Chapter 17: Forgiveness is a virtue

Lisa and Selby spent the next few hours exploring the forest, taking in all the sights and sounds. At the same time, Lisa taught Selby all about Buddhism and she seemed to grow only more and more interested.

"Look over there!" Lisa's eyes caught something amazing. Perched on a tree was a yellow bird with a black-tipped tail. Selby, however, wasn't all that interested.

"No offense Lisa but it looks just like a regular old bird to me."

"Aww!" Lisa shouted as she dug in her backpack for her bird guide. "To the untrained eye, yes, this is a regular bird." She quickly flipped through the pages until she found the one she wanted. "But it's actually a Lighting Sparrow! They're extremely rare thanks to years of overhunting."

"Wow!" Selby exclaimed. "That's amazing." Selby's smile turned into a frown as she glanced at her watch. "I gotta go before my Dad gets too suspicious. Same time tomorrow?"

"You bet!" Lisa and Selby shook hands and then the latter took off, leaving Lisa alone to admire the Lighting Sparrow which she realized was building a nest."

"Right on sister!" Lisa congratulated the bird. "Recover that population!" Content with what she had seen, Lisa began to make her way back to the campsite.

"This is more like it!" Lisa thought. "Friends with the same interest as me. No mean pranks. No being arrested over religious frenzy. I think I found my Atlantis!" Lisa's heart sank when she noticed a familiar pink car parked in the campsite as she neared it.

"And now it's gonna sink too."


"Give back my daughter you monsters!" Homer shouted.

"Typical male. Acting on aggression at the first sign of trouble." Roseanne replied unimpressed. Her entourage murmured in agreement.

"Homie! Please let me handle this." Marge stepped forward. "Please forgive my husband, he's not the best at confrontation. Roseanne looked at Homer again only to see him arguing with a woodpecker.

"I'll teach you to laugh at the end of every episode!" Homer warned.

"I can see that." Roseanne stated, more confused than annoyed now.

Marge pulled up the Mypad and swiped to the article, showing it to Roseanne afterwards. "This is my daughter Lisa. This story says she might be with you."

"As a matter of fact, yes she is." Roseanne answered. "And she's been nothing but a good influence since she arrived, a real godsend."

"But I thought Lisa was a Buddhist." Homer added, the woodpecker now pecking at his head. He didn't seem to mind.

Zelda, who all this time had been glued to her book, looked up in time to notice Lisa reluctantly return to camp. "Here she comes now!" She shouted.

"Lisa!" Marge rushed toward her child and scooped her up in a great hug. Lisa, somewhat melancholy, returned the hug.

"Oh honey! It's so great to see you again!" Homer also approached Lisa and hugged her.

"Hey Mom and Dad it's good to see you again." Lisa said faintly. Her attention than turned to Bart who was holding Maggie.

"Hey Lis." Bart said sheepishly. Lisa could tell Bart was working up an apology. She wondered how he would do. Not that it mattered. Lisa already decided how she would respond.

"Lis." Bart began. "I'm sorry about the prank. I went way too far and I promise it will never happen again." Bart got on his knees. "Will you please come back home?"

There was a moment of silence.

"I forgive you." Lisa stated quietly. "But I'm not going back."

All three Simpsons let out a collective gasp as Maggie dropped her pacifier.

"But...I apologized." Bart whimpered.

"I know and I said I forgive you." Lisa repeated. "But I'm much more happier here. Roseanne, the Stillsons, and even Selby. They all get me and I get them. So I can't leave. Not yet at least."

"But...but Lisa!" Marge cried.

"She's more than welcome to stay here." Roseanne interjected. "Of course you can all stay as well. But as long as she wants to be, Lisa's one of us." Roseanne's entire entourage as well as the Stillsons cheered.

"What do we do now?" Homer asked.

Marge looked her daughter, noticing how happy she was and sighed. "I guess we have no choice but to respect her decision."