"Wooo-hoooo~!" Beth drove the wagon off road, "This is it, boys and girls! Time to use up the wagon for all it's worth!"

"Oh Goooooooooodddd!" I shouted, "Save me!"

"Whatcha' crying about now, dear!?" Cecily shouted as she grinned from ear to ear, "Isn't this fun!?"

Fun, my ass! I was already feeling queasy at her slightly above the speed limit driving, but this feels faster than falling down an endless pit! Ugh, not good, I'm gonna...

"Blegh!" I belched everything I had in me out the window, "Augh, uugh..."

"Dude, watch the ride!" Beth scolded me, "You're a man, right? Come on, show some enthusiasm!"

"Yippee!" Cene raised his arms as he peeked his head out the window, "Fastew, Beth!"

"See, your kid and wife are having the time of their lives!" Beth lightly mocked me, "Live a little, mister! You're only young once!"

"Youth has nothing to do with this, dammit!" I cried out, still woozy from vomiting just a moment ago, "I was like this even before, so slow down!"

"Aww, little Luney feeling sick?" Cecily teased, "So~rry, but this ride is only for big boys and girls, and I'm afraid babies aren't allowed~?"

"I swear to the Gods, when this damned wagon stops, I'm gonna-!" I began cursing her like never before, only for my wishes to be granted right then and there, "Whoa!?"

With the cart having come to an almost complete stop suddenly, we the passengers were tossed all over its interior. Angrily turning to Beth to ask what was going on, Cecily demanded she got her act together.

"What the hell's your problem, Beth!" She yelled as she lightly rubbed the bump on Cene's head he got from the inertia, "We could've gotten seriously hurt!"

"Cecily." I calmed her down once I noticed what was amiss, "Quiet, she doesn't need you yelling at her right now."

"Why wouldn't she...!?" Cecily ran over to peek her head out the carriage's window, "Ah, crap..."

It seems during the joyride, Beth either couldn't stop the wagon in time or simply lacked the ability to dodge the little baby lamb that just so happened to be in her path. The poor thing didn't even know what was coming, and so freezing up in the most critical moment from fear, it gruesomely met its end under the wagon's wheels. Beth, as you can imagine, is visibly distraught, hence why I didn't let Cecily scold her for too long.

"O-Oh no..." Beth's hands shook as she weakly let go of the steering wheel, "P-Please be alright, please...!"

"I think it's dead." Cene said as a matter of fact.

"Cene, don't look." Cecily covered his Eyes, "This can sometimes happen too."

"I-I'm sorry..." Beth fell to the floor crying in front of the splatter that once was an innocent and young animal soul, "I'm sorry...! You were just a baby, you didn't know anything about the world and I took it all from you...!"

Beth's dealing with this particular case of roadkill pretty badly. Obviously, I feel bad for the lamb, but more importantly I'm just glad everyone else is fine. The wagon too doesn't feel like it's too damaged, in fact it looks to me like only the wheel that ran over the poor animal got kinda pushed out of place, but otherwise it's all good. Though, that's just me thinking like an adult. In reality, Beth is only a couple years older than Nelly, so not even past her teens yet fully. This might very well be the first time she killed a living being with her wagon, or maybe even the first time she killed anything in general. I need to console her somehow, tell her it's alright.

"Hey, I'd just like to say in advance that I'm still a bit queasy from all this turning and driving, so sorry if I don't sound as convincing." I thought a warning in advance was fair in this scenario, "This is just how life goes, don't take it to heart, Beth."

"Huh?" She glanced up at me, dumbfounded by my words, "How can you say that in this situation? I killed an innocent life!"

"And you could've gotten four instead had you swerved to dodge this one." I explained, "Listen, no one's blaming you for choosing yourself and us over the lamb. It's a shame, but at the end of the day it was either us or it."

"You can't be serious! Lune, what the hell!?" Cecily lashed out at me, "Consoling Beth is one thing, but are you seriously saying you don't feel anything for the poor lamb!?"

"Hey, I wasn't the one that ran it over because of a stupid idea to go off-roading." I shrugged before turning to the now sobbing Beth, "That's your burden to bear. All I'm telling you is that you need to expect things like this to happen if you're gonna be doing such reckless stunts."

"Leave Beth alone, dad!" Cene too got angry at me for whatever reason, "She was just having fun!"

"I never said she isn't allowed to have fun, Cene." I turned to him, "But when your definition of fun blends in with danger, then you ought to know what you're going into. You don't juggle knives unless you expect to get cut."

"Mister..." Beth wiped away her tears as she slowly got up, "I-I'm sorry for this. I'll never drive a wagon again, it's the best way to atone-"

"If you wanna atone, then continue driving." I explained, "But not like this. Drive responsibly, and that way you ensure to never let this situation happen again."

"H-Heh..." She gave a weak chuckle, "I don't think I'll ever be able to drive normally after this anyways."

"Hm." I grunted, "Y'know, I've got a daughter not that younger than you. Her face keeps appearing in front of me whenever I see you."

"Huh?" Beth slowly raised an Eyebrow, "Your daughter?"

"Yeah, she messes up at times just like you, but there's no doubt she gets back up stronger and wiser than ever every time." I recalled nostalgically, "Yep, that's our Nelly. Ah, where was I? Oh right, basically - If she can do it, I think you can too. You didn't kill this lamb on purpose, and you likewise regret it."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"But I still killed it." She sulked.

"And you've learned a valuable lesson from it." I finished it off, "Just be glad your first roadkill wasn't human."

Her face went pale when she imagined it, and soon enough she couldn't help but throw up on the grass herself. Seeing her like this, I can't help but wonder how Nelly's doing. When Ed and I killed the snair in the hideout, we separated a mother from her children, but now the opposite is true. Life comes at the blink of an Eye, and it seems death can too.

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***

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"Alright, the wheel's fixed." I gave them the thumbs up after putting it back into place, "Try and start the engine."

"O-Okay." Beth shakily put the keys in the ignition, "Sorry, I just can't do it."

Damn, getting back home is gonna be a pain if she got too traumatized to drive wagons anymore. Cene is just waiting impatiently for us to just go, meanwhile Cecily got rather quiet after hearing out my consolation fully. Obviously I didn't wanna make Beth feel any worse than she already did. I'm not a monster, dammit. I just wanted her to know that her actions hold consequences, but I guess that backfired as well.

"You don't have to rush." Cecily quietly told her, "Please calm down for now. Your mental health is what's most important, Beth."

"No, I can drive just fine." Beth tapped on the steering wheel anxiously, "I guess I just... don't wanna leave without at least giving the lamb a proper burial."

"A proper burial?" I tilted my head.

"S-Sorry, it's stupid, I know!" She immediately backpedaled, "I'll take you home and come back later, don't worry."

"No no, go on." I had her continue, "You want to give the lamb a peaceful resting place. That's very kind of you."

"I wouldn't call myself kind after this, but..." Beth sort of self-deprecatingly joked, "But well, when I think about how it's mother might be nearby to find it, I just get this ugly feeling in my stomach. I don't want to have her go through such pain because of me."

"Then by all means." I peeled the lamb's gory remains off the ground with a Materialized shovel, "I'll dig the grave."

She didn't seem to care at all that I had seemingly found a shovel out of nowhere, but that just tells me how distraught she actually is. It's good that she's still not driving, because her focus might slip again in a crucial moment. Don't get me wrong, she's an awesome driver, but no matter how good you are at anything, performing right after an incident so traumatic that it makes you sick and weak is definitely gonna be more difficult than when you're in tip top shape. Cecily's right, this girl needs some form of rest or reprieve before she can function again.

The grave wasn't all that deep, and since we didn't have any fancy gravestones on standby, we had to make due with some rocks that had on it "Lamb" carved in. That wasn't its name, but I think giving it one would only add insult to injury. Besides, I doubt anyone would go this far out into the meadows and find it, and the other animals of the nearby forest won't be able to get ahold of the body and eat it. It's being preserved, or at least we can pray to it without feeling scared or uneasy. After carefully putting the dead lamb inside its new forever home, we recited the prayer as I put the dirt back over it. Now everything was done, and the only thing left is to move on.

"This reminds me of when my brother died." Cecily recalled with a warm smile, "So full of life, that guy, and yet he still seemed so calm when I saw him in the coffin."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Beth nodded, "It must've been tough to say goodbye."

"No, we didn't say goodbye." She shook her head, "Rather, we gave each other a temporary farewell. When we die, I heard we all go to the same place up there."

"Is mommy gonna die?" Cene suddenly began crying when he imagined it.

"Oi, so now you decide to cry, huh?" I lifted him up as I gently jeered the weeping boy, "Didn't you hear what your mother said? We ain't dying, no one is. We just go to Heaven."

"Heaven?" He tilted his head, still hyperventilating.

"Yeah, so don't worry about your mom or dad, or even this lamb here." I grinned at him, though the grin was moreso aimed at Beth, "We'll see each other in the other world, y'hear?"

After this, we once again said our prayers to the baby lamb before sitting back in the wagon. Hearing my words must've really helped Beth get back on track, because she quickly returned to her chipper old self. Granted, her hands were still a bit shaky, but she could at least drive us home. It took a bit longer on the way back because she was now going a bit lower than the speed limit, but we don't mind. We got back to the bazaar in about an hour and a half, which means if we take into account not only the ride to the meadow but also our roadkill debacle, it was now closing time for dad's shop. Saying goodbye to the melancholic Beth for now before coming back to an angry pops' who was just about to head home after closing the door was quite the jarring change indeed.

"Where the hell have you been?" He glared back at us.

"Ha-ha, you know..." I shrugged anxiously.

"Gwandad." Cene looked up at him and asked seriously, "When awe you going to Heaven?"

Cene, you really should learn to keep your questions to yourself at times, that old man is about to have a nervous breakdown because of you...