The first time she died
The first time she died Adaline was alone.
Discussion
This story open hooks the reader much like the found corpses open we recently discussed. The difference here is a character is being introduced, not a narrator. The second difference is that the statement “the first time” implies that there are other times. This is unusual because people typically only die once. This introduces questions that beg for an answer. Questions like:
How did the narrator die? Was it murder, an accident, or natural causes?
When did the narrator die? This is after all the beginning of the story.
Why did the narrator die? Did they have it coming, or was the narrator undeserving of this death?
If it was murder, who killed them?
How can they die again? Did they somehow come back from death?
These questions arise because of a few factors. The first being that this is the opening statement of the story. Another because readers tend to find interest in the unusual.
Uses
This open could be used in a variety of ways. It could be used to introduce:
a time-traveling character
an immortal character who is reborn after each death.
a character who was brought back with medical aid.
a character who has been cloned, or has other versions of themselves as in a multiverse scenario
All of these characters are unusual and interesting.