in resolution. I had lost.
Then, suddenly, I was let go. The grip on my body seemed to vanish, and I fell. The bottom of the tunnel came to meet me, and I cringed in anticipation, but I fell through it, as if the darkness was a cloud. I blinked, and the wind blew through my hair. I looked around me, and felt my eyes widen in reaction to what they saw.
I was falling through the sky. Blue, not black, was all around me then. Instead of being cool, the air was cold. I clutched my arms to myself and brought my knees up. In the past, I’d heard that when at a great height, it was always a bad idea to look down.
Look down I did. Strangely, I was not alarmed at what I saw. I’d been in an airplane before, and the view coming fast at me was what I had seen from out of the window. There were little squares, and lines, and a lot of green. Briefly, as I enjoyed studying everything below, I wondered what would happen when I reached the ground. Would it hurt? Would I die again?
Then more questions popped into my head. Was it possible to die twice? What had happened in the tunnel? Why had I been released from going to the light? Had that ever happened to anyone else?
Then I realized that there should have been butterflies in my stomach, like there had been when I was at the amusement park, riding the biggest roller coaster. But there was nothing. All I could feel was the temperature of the air. It was as if all feeling had left my body.
In a way I supposed that made sense, if I was dead. Technically, I had no body. I was a soul, I believed. But I still felt a loss. It would have been fun to have the butterflies. It was always the best part of riding roller coasters, or being on an airplane.
I mentally shrugged, and again went back to looking at the ground. It wasn’t far then, and I experienced a moment of worry, again uncharacteristic for me. Perhaps one worries more in death than one does in life, I pondered. But I could not deny the profound relief I felt at having escaped that looming light that I hadn’t been ready to go to.
It occurred to me that maybe I was being given back my life, and new excitement flowed through my veins.
I could make out the cars then, and the buildings and roads. Only a little more time. I tried to discern where I would fall. There was a field below me. It would be the perfect place for a landing. That way I wouldn’t hit anything. If I even lived after the fall.
My house wasn’t to be seen. In fact, I didn’t recognize what city I was falling into. There were many tall buildings, as my home city had had, but I didn’t remember any of them. They were all different from mine. Had the tunnel been above a completely different place than where I died?
But that wouldn’t make sense, would it?
I hated not knowing the rules of dying. I’d always known the rules. They had been my safety net. Now that they were gone I felt uncomfortable, to say in the least.
I was closer than ever to the ground. I hoped no one would see me. It would cause a panic, and I wanted my return to be as quiet as possible. I’d never liked attention.
Maneuvering my body by holding out my arms and legs, I headed for the obliging field. It rushed closer and closer, and I shut my eyes in true fear. Pain was something I’d experienced only in minimal amounts. Stubbing a toe, cutting my finger on the side of a piece of paper, bumping my head. I hadn’t even felt my death—it had happened too quickly.
I opened one eye a slit to see how close I was, and I uttered a small scream.
I hit the ground.
My thoughts are a little rambled but all in all I thought this has promise. The only problem I have with this is that if you don't add more you'll have strawberry all over your face. Hope you like strawberries!! 
