Chomping on a taco, Matt almost drives into the corvette in front of him as he turns into the mall parking lot. Half choking with relief that he didn't hit it, he lets out a huge sigh and says "Oh my gosh. we were almost in their back seat!"

"No kidding," Julia says, with her foot still on an imaginary brake. "Slow down, would ya? I'd like to go to prom this year and graduate."

"Is that a hint?" Matt says, "or are you just trying to see if I'm listening?"

"A little bit of both," said Julia, as she leans forward, squinting through her sunglasses to read the neon bumper sticker that was almost in their laps. "What's that say? I can't read it."

"I don't know," Matt mumbled, "Something like, 'Hey! You're back! Glad you made it!'"

"So, what's that supposed to mean?" Michelle asked. "Did someone go on vacation?!"

"Funnybut, what does the fine print say?" Julia asked. "Can anyone read it?"

"No, not from here," Matt says as he pulls into a space and parks. "Let's go. We've got 20 minutes before the show starts and I want to get a good seat."

On the way in, they walk past the car with the neon bumper sticker. Julia notices it and says, "Wait up- I want to read this."

"Come on Jules," Dominique says, "I am not going to sit in the front row for the show."

"Look, it says: Hey! You're Back! Glad you made it! Then the bottom line says: Think before you choose choose life!"

"What?" Michelle said, as she dragged Julia towards the door by her arm.

"It says, 'Think before you choose. Choose life.' I wonder what it means."

"I don't know, Jules, I don't get it and I don't want to get it. What I do want to get is a good seat. Let's go!"

Scene II: After the movie at a pizza place, waiting for their order.

"That was the weirdest movie I've seen in a long time," Michelle said. "I hope I can sleep tonight."

"No kidding," Tina said, as she half-shouted. "Is William awake yet?"

"I'm awake," William said. "I saw the whole thing."

"Right. What was your favorite part?" Tina laughed. "Tell me your favorite part...if you can remember one!"

"Well," William said slowly, trying to remember something, "it was the part after the crash when the guy was in the hospital and they thought he was dead when he went out of his body and was trying to talk to his mother, but she couldn't hear him and he freaked out and tried to climb up on the bed and get back into his body but couldn't."

"That was creepy. I'd freak too," Matt said, taking the first huge piece of pizza as soon as it came to the table. "I mean, can you imagine everybody thinking you're dead, and you're not? And you can't tell them anything?"

"Nice manners," said Dominique. "Would you please pass the pizza this way? Thanks."

"Hey you guys-that sort of sounds like a show I saw on TV last week. You know, what's her name with the hot boyfriend was in it," said Michelle.

"Oh, yeah," said Julia, "my sister and I watched that. You mean the one with the little girl who dies from some disease that they can't cure and they show her leaving her body and floating up to some bright light with angels around her?"

"Yeah, that was cool-but sad. I had a cousin who died from cancer when she was 3 years old. I don't remember her, but she was really cute in her pictures," Tina said. "My aunt said that even though she misses her a lot, she knows that she'll be back Uh, my aunt and uncle are into Buddhism, sort of. And they believe in reincarnation."

"Reincar what?" said Matt.

"Reincarnation. It's when you get to come back in a new body after you die so you can finish your special work. Sort of like getting a second chance. And a third and a fourth and a fifth."

"You're kidding, right?" Matt said, his eyebrows up so high they almost hit the ceiling.

"No, I'm not kidding," said Tina. "That's what my aunt and uncle believe in. Buddhists and Hindus-a lot of people believe in reincarnation, even some Christians and Jews. I don't know, it's sort of relief when you think about it."

"Relief? I'd like to be relieved of this conversation! Anybody want more pizza?" Dominique said, with great (and dramatic) exasperation.

"No, really, Tina, I know what you're talking about," said Julia, reaching over Michelle's arm to get the last corner piece that wasn't burnt. "It's like-so what happens to all the babies who die? Or to kids who get killed in accidents? Or to people who die in wars or."

"Or to my dog, Champ, who got run over last year?" Matt offered.

"Matt! I'm being serious!" huffed Julia.

"So am I! Maybe Champ will come back as a Golden Retriever. Oh, no wait a minute what if I come back as a Golden Retriever!"

(Everyone but Julia laughs hysterically.)

"No, way, Matt, you won't come back as a dog, especially not a cute one! You'd come back as a baby boy or girl," said Tina, with a grin on her face.

"Not me. I'm not coming back as a girl. Thanks anyway, I'll pass," Matt says, in as deep a voice as possible.

"Well," Tina says, "It's not like, you, the guy, Matt, would come back in a girl's body. It's more like you have a soul and your soul keeps coming back into a new body lifetime after lifetime so you can have all different kinds of experiences and learn all different kinds of lessons."

"Right," Julia adds. "And after you've had a lot of different lives and you've become nicer and kinder and more loving to yourself and others, and you don't have any more lessons to learn, you don't have to come back at all. "

"Don't have to come back? Scary! What if I want to come back?" Dominique asked.

"Um I'm not sure. But, if you want to come back, I think you have to come back at the same time that everybody you are supposed to be with is around," said Tina.

"What do you mean-at the same time as everybody else we're supposed to be with?" Michelle asked. "Wouldn't we just be able to get back whenever we want to?"

"No, no. It doesn't work like that," Julia said. "My sister said that the idea is that you come back at the right time so you can be in the right place and with the right family and group of friends and do whatever work it is that's part of your plan part of your mission. She said that you have to be able to balance your karma with certain people, people that you maybe loved or hated in a previous life."

"Karma? Mission? This is getting too heavy for me. I'm out of here. Everybody ready to go?" Matt says, as he stands up and stretches and yawns loudly. "I have to get home before 1:00 a.m. so my car-ma isn't taken away from me!"

(This time, everyone laughs.)

"O.K. O.K.," Michelle says, "But I want to know what happens if I can't get back when I'm supposed to."

"Well, Michelle," Tina said, "I guess somebody else gets to marry your sweetie!"

Scene III: The next morning Julia is knocking on her older sister's bedroom door

"Hey, Audrey, are you awake?" Julia says somewhat quietly.

"I am now. What do you want?" grumbles Audrey.

"You know that book about reincarnation you read at college? Do you still have it?"

"No, Reina borrowed it. Why?"

"Michelle spent the night last night and we were talking about it and she wants to know what happens to people if they can't get back to earth when they are supposed to. Do you remember that part?"

"Yeah. What happens is, they miss an opportunity to balance their karma with certain people they might have needed to help in some way and their mission gets delayed."

"Oh. You mean like they miss being with their parents and their family and friends?"

"Yeah-and they miss meeting the right person and having kids, if that's what they are supposed to do. And they don't get to do the work they're here to do-like becoming a teacher or nurse or policeman-whatever. I don't remember everything why don't you go buy another book on it?"

"Uh, yeah, maybe. But, we just want to know what could prevent someone from coming back when they're supposed to. I mean, if you are supposed to be back at a certain time."

"Well, it's not like you can just place your order, Jules. You have to be in the right place at the right time and that might not happen. Say you're supposed to be born to someone who is 19 and when she gets pregnant, her boyfriend doesn't want her to have a baby, so she gets an abortion. Then, you lose your opportunity to be born."

"Couldn't I just wait until she gets pregnant again? Or have someone else be my mother?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe she doesn't get pregnant again or maybe you have to have certain people be your parents so they can balance their karma with you by taking care of you or something. There are a lot of abortions these days a lot of souls aren't getting back at the right time. It's too early for all of this. let me go back to sleep. I'll talk to you guys later."

Scene IV: Julia and Michelle eating breakfast at the kitchen table

"Michelle, want another bagel?" Julia asked, as the toaster popped up.

"Yeah, but just half, thanks," Michelle said, with her nose buried in the comics section of the paper.

"So," Julia said, "what do you think?"

"What do I think about what?"

"What do you think about the whole reincarnation and abortion thing?"

"I don't know," Michelle said. "I never really thought about it before. Have you?"

"No, not really--but it makes sense. If there are souls waiting to be born but they can't get back because they are aborted well, gosh, think how many people aren't here. Millions."

"Yeah, millions and millions. Makes you wonder."

"Oh,no."

"What?"

"Now I get it."

"Get what?"

"That bumper sticker on the car in the parking lot-you know, the one that said, 'Hey, you're back! Glad you made it! Think before you choosechoose life.'"

"Oh, yeah maybe we should tell Dominique."