Afterthoughts

“I’m not sure I did the right thing going onto their sacred lands,” said Marcella.

“I wish I could comfort you by saying everything will be alright, but as you are already aware. Thneeds are very secretive,” replied Shallow.

The starlet had wanted to make an herbal healing tonic for her mother. The potion required wolfsbane, which only grew near the Thneeds burial grounds.

“I only needed a sprig,” said Marcella. “I didn’t think I needed to ask the guardian’s permission to harvest it.”

“Sprig or bundle, you mustn’t tread on hallowed ground without asking first. Besides, it’s not like it was a life or death situation,” said her friend.

“Yes, I had already made the tonic. Then I realized I should not have gone there the way I did as an afterthought,” mumbled the starlet.

The two discussed how to address the matter. Later, the friends went together to the Thneed council of elders.

“Who approaches unannounced?” the council elder asked.

“I am Marcella, a starlet,” said Marcella. “I have come to ask for forgiveness. I offer my services as punishment for an unforgivable act against the Thneed.”

“And you, what is your business here?” asked the elder of Shallow.

“I am Shallow, a forest dweller and friend of the starlet. I stand here as witness to her crime,” said Shallow.

Marcella explained what she had done. After discussing it with her friend, she wanted to set things right.

“Given the seriousness, I sentence you to seven cycles of tending the burial monuments. Once you’ve completed your sentence, you will be cleared of any wrongdoing,” said the elder.

“As for you, Shallow, forest dweller, your heart is pure. You who would stand with your friend as an accuser. You are welcome here anytime,” continued the council elder.

The friends bowed low and backed out of the council’s chamber. “That went better than expected,” said Shallow with a smile.

“I agree, the look on his face should have meant one hundred years in the mines,” said Marcella.

“We should go get started on clearing the mounds before it gets too hot. Don’t you?” said Shallow.

“You don’t need to go. The sentence was mine, not yours,” said the starlet, confused.

“True, but you heard the elder, I am welcome anytime, and I want to help. Besides, we can make it an adventure playing hide and seek like when we were young,” said Shallow.

“Thank you, you’re the best friend anyone could ever have,” replied Marcella.

Once clear of her crime, the two friends continued to tend the burial grounds.

“The time we spend here is the only time our troubles are far away,” said the starlet.

“I couldn’t agree more,” replied her friend with a smile.

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