There was silence all around, except for the light chirping made by crickets or some other insects, but it was too hard to tell since the sound could hardly penetrate the silence. If one were to guess based on the gloom in the atmosphere that a funeral was going on, he would not be winning any prize but would be correct nevertheless.

But on closer inspection at the expression of the people who had gathered, it was clear that sorrow was not the predominant emotion whatsoever. There was curiosity, puzzlement, contemplation and a collection of other emotions but the melancholy that comes with the loss of someone near and dear were few and far between. Even the silence afforded seemed more of a gesture of keeping the tradition alive rather than paying homage to the dead. From that, it wasn't too hard to conclude that the person who now lay in the coffin either did not have family members who cared about him or that his close family members were not present at the venue. But the former did not seem too likely of a possibility since the person resting inside the coffin was a young boy, who seems to have barely hit his puberty and was too young to garner the resentment of his family. 

The funeral was being held traditionally, in an open green field. There was an empty podium and beside it lay the casket in which the body of the young boy lied. The early morning fog was shrouding distant vision, but one could make out what looked like gravestones near the periphery where they almost seemed to merge and disappear amongst the fog. This gave an almost surreal and unearthly feeling to the event. There were no chairs for anyone to sit on, and everyone was standing as dictated by the tradition. Nevertheless, some seemed quite annoyed by the silence and the long wait.

Then a shallow sobbing finally broke the silence. It was another boy, who seemed to be around the age of the boy inside the coffin. He was dressed in a black suit that resembled the garments worn by the other men who were attending the funeral, but it was quite apparent from the quality of the material that he was from a very wealthy family. If one missed the quality of the garment by any chance, the men who looked like bodyguards that surrounded the young boy was a dead giveaway. 

The boy finally fought through the fit of sobbing and stuttering and could be heard talking to himself "Why did you have to die like this? We had a lot of plans," but the boy was unable to finish the sentence and fell back to faintly sobbing.

A tall dignified man who was had been standing next to him all along placed his hands on the young boy's shoulder. The boy looked like the younger version of the man, except for the charm and sophistication that can only come with experience and exposure to wide social circles. The man crouched down at eye level with the young boy and said "Jonathan my son, you must be strong. What would your friend say if he saw you crying in such a manner? Your friend was brave even in the face of certain death and crying here would be nothing short of disrespect towards him," The boy took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. He wiped away his tears using the sleeve of his suit, and looked at his father in the eye and nodded vigorously.

The young boy who had "expired" recently couldn't help but muse to himself 'The person who seems to be most affected by my death is someone whom I am not particularly fond of. Well, it was within my expectation that people wouldn't care whether I lived or died, but finding Jonathan so heartbroken is really surprising. I almost feel like jumping out of the casket and giving Jonathan a tight bear-hug.'

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The priest had finally arrived. His white clothes created a sharp contrast in the sea of dark clothing. The crowd parted to give way as the priest was heading towards the podium. Some were greeting him with small bows, the respect that must be shown to a man of God. Throughout the way, he too returned the gesture with a nod of acknowledgment and a congenial smile on his face. 

After making his way to the podium, and occupying a comfortable position and posture, he slowly glanced through the people who had assembled there. His eyes paused on the casket that lay to the side for a fraction of a second and then looked towards the gathering again.

"Everyone, I deeply apologize for the delay that I have caused. I was not in town, and rushed here as soon as I got the heartbreaking news and got to know that I would be the one conducting the funeral," said the priest.

Although his hair was completely white, almost transparent even, and although he looked so frail that a strong gust of wind can easily blow him over, his voice reverberated throughout the area without the need for any special pieces of equipment. His voice did not seem to portray the frailty that is suggested by his appearance. His voice even had a magnetic and mesmerizing effect to it, that was easily able to command the attention of the masses, and carried a sense of tranquility that almost instantaneously erased the displeasure that had accumulated.

The boy in the casket thought to himself 'It seems like they have sent someone very important to hold my funeral ceremony. I will just consider this to make up for the lack of tears shed by people. Seriously, why can't they at least pretend to make some weeping noises? If dead people watch over their funeral as legend says, they would be very disappointed by this sight. Well, I am getting front row seats to this due to my unique circumstance'

The priest continued "We have all gathered here to say our farewells to the young Theodore Everton, who has been accepted by God back to his loving embrace. I never had the pleasure of talking to the young boy, but I have heard quite a lot about him. A genius that is seen once in a generation, but never arrogant or complacent. His parents were snatched away from him at a very young age due to a tragic event, and maybe this is God's way of making up to him by calling him back early so that he can reunite with his parents in the kingdom of heaven,"

If Theodore could stand up and speak right now, he would jump up, push the priest aside and cry out in indignation 'Buddy, please stop pushing everything single good and bad thing on God. Even when someone dies, you find a way to put a positive spin on it and push it all on God. He too would feel very annoyed by the sophistry used by your gang.' But unfortunately, he could not. He was as still and motionless as a dead person can ever be.

But Theodore's internal grumblings did not deter the priest from continuing "His untimely demise happened as he was doing something that he loved the most, research in partnership with the church to help the destitute and the needy. Somewhere in his quest to take care of the others, he had forgotten to take care of himself. When the workers had found him, he lay collapsed on the floor due to exhaustion. He can finally close his eyes and rest peacefully"

Theodore couldn't help but add in his mind 'Mr. Priest, don't you think that the puncture marks on my neck would have had a slight role in all of this? For a Holy man, you are quite capable of lying with a straight face, and could even give me a run for my money. Well, I do get the idea that publicizing what had actually transpired would not be in the best interest of either the church or the common people. At least you are making me sound like a tragic hero, but the mode of my death seems very lame. Since it is a lie anyway, you could have spiced things up much more.' It wasn't surprising that no one noticed the puncture marks due to clothes that were worn by him. It wouldn't even raise suspicion as such clothes that covered the entirety of the skin except for the face was the common attire for the dead.

The priest seemed to have run out of random things to say about Theodore at this point. He said "I know many of you would like to say something about Theodore. Some of it would be to share the experiences you had with him with the others gathered here, some of it would be the things that you were not able to tell him when he was alive. We believe that the dead always attends their funeral, watching over the proceeding before cutting away all their terrestrial ties and ascending to heaven. I hereby invite anyone who would like to come up and talk"

Theodore mused to himself 'This seems like a good time as any to think about the choices that I had made in my life that has led me to this situation'