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Mia’s mind reeled as she traipsed
through the deep and colourful forests of Talnis. Tears streamed
freely down her face though she did not cry, her heart too heavy with
emotion to make facial expressions.
Hal had been cremated not long after he
was drowned and Mia was allowed to attend the ceremony where they
mourned his death, but celebrated the God’s offering their
sacrifice. Mia placed a small blue flower atop the ashes when the fire
died out and said a silent prayer for him.
Afterwards, she had been banished, as
promised by Mashan from the village, and threatened with death should
she return. To this she complied, and headed out straight away, unsure
of what life she could make for herself, alone, on an unknown planet.
She pondered this and thought of nothing, only strangely coloured
trees she could not sit or sleep in, animals that she did not know and
smells she did not like.
At length, she stopped walking, looked
back at the village. It was now some distance away, mostly covered by
the trees, yet the smoke from the huts could still be seen before the
setting suns.
‘Should you return, God’s shall bid
you be a sacrifice.’ She remembered Mashan had said to her and she
understood. Looking around her, there seemed to be little in the way
of danger; all the wildlife, though unfamiliar, seemed keen to crawl
up and inspect the stranger, with no intentions of harming her, as
they seemed more interested in the plant life.
She sat down and stared back at the
village. It had felt, at first at least, welcoming, like home and much
like everywhere they had cast her aside and let her alone. Still, she
felt she should be grateful to be alive, as Hal had offered his life
in place of the both of them.
She sat and thought glumly: I can
always go back to the village. I know they’ll kill me but at least
that way I can finally be… at rest.
