While He Was Sleeping

When I turned seven, I got a turtle as a pet and named him Max, though technically I don't think I actually knew whether he was a he or a she.

One day I came home from school and my mother told me gravely that Max had died and she had buried him.

A while after that we learned that turtles like Max are prone to hibernate. He may well have been dead when Mom buried him, but it's more likely he was just sleeping.

Sorry, Max.