"Out."

"I know that, but where did you go?"

"To the cemetery. You know that guy who used to live in the old house on the hill? Well he's dead now. We went to his funeral. It was awesome!"

"Yeah, awesome!" said Jodey.

"Fancy that," said Mum, dreamily, "Mr Smith's finally passed away. He must have been nearly a hundred."

"Did you know him?"

"No," said Mum, "But I think granny did. She told me she did some nannying for him when she was younger."

"The minister said "Dust to dust, ashes to ashes?" said Jodey.

"Fair enough," agreed Mum, "That's what we're made of."

"I'm not made of ashes!" protested Nip.

"Its just an expression," said Mum amused, "It means we're made of the same stuff the ground is made of."

"Oh yeah?" said Nip, "Like Jodey's got rocks in his head!"

"Which reminds me," said Mum, "Today's Wednesday. We'll be seeing her today."

"Who? Oh yeah, granny! I wish I was at school," grumbled Jodey.

"Don't say that," said Mum, "She loves seeing you. It cheers her up no end."

"Yeah, but she's so doddery she never remembers who we are, and she doesn't even know you've been to see her before!"

"That's what some folks get like when they're very old. They lose their memory. You might be like that one day - how would you like it if nobody talked to you just because you were old?"

"I'll never get old!" said Nip.

"We'll see," said Mum.

Jodey polished off his bowl of cereal and leaned back with a sigh of satisfaction.