The Afterlife
Notes for The Afterlife
An Unexpected Exit
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1st-person narrator
Narrator groans, collapses, curls up, bleeding from three holes
A guy flicks a paper towel at him; narrator sees his yellow shoes
Narrator dies
Chapter One
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Rachel – love interest
Narrator is getting read for a dance
Wants to impress Rachel
In bathroom at Club Estrella
o Sees a guy with yellow shoes – tells him he likes the guy’s shoes
o Sees a telephone number on the wall – thinks about calling it and asking her out –
would have no car to give her a ride – only has a bicycle
o The guy grabs narrator around throat and plunges a knife into his chest
o Guy sticks him again, just above his belly button
o Sticks him again in his lower back
o Guy says to narrator, “What did you say to me, carbon?”
o Guy takes his knife, wipes his face, coughs, washes the blood off his hands, and
leaves
o Narrator moans, closes his eyes, opens them and is dead
Narrator
o Name – Jesus, named after father – known as Chuy
o Nothing special about him – good life
 Ran cross country
 Ate lunch with friends
 Looked at girls
o Pain gone
 So is his last year in high school
 So is the fall dance, time with Rachel – had hoped to have her as his girl,
having planned the evening carefully – had borrowed his uncle’s Honda
 Won’t be able to trick or treat – his last year of going out for candy
o Rises out of body  rises like a ghost
 Wavers like smoke
 Stares at himself crumpled on floor
 Wounds like gashes, resembling gills of fish gasping for air
 Floor is red, sticky
 Eyes are open, but there is no light behind them
 Fingers are curled, as if ready for a fight
 Crotch of pants is wet
o A guy comes into the bathroom
 Rapping words to a song about a street killer
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The Afterlife
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Steps in blood, makes a face, and scrapes his shoes against the floor
Leaves the bathroom quickly
Calls “Julio” three times
Chuy
o Expects an ambulance to come
o Sees his body quiver once more  his ghost settles back into body
o Feels himself breathing  legs shudder  dies again
o His ghost drifts toward the ceiling
o Floats through the ceiling and above the roof  floats away
o Hears an ambulance siren
Now a ghost
o Struck by his new status – transformation
o Doesn’t hate the guy who killed him
o Fear and anger gone – in death?
o The police/ambulance comes and goes
o Sees his uncle come to get his car
 Hammers the steering wheel with his palm
 Buries his face into the steering wheel, crying
o The cops come back to speak with the club owner
Imagines his parents
o Probably crying at home in Fresno
o Surprised they didn’t come to the club
Can’t be seen or heard by anyone
o Waves arms  no one sees
o Can see himself a little
Begins a new life without a body  has nothing to fear
Downtown Fresno
o Floats into drugstore
o Sees his Uncle Richard and his cousin Eddie
 Carrying flowers and BBQ chips
 Eyes puffy
 Faces dark from not shaving
 Richard says, “I feel weird” – Chuy “could offer a chill as cold as ice”
Chapter Two
Chuy:
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Realizes that dead can move with speed – each step twice as long as regular stride
Can’t pick anything up
Can put hand right through a tree trunk and car window
Hard to control where he goes  wind can blow him around, like a balloon
Wants to see his parents, tell them not to feel bad any more
Sees a cop
o Frisking a cholo, who has his arm raised
o Goes close  cop wheels around and looks directly at Chuy  spooks Chuy
o Chuy reaches into cop’s chest and feels his heart  the cop steps back
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The Afterlife
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o Cop lets the guy go
o Cop rubs his chest, gets into his cruiser, and leaves, with Chuy in back seat
Cop gets a call
o Go to house where there was a domestic disturbance the night before: the husband
slapped his wife; the wife crashed a planter over the husband’s head
o The wife says the husband is having an affair
o The cops tell the husband to pick up the planter
o The cop squeezes the husband’s wrist painfully  tells him to do the dishes
Chuy sees newspaper
o His story is there: three-inch column: mentions Angel (friend) feeling upset
o Chuy upset  sends out chill, which the husband and cop feel
o Chuy wants to see Angel  leaves
Goes to Angel’s – getting better at steering himself
o Angel is raking leaves – looks sad
o Angel’s father is sympathetic to Angel’s sadness
o Chuy blows leaves around  squeezes Angel’s shoulder
o Angel says, “Chuy?”  drops rake
Chuy remembers getting to know Angel in 5th grade
o Is going to miss Angel
o The wind picks up and Chuy is blown away from Angel’s house
Chapter Three
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Chuy
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Blown into town
Walks by the stores at the Fulton Mall
Realizes he is not a part of the mall, his family, of anything anymore
Went into a boutique
 Sees a girl he knows from elementary school
 Blows cold breath on her  she puts on a sweater
 Sees his killer outside
Chuy and the killer
o Chuy sidles up to him
o Killer: sharp front teeth, narrow eyes charged with the red of spilled blood, oily black
hair
o Chuy wants to know why the guy killed him
o Reaches into his body to let him feel a ghostly fist  killer moans
o Chuy clings to the killer’s back  rides him
 Goes all over inner-city Fresno
 Killer mutters “Fat-face Fausto”
 Chuy knows Fausto from middle school: Fauso used to take kids’ money
 Killer drops his blade into a dumpster
 Fausto appears: wearing wife-beater, eating, huge, fat gut
 Fausto and killer are selling bikes
 Killer asks for money; Fausto calls Killer “Chuy”
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The Afterlife
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 Fausto attacks him, beating him up
 Fight stops when Fausto’s phone rings
Chuy goes to say good bye to Rachel (the girl he likes)
o Grew up on same street as Rachel
o Knows everything about her
o At 13, she got a tattoo that said mala
o Tough, crazy, a mess
o Sees her now, in her house
 Noon: still in pajamas
 Red eyes, smudged mascara
 Headache
 Chuy blows cold on her  she remarks “Oh, Chuy”
 Chuy turns off TV, using all his will
 She says, “Chuy?”
 She says she is sorry and cries
o Chuy looks down and sees that one of his feet has disappeared  realizes his spirit
will eventually disappear
Chapter Four
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Chuy feels the need to say good-bye to his parents, uncle, cousin, friends, track coach
o Leaves Rachel’s house  knows he will disappear in 3-4 days
o Hears the church bell  thinks his funeral will be at St. John’s
o Decides now that he has died, he must grow up
o Decides to visit his Grandfather’s grave and confess his sins
 Tells his grandfather’s grave that he stole his grandfather’s lighter and
money
 Asks his grandfather how it is in the grave
 Cries  apologizes
 His other foot and part of one hand are now also missing
Mom and Dad aren’t at home – lights are on
o Sees photographs out
o Sees newspaper clippings about his death
o Parents come in: red eyes – are with his Uncle and mother’s friend Carmen – all
are ghosts of themselves, white skinned – and other friends
o Uncle Richard comes out of Chuy’s bedroom with two cross-country ribbons 
says he will have them mounted
o Sees his Mom telling Eddie that she wants him to do it – Chuy doesn’t know what
 Eddie says that it is wrong, it won’t solve anything
o Chuy leaves
Chuy heads to the high school, where he knows there is a football game going on (his
hands and one ankle are now gone)
o Sits on curb on the way and buries his face in his arms – angry and upset
o Sees his track coach
o Sees some friends
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The Afterlife
o Sees a banner with his names on it
o Searches stands for Rachel
o Mr. Laird (vice principal) makes an announcement, asking for a moment of
silence for Chuy’s loss
o A student plays taps  Chuy sobs
o The game starts  the other team quickly goes up 6-0; Chuy screams, “Come on,
dawgs—score!”
Chapter Five
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Chuy leaves the basketball game  sees another guy with yellow shoes in front of a 7Eleven
o The guy
 Fat and out of breath
 Breaks into a Honda
 Jumps in and is startled by poodle in back seat  goes to grab the dog, but
Chuy shoves the stumps of his ghost arms into his eyes  the guy farts,
terrified  goes for the door handle  runs away
 Chuy rolls away, like a tumbleweed
Chuy goes to his cousin Eddie’s apartment
o Lies on the couch – ankles and some of his wrists are gone
o Remembers Eddie and him having fun, playing with matches, starting the grass on
fire  remembers getting caught on top of the fence, and Eddie tried to free him
but couldn’t  a fireman unhooked him
o Eddie is now studying air conditioning at City College
o Eddie comes in: red eyes, face as gray as ahs
o Someone knocks on Eddie’s door  Eddie grabs a hammer  opens door but
noone is there
o Eddie picks up a gun and says, “Tia, I can’t do it” – Chuy realizes that his mom
has asked Eddie to take revenge for Chuy’s death and kill the guy who killed
Chuy  Chuy says, “Mom, you can’t do this.”  Chuy follows his mom’s car
and tells her that she can’t ask Eddie to do this
Chuy goes back to Fausto’s street
o Sees a recently dead girl – rolling past – she can’t control her body  Chuy
follows her, giving her hints on how to control herself
o Chuy introduces himself; she introduces herself as Crystal
 She is 17, a senior in high school, vice president of her school, a
cheerleader, runs track
 Chuy tells her about himself – track runner; doesn’t want to tell her about
slowing disappearing
 Tells her about how he was killed
 Crystal and Chuy go through Fausto’s neighborhood; he tells her that the
neighborhood isn’t that bad, even though it is dilapidated: ugly buildings,
laundry on lines, torn window screens
 The two go up the stairs and enter “the den of nickel-and-dime thieves.”
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The Afterlife
Chapter Six
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Fausto isn’t home, nor is the yellow-shoed killer
Chuy has learned about his body
o When he touches the hinges of the door, the coldness of death snaps the hinges,
breaking the door down  means that kids could come in and steal the bicycles
Chuy invites Crystal to meet his mom  realizes she too longs for home and her parents
He asks Crystal what she is thinking – she rests against him; he hugs her, and she hugs
back
o She says that she needs to go back home, and pushes Chuy away
o She admits that she died because of pills  Chuy assumes that a guy was
involved and asks her for his name  she doesn’t answer
o She runs off, and he chases her
o He asks her where she died (he is thinking of her body, perhaps undiscovered,
somewhere in the city)
o She tells him she died in her car, and that the car is at Roeding Park
Chuy and Crystal head to Roeding Park – middle of night
o Leafs flutter, a swing squeaks, the door of a shed bangs, the ducks are quacking
o They see a homeless man, who is dying; his ghost is starting to rise  Chuy
touches him, cooling his fever  the ghost goes back into the man’s body, as the
fever breaks
o They find the car  Crystal’s body has not been found
o Chuy asks her why she killed herself; he says, “you’re so beautiful”  she seems
surprised by his comment  Chuy kisses her  she cries on his shoulder
Chuy and Crystal go out to the city limits – Selma (raisin capital of the world)
o The sun is coming up
o Chuy’s legs are gone up to his knees; his forearms are gone
o Crystal’s toes are disappearing
o Chuy worries about his body completely disappearing before he gets the gun
away from Eddie
o Chuy tells Crystal that he loves her and wants to see her blue ribbons
o Chuy realizes that Crystal’s parents will be calling the police because their
daughter didn’t come home the night before
Chapter Seven
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Chuy remembers that his dad said a journey starts where you began
o Crystal lives on the farm where Chuy picked grapes when he was 12
o He remembers seeing a girl back then and falling in love with her – was it
Crystal? – was 5 years ago
o Chuy flies around, looking at the vineyards
o Chuy goes back to the house, where Crystal is sitting on the front porch  her
parents aren’t home – maybe at the hospital?
o They talk  Chuy realizes that she likes him
o Chuy and Crystal go inside
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The Afterlife
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The phone rings  a message comes in from Jason, who says he wants to
hear from Crystal  Chuy leaves the room
 Crystal comes in, demanding to leave
 Another call comes in from the sheriff’s office, asking her parents to call
 obviously, her body has been found
o Chuy tells Crystal he loves her
 She accuses him of lying
 He tells her he worked on the farm  tells her how he saw her  learns
that she is half-Mexican
o Chuy trails Crystal from one farm to another
 He follows her to a house; the boy is good looking, a football player in a
letterman’s jacket – many emblems and medals – plays many sports – also
has a tricked-out Honda
 Chuy asks, “Did his mommy buy his car?”  Crystal looks meanly at him
 The boy drives to a rich house, where there are two Lexuses
 This is Jason’s house
 The door opens and another letterman-jacketed boy comes out
 The two start hitting each other violently
 Crystal tells Jason that both are her boyfriends
 Chuy realizes that both may blame themselves when they learn of
her death
o Chuy and Cry lie together in a horse pasture, but Chuy has no arms with which to
hug her
 Chuy asks why she had two girlfriends  she says because she was
popular
 She tells Chuy she killed herself because she didn’t think she could make
it big in a big city, outside of her small town where she is popular; she
applied to Harvard and Stanford but didn’t get in  was going to go to
USC
 Chuy tells her that he likes her
 He also tells her about his visit to his grandfather’s grave
 Crystal confesses that she remembers Chuy from when he picked grapes
on her parent’s farm  she tells him he was cute then, even with his fat
face
Chapter Eight
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Chuy goes back to Roeding Park, where Crystal’s body and car are gone
o He pictures her mom crying, her two boyfriends at school
o Sees the homeless guy, who has now died; the ghost remembers Chuy trying to
help him
o Chuy and the homeless guy ghost (Robert Montgomery) talk, share names; Robert
says he always felt like a ghost; people walk by like he wasn’t there
o The Robert had seen Crystal kill herself – said there was nothing he could do to
help her  said the cops found her and also found him at the same time
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The Afterlife
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o Chuy tells Robert what being a ghost is like  also tells him he was stabbed to
death  Robert says he was stabbed once over a bottle of wine
o Chuy says he is going home  Robert says he doesn’t know what home is
Chuy and Robert get on a bus  Chuy’s arms and legs are gone
o The guy with the yellow shoes gets on the bus  Robert asks if there is anything
Chuy and he can do to him
o Two kids get on  the yellow-shoed guy jeers at them
o Robert gets inside the yellow-shoed guy  he looks sick and scared  his teeth
chatter and his knees go up and down like pistons
o Chuy doesn’t want to see more  jumps off the bus
Chuy goes to Eddie’s apartment
o A black suit is set out on the couch
o Chuy hears the phone ring  his mother leaves a message for Eddie: tells Eddie
to find the killer, offering more bullets if Eddie needs them; she tells Eddie that
Chuy loved him and that Chuy would do this for Eddie  Chuy is horrified –
doesn’t want Eddie to kill anyone
Chuy goes to his funeral  his mother and aunts are saying the rosary
o Chuy sees his body: dressed in a new black suit, with a new tie; his hands rest on
his stomach; his hair is combed nicely but his cheeks have too much makeup; he
has a smirk on his face
o Chuy sees Eddie give the gun back to his mother  Chuy is relieved
Chapter Nine
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Chuy leaves the funeral
o Walks in rain and laments (mourns) his death
o Feels sorry for himself and Crystal
Leaves Fresno in a van with three guys who are headed to the Raiders game
Chuy gets to the stadium, drifts to a front-row seat, and watches the game
o He drifts down to the head coach and then out onto the field, where a huge
football player runs right through him
o He watches the game and then decides to leave
He flies toward Fresno, ultimately riding the rest of the way with an elderly couple
Chapter Ten
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In Fresno – Tuesday morning
o Loiters in front of St. John’s Cathedral
o Goes in and says a prayer for Crystal
o Says a prayer for the Raiders, who had lost
o Prays to Jesus, saying that he loves his family and friends
o Asks God to take care of his parents
Turns around and sees Yellow Shoes come into the church
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The Afterlife
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Yellow Shoes has a crooked smile on his face
Chuy yells, “Who are you laughing at?”
Yellow Shoes says, “How are you?” and puts his hand out as a sign of peace
Chuy is freaked out
Robert’s ghost comes up out of Yellow Shoes  says he was trying to steer
Yellow Shoes right  Yellow Shoes runs out of the church
o Robert says he used to be a painter  says he should have done better
Chuy remembers a middle-school English teacher talking about afterlife, about how after
death there is the chance for another life
Sees a garbage truck, driven by one of the Raiders fans from the day before
Chuy heads south toward Selma, to hook up with Crystal
o Sees areas of broken bottles, where the homeless life
o Sees vineyards and cow pastures; sees a llama farm
o Arrives at Crystal’s house, where her father is sitting on the front porch
o A man from the funeral home is in the driveway
Chuy sees Crystal, coming out of the vineyard  her body is nearly gone
o She comes at him, with her stumps out and gives Chuy a kiss
o Crystal takes a last look at her parents
Chuy says, “Let’s go.”
o The two leap into the air, and the wind takes them
o They sail over the farm and out over another farm
Chuy says his dream was to grow up, work a regular job, hang out with friends, and be
with someone special
o He has received part of this dream, and he is grateful
o He loves her like no other
o The two fly southward toward what is the afterlife
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