The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

Annie is “spun like a pocket watch on a chain” as she rises through a swirl of deep reds (97). She fights against the pull, growing stronger as she regains her body and grows in maturity. Annie then plunges downward and lands in a mass of pink snow. Moments later, the land seems to curl up around her and she hears her mother’s voice. Then, her mother’s face appears in the sky, filling it completely.

The narrative shifts to a flashback. Annie is 12 years old now and entering middle school.

Annie was not enrolled in elementary school until partway through third grade, and she was an “outcast” from the beginning as children noticed her hand. Annie spent the first few years of school trying to make friends through gifts. She had to wear splints for several grades as well, which added to children’s excuses to stare and ostracize her. The only child who didn’t bully Annie in this way was Paulo, who one day took her hand in his and told her, “It’s not that bad” (101). He even told Annie that her hand was a defining feature that made her different in a positive way—but Annie never saw this as a good thing.