And all the time, like summer birds collecting on telephone wires, angels were gathering around me.

　　I didn't realise this then, but no-one is allowed to die alone. Ever. Some people see their guardian angels, just before they leave their bodies. I didn't. I didn't see much actually. My last few seconds on Earth went something like this.

　　One minute I'm crossing the road, humming a tune from a Jewel CD, totally fixated on the stuff I'm going to buy with my birthday money, then - BAM - it's over! Some sad kid in a stolen car snuffed me out. Just like that.

　　No, I didn't look down and see myself nee- hawing along in the ambulance. And as far as I remember, I didn't whoosh down a long bright tunnel and have a meaningful chat with some guy in robes either. I was just - GONE.

　　Don't get me wrong. That tunnel stuff could have happened. I could have blanked it out. But here's what I cio remember, OK?

　　I remember a hush which might have gone on for days or hours. I went extremely vague about time at that point. This hush wasn't like normal silence, by the way. You could hear music in it. Far-off music, which throbbed on and on without stopping, like a beautiful humming-top. It was the most blissful sound I'd ever heard.

　　I totally had to know where it was coming from, so I floated out past glittering stars and planets, passing so close it took my breath away.

　　Then without any warning, my personal soundtrack was switched back on and - BANG! I was in brilliant sunlight, walking towards a pair of swanky gates with a cool little angel logo on them.

　　And there, in letters so large and round that even my little sister couldn't mistake them, was the most surprising sign I'd ever seen in my life.

　　做梦都没有想到，这是我在地球上的最后一晚。

　　事后，我一直在反省，要是一早知道，我在地球上只能待上那么宝贵的几天，我都会干些什么呢？我会做出一些很大牌的事情，比如在电视上振臂疾呼，呼吁一些国家的头头脑脑们放下所有的武器，结束那些愚蠢的战争吗？

　　也许吧！

　　不过，我再也来不及做了。

　　死前的几天，我真的一点预感都没有，照样和以前一样，嘻嘻哈哈、没心没肺的。不过最闹心的也正在这里呢，不管怎么说，我在地球上最后的亮相，应该非常光辉灿烂才对嘛！

　　事实上，情形是这样的，简单得不能再简单：

　　我正在横穿马路，嘴里哼着一首歌，那是白金唱片上的单曲。

　　我一边想“该用生日红包买衣服还是买包包好呢”，一边走到马路正中间。

　　突然——“梆”的一声，一切都结束了。

　　一个可恶的家伙，开着偷来的车，把我撞飞了。

　　在我13岁生日的第二天，我就这样离开了人世，事情就是这样。

　　有些人说，在生命的最后一刻，每个人都会看见自己的守护天使，可是我没有。

　　一切来得太快，我没有看见那么多。

　　回想起来，当时我并没有像传说中那样，飞到空中，低头看自己躺在救护车里的样子，也没有沿着一条光明的隧道快速滑落。

　　我只记得，自己经历了几天或是几个钟头的寂静(那会儿谁还有时间概念啊)，四周异常的安静，忽然，远处飘来一阵“丁丁冬冬”的仙乐，好听极了，那是我听过的最美妙的音乐。

　　我想找到音乐是从哪里来的，于是飘啊飘啊，四周全都是星星，头一次和它们挨得这么近，我激动得都快忘记了呼吸。

　　突然，匡当一声，我的听觉恢复了正常。

　　眼前变得好亮，灿烂的阳光倾洒下来，两扇画着小天使的大门出现在我面前，门上悬挂着一个牌子，这个牌子我以前从来没见过，它非常精致，漂亮得让人吃惊，上面用我妹妹小玉都不会认错的、又大又圆的字写着：

　　天使学院。