While the others prepared to outrun the blaze, Eddie raced into a burning tent because he thought there was a child trapped inside. In the aftermath, the Captain commanded Eddie and the other soldiers to torch the supposedly empty village under which they had been imprisoned. We learn that Eddie was responsible for devising the plan that enabled the Americans' escape. Eddie recalls being held captive by enemy soldiers for many months, along with the Captain and four others. Here, Eddie meets the second of his 'Five People': the commanding officer of his World War II platoon, whom he calls Captain. The Blue Man finally tells Eddie that he must meet four more people before he can continue on his journey into the afterlife.Įddie’s surroundings change and he finds himself in the scorched earth of war. Eddie asks the Blue Man if the little girl he tried to save from the falling ride actually survived, but his companion gives no response. Young Eddie dashed in front of the Blue Man’s car chasing a runaway baseball, and the Blue Man's rattled nerves led him into a car accident that eventually killed him. The Blue Man reveals to Eddie that he was responsible for the Blue Man's death. It is here that Eddie meets the Blue Man, who was part of the Ruby Pier sideshow when Eddie was eight years old. All of his mortal aches and pains seem to have disappeared. Eddie's first stop in Heaven is Ruby Pier, 75 years before the day he died. Mitch Albom constructs the remaining sections of this novel by alternating between Eddie's present-tense encounters in Heaven and flashbacks to Eddie's various birthdays. He remembers grasping her small hand and then - his life is over. Moving as quickly as he can, Eddie tries to save a young girl from being crushed by the falling cart.

Eddie is proud of Ruby Pier's spotless safety record, but that all changes when a missing car key damages the machinery on a ride called “Freddy's Free Fall.” Screaming patrons are stranded, dangling in the air as the cart threatens to fall off the track. However, Eddie is beloved at Ruby Pier his co-worker Dominguez and the visiting children can see through his prickly exterior. Eddie is resigned to his position, even though he swore to never follow in his father's footsteps. Most of the people he loved have passed away and the knee injury he sustained during World War II still plagues his every movement. He is 83 years old and works as the maintenance manager at Ruby Pier amusement park, the same job his father once held. The Five People You Meet in Heaven begins on the last day of Eddie's life.

The five people you meet in heaven