After the Stage Manager ends his introductory speech, we see Emily’s cousin, Sam Craig, enter and address the undertaker, Joe Stoddard, who is supervising Emily’s grave. Sam introduces himself because he moved to Buffalo twelve years earlier. He notices Mrs. Gibbs’ grave and recalls the fact that his Aunt Julia is dead.
While Joe and Sam talk, Mrs. Gibbs’ spirit identifies Sam for the rest of the dead. Mr. Stimson says he always feels uncomfortable when the living visit the cemetery. Meanwhile, Joe wonders if the dead chose the verses which appear on the tombstones. He reads Simon Stimson’s epitaph and recalls that Simon committed suicide. The epitaph is only a few notes of music which Simon chose before taking his life.
Sam asks about Emily’s death and learns that she died during childbirth. Joe adds: “’Twas her second, though. There’s a little boy ’bout four years old ” The Gibbs lot is almost full; Emily’s grave is in a new section that has just opened by Avenue B. While Sam and Joe talk, four men enter from the left carrying a casket. Others follow in procession under an umbrella. Mrs. Soames wonders who the new person is. Mrs. Gibbs replies that it is her daughter-in-law, Emily, who died giving birth. Mrs. Soames says that she remembers childbirth and how awful life was, but after a pause she notes softly how wonderful it was, too. Simon Stimson disagrees. Mrs. Soames then recalls the loveliness of Emily and George’s wedding, how smart Emily was as a high school student, and the beauty of George and Emily’s new farm. Emily, wearing a white dress and girlishly long hair tied with a ribbon, emerges from the crowd of mourners. Hesitant and a little dazed, she approaches the other spirits. With quiet dignity and serenity, she greets them. They return her greeting.
Emily expresses the newness she is experiencing. It seems to her that she has been apart from the living for thousands of years. She dislikes being new in the cemetery. She tells “Mother Gibbs” what a wonderful place she and George made of their farm, but Mrs. Gibbs takes little interest in her human endeavors. Emily adds that the farm won’t be the same to George now that she is dead. Suddenly she realizes that living people don’t understand death. She tells Mr. Carter that her little boy is spending the day at his house. Like Mrs. Gibbs, Mr. Carter seems uninterested in human affairs.
Emily is curious to know when her feelings of connection with the living will cease. Mrs. Gibbs replies that she must be patient. As the funeral service ends, various mourners begin to leave the stage. Emily notices that Father Gibbs places some of the funeral flowers on Mrs. Gibbs’ grave. One of the spirits comments on the change in the weather.
Suddenly, Emily sits up. She realizes that she can return to the living world and relive all her days. The Stage Manager, however, as well as Mrs. Soames and Mrs. Gibbs, all advise against returning to the past. They assure her that she will be disappointed. The Stage Manager adds that she not only will live in the past but also will see herself living it. Thus, as she watches, she will be able to remain in the present while knowing the future. Mrs. Gibbs tries to dissuade Emily. The point of living among the dead, she says, is to forget the past and think of what lies ahead. Emily, however, insists on seeing for herself. Mrs. Gibbs advises her to choose an unimportant day. Emily compromises by choosing to relive her twelfth birthday.
