"To die will be an awfully big adventure." - Peter Pan
He hadn't been close to Sister Clare. She'd come to the orphanage only a year before and mostly dealt with the younger kids. Still, he thought he should feel something. Something other than a mild interest in the proceedings, anyway. Sure, there had been countless Masses, and he'd been an altar boy before, but not at a funeral. The orphanage only had a small church attached, and very few outsiders came for services there. It was strange, since there was a much larger church only a few blocks away they could have gone to. Then again, dragging thirty or forty kids of varying ages those few blocks would've been a strategic nightmare.
Strategic. He liked that word. They were just getting into the Civil War in history class, and while his interest in the politics was minimal, the battles were engrossing. Especially the "strategies".
He brought himself back to the present at a push from the kid behind him and quickly genuflected before moving into the pew. He did see an older couple sitting in the very front row, and a man who looked to be about the same age as Sister Clare. Must be her family. Funny how few nuns had families come to visit. Or maybe they just met up outside the orphanage. He'd have to ask Magill about that...
The funeral was, quite frankly, a disappointment. He'd expected something special, but it was basically just another Mass with a few extras tossed in. And then they all had to march out to the street where the hearse waited, and show their respect as the coffin was loaded in. Then the family and Magill and a handful of nuns got into waiting cars and drove away.
And that was it. He was curious about what would happen at the cemetery. He'd been told there was yet another ceremony there, but he'd had enough pomp for the day. At least they didn't have to go to class until tomorrow. The boys went to their dorm, talking about the car accident in bloody detail. As if they actually knew anything about it.
He didn't stay long but headed into the garden at the back. It was nice out there, with nobody else around. The sun was shining, and he sat on a bench in the shade, thinking.
He'd never encountered death before. Some of the other kids had, of course. It was why a lot of them ended up here, though they didn't really talk about it. But he wondered about it now. Was that what had happened to his parents? He sighed. Not that it mattered.
What would it be like? Not so much the going to heaven part. That was talked about all the time here. But the actual dying...
He sighed again. He supposed, one day, he'd find out. Maybe when he was old and sick. Or maybe like Sister Clare, in an accident of some kind. Or he could die a hero, like the guys in the Civil War. Better than dying old or just by accident.
At least that would be exciting...