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1. Amy who's previously visited Ruby Pier and Eddie is gifted the animal shaped balloon when she comes to visit him for the last time.

2. Her parent's neglect and irresponsibility put her in a dangerous situation where she stands beneath a falling roller coaster. She's saved by Eddie, who in turn loses his life.

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1. Dominguez was a fellow colleague of Eddie's and was there at the site of his death. And though it wasn't exactly grieving, he found sadness in Eddie's death who he'd known for several years.

2. Dominguez would visit Eddie's house after his funeral which he'd attended. There he looked around to find how surprisingly tidy Eddie kept his house.

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1. A part of Eddie's unit in the war. He was alongside Eddie during their long days of captivity.

2. Rabozzo maintains a "poker face" for what I assume is to show little weakness. However, his health rapidly declines due to the poor conditions in which they'd been held.

3. Rabozzo meets his end while mining for cold when Crazy 2 (Captain's nickname for one of the four Philippine soldiers) shoots him in his skull, surprising not just Eddie's unit but the other Philippine soldiers as well.

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1. Also a part of Eddie's unit that took part in WW2 at the Philippines. He tries to encourage Eddie to leave to escape but it's to no avail. Words won't get through, so the captain is forced to take action.

2. Has a habit of constantly talking when he's nervous or in situations that may cause anxiety.

3. Alongside the Captain, Morton leads the escape out of the camp where they'd been held. It's also his idea to set fire to the surrounding as a form of revenge.

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1.  Smitty's sort of the opposite of Morton, as he's on the quieter side, keeping to himself for the majority of the days they were captive.

2. Smitty and the other members of the unit began to slowly lose strength and weight. They barely manage to muster the strength to take down the guards after entertaining them.

3. Smitty and the Captain are the ones to sneakily get behind the guards while their attention is diverted, dealing the killing blow.

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1. Eddie's 2nd person in heaven. He has characteristics such as intelligence and decisiveness.

2. The lesson in which the Captain teaches Eddie is that sacrifice is not the same as loss. That sacrifice despite what it may seem, actually builds connections while giving meaning to life. That in many cases, there's more to gain than lose in the process of sacrifice.

3. Basically was born into war. It was his everything, as he never really expanded his horizons. He would formally address his father and follow military protocol even within the household.

4. Is held captive alongside the other members of the unit. The Captain is unlike the other members and keeps his cool during the long trying months at the camp. He is the one to lead the squad members until the end of his life where he also sacrifices himself by clearing a path only to step on a landmine.

5. When Eddie was ignoring words and reason, staring into the heart of the fire, it was the captain who made the split decision to shoot Eddie in the leg. He thought it was one of those moments a soldier began to lose their mind, and acted out of concern for Eddie's life.

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1. Introduced as one the members of the "freak show" at Ruby Pier. Previously referred to as Joseph Corvelzchik, he grew up experiencing many hardships which would ultimately lead to his current occupation. Constant struggling to reach ends meet and attain a job landed him with the showbiz of being the "freak" people would stare at.

2. Due to his family's financial struggles, Joseph was forced to drop out of school and help his father within the field of his work. It was only when Joseph was scolded by the head that his father felt embarrassed and disappointed in him.

3. This led to long term anxiety and issues with controlling his nerves. As a result, he'd resorted to taking the drugs supplied by a nearby chemist who prescribed him with silver nitrate.

4. The drugs didn't seem to be taking an effect, so he would increase the dosage to a dangerous degree causing his body's skin and features to deform.

5. The Blue man reveals to Eddie that it was him who indirectly killed him. Eddie's sudden approach to the road gave Joseph an immense amount of stress along with moderate injuries. It was large amounts of stress that eventually got to him leading to his death. Joseph teaches Eddie that while death may barely miss someone, it'll someone else in their place,

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1. Tala is an innocent Pilipino girl who is also Eddie's 5th person in heaven. Although Eddie had seen her in his life, he did not recognize her due to the circumstances.

2. It's revealed the Tala was the figure within the fire. Her screams/cries of pain and agony were what was calling out to Eddie those many years ago.

3. She bears no ill feelings towards Eddie, and it's noted that she is still very child-like within the realm of heaven. Her heaven revolves around what made her happy during her time on Earth which seems.to be a playful environment filled with kids of her age.

4. Tala's death was ultimately due to her mother's instructions of staying within their hut.

5. Eddie who's now overcome with guilt and sorrow is assured by Tala that he has fully repented for killing Tala. That his time at Ruby Pier, protecting kids, as well as, saving one right before his death was all to make up for unintentionally killing Tala. Tala also reveals that it was her hands Eddie felt before passing on to heaven.

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1. The one and only person Eddie ever came to love. She exudes brightness and energy from her lively personality, and is also the 4th person Eddie meets in heaven.

2. She assures Eddie not to worry, as she states that she'll wait until he returns from the war. She's a woman of her word, as she kept her promise.

3. Marguerite desperately wishes to adopt a child after finding out she is infertile. Her and Eddie save money to adopt a child and support it, but Eddie irresponsibly ends up using that money for his own entertainment.

4. At the age of 47, Marguerite dies from brain cancer, leaving Eddie alone and depressed for his remaining time on earth.

5. When Eddie is taken to Marguerite's heaven, he finds that every door he opens leads to a unique wedding. Weddings are where Marguerite believes true love is formed. The pact that seals wedded couples is eternal; hence, Marguerite's lesson for Eddie is that love does not expire after death but instead continues through the presence of memories.

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1. Eddie's mother for the most part is caring and gentle with her kids. It's always her that seems to begin the celebration for Eddie's birthdays.

2. She scars Eddie by ignoring him cries for help during his darkest times. While he's relentlessly beaten by his abusive father, Eddie's mother doesn't really do anything to change or alter the situation.

3. She falls into denial and is pretty much delusional after the death of her husband, Eddie's father. She doesn't accept the fact that he's gone and continues her day to day life as if he were still there.

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1. Joe is more reserved than Eddie despite being older. He avoids physical confrontations while Eddie does all the fighting.

2. He pursues the occupation of a lifeguard, and in Eddie's words, seems well groomed and taken care of (from what I remember).

3. Joe actually ends up living a content life, making good money as a salesmen. No longer a part of Eddie's life, he'd every now and then said birthday letters or other things of the sort. Sadly, he gets heart-attack, he dies.

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1. One of Eddie's friends when he was around the age of 30. He's sort of obsessed with racetracks and encourages Eddie to gamble despite the stakes.

2. Everything that occurred on Eddie's birthday, from Marguerite's accident to the loss of funds for adoption make Eddie realize Noel isn't the best person to hang around.

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1. Emile is Ruby's spouse and different from her, comes from a fairly fortunate background. With access to lots of money, Emile is unlike the other people of his stature, finding joy in more common activities.

2. He coincidentally meets Ruby at the diner where she worked. Their love for each other rapidly grows and ultimately causes Emile to build a pier out of dedication for her.

3. After the accident which burns down Ruby Pier, Emile finds his life in shambles. He falls sick and only regrets the fact he'd built Ruby Pier in the first place.

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1. Mickey is entertained by the same hobbies Eddie's father likes. Which explains their lasting friendship over the years.

2. He's the person to introduce Eddie's father to the field of repair and maintenance. However, after losing his own job Mickey finds himself in a depressing situation. Upon seeking help, he stumbles into Eddie's household in Eddie's father's absence. He sort of forces himself onto Eddie's mother having little control over himself, which causes the misunderstanding.

3. After all this, he becomes suicidal while drunk and tries throwing his life away by jumping into the endless ocean. Mickey's life is saved by Eddie's father who could not help but save the man who he's known for many years.

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1. Eddie's father dislikes what he perceives as the less manly aspect in Joe who decided to pursue the occupation of a lifeguard.

2. Eddie's father is a severe alcoholic who has violent tendencies that he directs towards his two sons, Eddie and Joe.

3. He never really pays or acknowledges Eddie unless he wins in a fight, sports, or follows his own occupation as a repair worker/maintenance. Not a very good role model.

4. One night whilst returning from work, Eddie's father opens the door to his house, only to see his friend of many years physically harassing his own wife. The book never really explicitly states how Eddie's dad perceives said situation, but it probably wasn't in a good way.

5. Eddie's father dies a slow death to pneumonia, which he likely caught from saving his friend Mickey.

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1. Ruby is the only person of the 5 people that Eddie meets that did not actually meet him during their lives on Earth. She has a connection to Eddie through the pier which Eddie practically lived the entirety of his life at.

2. In the novel, Ruby is described as a classy women dressed in formal clothing with frills, buttons, and other fancy stuff. This misleads Eddie into thinking she originated from a rich background.

3. Ruby actually comes from a very humble background. Barely making ends meet, her life is revolutionized upon meeting the love of her life, Emile.

4. Ruby unlike Eddie, knows very well regarding the circumstances his father had to endure. She retells the story that involves Mickey and Eddie's father.

5. The lesson Ruby tries to teach Eddie is the importance of forgiveness. In Eddie's case, that'd be to forgive his father despite the countless years of neglect and abuse.

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1. Eddie is a war veteran that bears a leg injury severe enough to cause his pain on a daily basis. It's also the reason he limps whilst using a cane to get from place to place.

2. In a way, Eddie blames his leg for preventing him from achieving more in life. In reality, many people with greater and more severe disabilities manage fine while achieving great things. So Eddie who makes it seem like it's impossible to move on with his life is really just blaming his circumstances without putting in the effort needed to achieve more.

3. Eddie meets Marguerite for the first time at Ruby Pier. He's at loss for words, utterly flabbergasted by her beauty. They eventually marry once Eddie returns from the war.

4. Eddie takes part in WWII serving his time in the Philippines alongside the rest of his squadron and captain.

5. After escaping the camp in which they'd been held for "months", Eddie looks deep into the fire that they lit only to see what appears to the figure of a person.

6. Eddie is unable to look directly at his father after returning from the war. He's severely injured and believes he's let his father down who's always thought highly of his masculine side.

7. When Eddie was younger, he'd often be abused by his father who was an alcoholic with gambling habits.

8. Eddie now older, refuses to take further abuse from his father. As a result, his father decides to pretty much ignore Eddie, giving him the silent treatment until his last breath.

9. Before Eddie is sent to heaven after dying from the faulty rollercoaster, he tries to save a young girl named Annie/Amy by pushing her away from the area of disaster. However, in his dying moments, he recalls having felt what seemed like the small hands of a girl; this leaves him questioning the people in heaven about how the situation played out.

10. Eddie suffers from depression and "the darkness" which hinders his sleep. He feels undeserving of Marguerite's love when all he feels in sadness, and wants "the darkness" to leave him alone.

11. As Eddie gets older, because of circumstances like his mother's health, as well as, the death of his father, he's forced to take additional jobs which do not align with his personal interest whatsoever. He even ends up following his father's steps by working the exact job his father had.

12. Slowly but surely, the people around Eddie pass on before he does. He doesn't seem to find anymore joy when it comes to the little things in life; hence, why he's portrayed as sort of a grumpy old person at the start of the novel.

13. At the start of Eddie's journey in heaven, he doesn't believe he's lived a meaningful life in anyway. In fact, after hearing the blue man and captain's story he feels like his life was even more worthless than he'd initially believed.\

14. Eddie can be described as someone who's tough, kind, hardworking, and humble. Apart from the sadness which dulled his sense of happiness as he'd gotten older, Eddie is an honest person who genuinely cares about the safety of those around him.

15. Eddie finally comes to realize the purpose of heaven after the 5 people he meets help him reflect on the events of his life. He learns valuable lessons from each of them, and eventually becomes one of the 5 people another person will come to meet (probably the little girl he saved).