ALONE AND WITH a rapidly beating heart Vetta pondered her experiences in this strange woodland so full of surprises, secrets and marvels.
Soon after returning from the cabin that past evening by routes which now seemed familiar and friendly among the many paths upon the slopes of Mount Syzywyg, Vetta had wanted very much to check to see if indeed the stolen statuette had been returned to its rightful place.
It was not that she doubted the word of the wandering girl. It was more a sense of completeness, to assure herself the world was as it should be. She wanted the joy of seeing a promise fulfilled, a perfect balance amid the incongruities of this strange land she was endeavouring to learn from. It would make her a better person eventually, so her father had suggested, though the thought of the knocks and blows and occasional misunderstandings would be a trial.
'So long as you can rely on the five wellsprings of joy,' he had said, 'you can never stray from contentment.'
The shiny figurine was indeed back in its place, though mischievously facing the wrong way as if ashamed of its temporary absence. Truancy had told her she often went into book shops and turned volumes upside down at random as a reminder that there were more ways to look at things than convention insisted.
Vetta remembered this as she went to correct the position of the statuette and her hand paused. No. There was a message there, if one were able perhaps to read it. Thus she had left the corridor without changing anything, happy that she had found such an expansive soul like Truancy Mundane.
As she had run terrified from the shrieking girl with midnight hair, the sense of seeking safety at that mysterious cabin came back to her but strangely she could not find it. Instead her locator wristlet pinged to remind her she should return to where Miss Zacharim was waiting with the other girls so they could continue their brief botanical expedition.
'Ah, there you are,' Miss Zacharim said as Vetta trotted into view a little out of breath. 'Thought you might have been kidnapped and held to ransom.'
'Not this time, miss,' Vetta said without thinking and there was smothered laughter from the others who heard.
Once the trip had ended and everyone returned to school Vetta remained a little distracted by her experiences. Unusually for her she refused the company of others at lunchtime and took her own way down to Cherryball Flats to explore the various stalls and listen to conversations, especially if anyone mentioned the Blue Hair Clan.
Listening was one thing. Watching very much another.