I couldn’t sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the faerie’s wings, I heard his screams and I could smell the awful stench of the burning flesh of those once beautiful wings…his wings.

“Why did they do that?” I sobbed as I held onto my Pati. He rocked me in his warm arms and kissed the top of my head like he would when I had a bad dream.

“It’s the government, amunte. That’s what they do to people that they think are bad.”

“But, Pati, they—they burned him! They burned his wings, Pati, how can anyone deserve that?”

“It’s complicated, amun.”

“I don’t understand!” I wailed.

Pati kissed my head and carressed my arms. “It will be okay. I can’t explain it to you, you’re just a little one. Just look at it as a reason to stay out of trouble, mmkay? It’s just another lesson to be learned. Be good and stay away from troublestarters.”

I nodded, but couldn’t stop crying. If that was what happened to bad people, I never wanted to be bad, ever, ever again.

FIN.