Embalming the ashes
The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (literally "sun-city" in Greek). It is said that the bird's cry is that of a beautiful song. The Phoenix's ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal, though in some stories the new Phoenix is merely the offspring of the older one. In very few stories they are able to change into people.
[Possible start to the story]
When Lynda sees Florence for the first time since high school graduation, she decides to kill her on the spot. She wants to burn her but she doesn't have any time for that. Ever since Florence was chosen as her partner in home economics, she wanted to destroy her. Florence was never good at any of their projects and she had to pull all the weight to finish it to her liking. She was President of the FHA. That class was supposed to be a breeze for her. Instead Florence had to ruin it. It wasn't that she didn't do the work, but that she tried and simply ruined it to the point that they had to start over from scratch. Florence slowed her down. If they had finished their work on time, she wouldn't have had to stay after school that day. She could have been at Browning's hanging with the other popular girls and boys. She wore her best poodle skirt that day and was hoping to catch Billy's eye when he saddled up to the juke box. He would have noticed her for sure. Instead Billy asked Beverly to the prom. They even ended up winning King and Queen. She heard they got married and moved to Austin.
She was going to make Florence pay for this. She knew Florence could be persuaded to try on some makeup. If anyone knew anything about make-up it was her. Once she got her at the make-up counter until she can decide how to get rid of her for once and for all. As Florence sat in the stool, Lynda begins to talk to her and discovers that there's a different side to Florence. One that she never knew.
[Notes]
The story is about shedding the past in an effort to greet the future. Florence must kill off the writer who wanted to reform the world, the salutatorian, the good Christian girl, the girl who supposedly saved her mother's life (from suicide), the girl, the college student who wanted to study archaeology.
[Idea]
1. Story is about a detective trying to figure out three murders and a missing person. The only problem is that one of the bodies is unidentifiable and no one is claiming to know anything about her. The unidentifiable victim is pretty badly damaged. She is headless and her skin has been torn off.
2. Story is about Shareef trying to understand who he just met. Who is the girl that just got off the airplane and is calling herself Florence?
3. Mailman as metaphor for the cotton picker. The letters are the fluffy white fruit of the boll that he puts into his bag. He then takes them all over the world. (how to use this in the story)