The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a fantastic ride through the memories of the sad and hardened Eddie. Eddie saw magic at Ruby Pier as a little boy. He accompanied his abusive father to his engineering job, and eventually was pressured into becoming an engineer himself. After years of love, army, marriage, and loneliness, tragedy struck. A cable snapped on a ride designed to lift passengers high into the air then drop them. A little girl was under the ride and as Eddie ran to save her, nothing. The ride had fallen. He had died, but what of the little girl? As one life ends another begins. In this new life Eddie proceeded to meet five people and learn the lessons: that we are all connected; the meaning of true sacrifice; forgiveness; love has no end; and that his life impacted others in a positive way.
The first man that Eddie met was rather odd, for he was literally the Blue Man. His skin had turned blue from poison medicine and he became a circus freak, a fantastic show. Eddie did not understand what the Blue Man had to do with him, and the first lesson began: we are all connected. We might act as individuals, but our actions take a toll on the world. Eddie feels a deep sense of guilt when he realizes that as an innocent boy, he caused the death of the Blue Man. As a child playing a game of baseball, he ran in front of the Blue Man’s car. The Blue Man swerved to save the young Eddie’s life, but the Blue Man’s heart was weak. The death of one Blue Man involved children, a ball, a bat, onlookers, and a man in a car. The world is stitched together by the choices and decisions that individuals make.
The second place Eddie visits is anything but calming. He went back to the war in the Philippines, where he met his Captain and he learned the meaning of sacrifice. Sacrifice is not as simple as to risk your own life, but to make an educated assumption and take action. The Captain saved Eddie’s life by taking away his leg, Eddie would have died had he run in to save an imaginary blur in a vacant house that he himself had just set on fire. It came to Eddie’s attention that he always became angry, and could not recognize that sacrifice is a good thing, and it is worth every penny in the end.
The third venture is a cold mountain with beautiful lights. He saw a diner and then a woman in fancy clothes. Her name was Ruby, and she taught him forgiveness. He made peace with his father, even though his father was not more than an image in a booth. Forgiveness is not only for the forgiven, but it is also for the forgiver. People are not perfect. They do not always make the best decisions, but the past is the past. It should not haunt the already tormented. When a person forgives they gain wisdom and peace. They understand the world a little better and every breath comes a little easier.
The fourth person he met is the first familiar face. It was his wife, Marguerite. She taught him that love has no end. “Life has to end, but love doesn’t.” When Marguerite died, Eddie loved her in memory. Marguerite and Eddie never stopped loving one another despite their inability to communicate or touch one another. They where separated by the worlds of the living and the deceased, but their feelings for one another never changed.
The fifth and final person that he met was a little girl. Her name was Tala, and she was Filipino. As the story unfolds it turns out that the imaginary blur he had seen in the burning house had not been an imaginary blur. It was the outline of the innocent little Tala. She was burned and killed in the fire. Despite the fact that she knew that he had killed her, she remained friendly. Eddie always wanted to make a difference and Tala taught him that he had. He made a difference by protecting all the children at Ruby Pier. She said that he made them safe. What he had done with his life saved countless children and he made right by Tala. Tala reveals the wonderful news in a deeply emotional manner for Eddie. He had saved the little girl by pushing her out from under the ride, then he felt Tala’s hands bringing him to heaven.
In the end, Eddie had learned that there is a connection between all people, what it means to sacrifice, the need for forgiveness, love has no end, and he kept children safe. He had saved lives and made a difference despite what he had thought. He could never understand certain things. Through the five people that he met in Heaven, he was able to understand what he could not before. He learned new things about himself and his capability. Though Eddie had died, he regained life in a new world.
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