“Mommy ... Mommy was just like Qui-Gon Jinn," Patrick said. “She was a warrior. She was gentle and she loved us very much, and she was so smart and built wonderful things, but when the bad guys attacked, she fought like a Jedi Knight.”

“She sure did,” Chris Wohl said. “She was as brave as a Jedi Knight. Even as brave as a U.S. Marine.”

Bradley smiled, then looked at the urn. “So we can keep this?”

Patrick tapped Bradley’s chest, then his head. “Mommy’s here, in your heart; and she’s here, in your memory. And she’ll always be there. Forever. She’s not in there.”

“Then why do we have Mommy’s ashes in there?”

Patrick had thought about this moment since he left Libya: how to explain death to his young son. The only thing he could decide is to try to not explain too much at once. He was young; he would eventually understand.

“Brad, I told you about the soul, remember?”

“Yes,” Bradley said proudly. “The soul is the tiny bit of magic that makes a person.”

“Right. And what did I tell you about the soul?” Bradley looked a little confused. “Can the soul ever die?”

“You said ‘no.’ ”

“Right. The soul can never die. Everything that we loved about Mommy was in her soul, and that can never die. Right?” The little boy nodded. “But our bodies can die. They wear out, get old, and get hurt. Doctors can fix our bodies, but our bodies will eventually die anyway. Like trees and flowers and all living things, they die.”

“Like Mufasa in The Lion King?” Patrick smiled and nodded—thank God for kids’ movies. “Are you going to die too, Dad?”

Patrick hugged his son, then looked him straight in the eyes. “Someday I will, son—but right now, I’m here with you, and so are Uncle David and Uncle Hal and Uncle Chris. We’ll always be here for you.

“But do you know what happens when you die, Bradley? Your soul is ready for a journey. Mommy’s soul gets to go into another body. We don’t know who, or where, or when, but it does.”

“Cool,” Bradley said. “She’s dead, but she’s not really dead.” He looked up into the blue-gray sky and squinted, searching until his eyes hurt. “Is that what heaven is?”

“A soul can go to heaven too. There are lots of worlds and things to see and do for the soul. But you know what we have to do before the soul can go on its journey?”

“What?”

“We have to tell Mommy’s soul that it’s okay for her to go,” Patrick said. “You see, Mommy doesn’t want to leave you and me. She’d rather stay here. She knows how sad you are, and that makes her feel bad.”

“Then she can stay here with me?”