Rest in Peace, Darth Vader

I. and C. have been intensely interested in Star Wars lately. They love to find the books at the library. I. brought me one such book the other day and asked me about the caption to a picture.
Caption is as follows.

Vader unmasked: Luke lifted Vader's mask to gaze at the face of the father he had never known.

This required the explanation that this is the moment just prior to Vader's death. I. took this in pretty calmly, I thought. A moment later he approached me with a hopeful smile and the question, "But Darth Vader comes back, right?" I told him as kindly as I could that he doesn't come back, but that he died protecting his son, Luke, and that he made the right choice. I continued to explain that even though we may die, those whom we love and who love us will be with us forever. He again took this in seriously, but calmly. I kept an eye on him. Soon he turned away from me and covering his eyes exclaimed, "I have to cover my eyes! They're watering."

I immediately took him in my arms and held him while he mourned the death of an epic character. I knew just how he felt. I was 11 years old when I read the Lord of the Rings for the first time, and I remember feeling depressed for days after I finished it. Star Wars is a very similar epic/mythical story. For most of us Darth Vader is evil, and his deathbed repentance hardly makes up for his sins. But you must understand that those of us who grew up with Star Wars episodes III, IV, and V didn't know Darth Vader as Anakin Skywalker, the gifted, handsome hero. I. and C. do, and his loss is all the more painful.

After a few moments of touching grief, I. pronounced that his eyes were drying up. He then made a very grave request of me. "I don't want you to tell Dad," he said. "You don't want me to tell Daddy you were sad?" I asked, thinking that this would be a very normal reaction from a boy who doesn't generally show emotion like this. "No," he said, "I don't want you to tell Daddy that Darth Vader dies. I don't want him to be sad."