The Sky Crawlers

The Sky Crawlers

“I didn’t tell them when they were actually going to die, though. That’s a very false rumor,” Teddy said. “could have, but I knew that in their hearts they really didn’t want to know. I mean I knew that even though they teach Religion and Philosophy and all, they’re still pretty afraid to die.” Teddy sat, or reclined, in silence for a minute. “It’s so silly,” he said. “All you do is get the heck out of your body when you die. My gosh, everybody’s done it thousands and thousands of times. Just because they don’t remember it doesn’t mean they haven’t done it. It’s so silly.”

This excerpt is from Teddy, a short story included in Nine Stories (written by J. D. Salinger)