In THE LAST GHOST, the Death that comes to end a person's life depends on the nature of the cause of death. There are 16 deaths, called Fatalities, in the book. Over the next 16 days, we will meet one Fatality each day, and discuss which heartbreaking fictional character death belongs with each character.
Meet the Twelfth Fatality, Sudden, Unexpected Early Death, Commonly Referred to as Alexi
"The only death she thought was fast enough was probably Alexi, and that’s mostly due to the impartial, clinical aspect he brought to his work. He was the only one that seemed like he was just doing his job, and was waiting for his shift to end so he could grab a beer with his buddies. Not that shifts ever ended."--The Last Ghost
When Christian dies in Chapter One of The Last Ghost, Woe goes to find Alexi to ask him if Christian should have been his case. He handles, sudden, unexpected early death, which could be accidents, which means he shares with Alexi, or it could be death from unknown causes—except he almost exclusively handles young people.
If Christian (at the age of 22) did just die in a car accident, it is reasonable that Alexi would have received him, but according to Alexi, he wasn’t his case.
However, Alexi, has had some of the most heartbreaking deaths in literature.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Alexi has the honor of being the death for most likely the first book to ever make me cry, and that is The Bridge To Terabithia.
“She had tricked him. She had made him leave his old self behind and come into her world, and then before he was really at home in it but too late to go back, she had left him stranded there--like an astronaut wandering about on the moon. Alone.” —Bridge to Terabithia, Katharine Patterson
Lesley’s death in Bridge to Terabithia is sadder than any children’s book has any right to be (not really.) It was certainly the first book I ever read that handled the death of a child, which I was raised to believe is one of the most unnatural things that happen. Patterson does a truly masteful job exploring grief, but I am still shocked and sad thinking about it now, and it’s been decades!
What other heartbreaking character deaths do you think would meet Alexi?