I Shan't Die

      "I really would like to rejoin the Earth."
      "Yes, so would I."
      "I would become a peony in my next life."
      "And I, a tulip."
      "Oh, me as well!"
      An attentive little ear listened to the many voices.  It was very lively.
      "I shall be an apple tree."
      "Well, isn't that nice, I will be a blueberry bush."
      "Oh, I'm so excited!"
      "I wonder when our bodies shall once again become dirt..."
      "Oh, I hope soon."
      "Yes, soon!"
      "Soon!" many voices cheered.
      "Hmph!"  The voices shushed.  "I do not see why you are all so excited.  I, for one, shall not die."
      The crowd gasped.
      "He says he shan't die!"
      "Then you shall live alone!"
      "A lonely life!"
      A young boy sat looking at the energetic voices.  No one should want to die, he thought.  But...
      "While you gloat in you immortality, we shall die and bear much fruit."
      "We shall become the fruits of the Earth."
      "What meaning is your life if you do not die?  After all, you are just a seed, as I am - as we all are."
      "Hmph!  I shan't die."
      The little seeds vibrated in the small hands of a curious boy.