Faithful Pebble
Part Seventy
"A prominent member of the richest family in town re-discovered the cave many years ago," Pebble said softly. "He saw the tree first and then the abandoned coffin. It was now beret of its jeweled treasures. The girl must have taken them, he figured, her or her prince or the seven. It is said that she wore them at her wedding. There were diamonds in her hair, diamonds sewn in her dress, diamonds encircled around the crown of her head. They were a reminder, they say, a token to never forget the blessing fate had brought to her, to him and to them.
"That prominent member left the coffin because of this. There was nothing of worth there. He stepped passed it to find the unremarkable entrance to a vastly enriching discovery."
"He found the cave," the wanderer nodded.
"He found the cave," Pebble shrugged. She continued to lead her rescuer through the woods. Turning left here, right there, it felt like they were going in circles. Winding around and around the outskirts of the forest, they were slowly but surely edging further into the wood's mysterious center. At the beginning, the wanderer was making note of their pathway, but after so long he'd forgotten the beginning and struggled to remember the middle. He sometimes doubted if they would ever reach the end. Impatient and more than a little frustrated, the wanderer asked a question.
"What is the tree? You keep mentioning a tree?"
- Calla