Chuck was thirteen when he came home from the hospital. He came home not because he was getting better but because he wanted to be with people he knew and loved when he died. I came by the house to visit him and his family several times a week during his treatment. On most of my visits, Chuck was very weak. But the last time I saw him alive, he was awake. "I have got something for you." He pulled out a piece of crumpled   paper from under his pillow. "I want you to give this to my mom and dad after I die. You'll know when it's right, I guess, won't you?"  "What is it?" I asked. "It's a list of all the fun we had, and all the happy time when we laughed." I almost gasped in great surprise.  "Like what?" I asked quietly, trying to regain my calmness.   "Like the time when Mom, Dad, Chrissie, Linda and me were dressed up as fruits and Dad was driving us to a costume party. Dad was a bunch of grapes and I was an apple, and the others were different things like bananas and pears."  And a policewoman  _ for speeding. When the policewoman came up to the car, she looked and started laughing so hard that she could hardly stand up. And we all started laughing and she said, "Where are you all heading -- a salad bar?" Dad said he was sorry to be speeding, but his kids were getting so ripe  that they were starting to draw flies. And she laughed till she had to take off her dark glasses and wiped tears from her eyes."  Chuck laughed and so did I. The list was full of laughing and fun. What a wonderful gift, I thought. Why did the policewoman laugh when she looked into the car?
Because she mistook the children for fruits. Because she saw some flies around the children. Because she was frightened. Because the children were dressed in a funny way.