Chapter 2 Summary

The paramedics come to the house for the second time and remove Cecilia's body after cutting out part of the fence. Oblivious to the drama, the neighbors keep busy with their summer activities. Deaths are rare events in the suburb except for household pets, and the local cemetery has been full for a number of years already. The cemetery workers' strike, which started a few weeks earlier, prevents a proper burial. Cecilia's funeral is held in a non-denominational public cemetery, awkwardly located in between two highways. The ongoing strike is the reason the burial ground is in disarray, but the ceremony goes forward nonetheless. Some of the parents in the neighborhood attend the funeral. However, most of the attendees, including the parents of the neighborhood boys, decide to leave their children at home in the hope of preventing a possible infection of their...