Catch a Glimmer of Your Star

I'll make myself worse than you

"And so, the thief was never caught. Many say that was for the best. Her ideas and inventions made the city the most prosperous place in the country," Basil narrated.

He placed down the book after finishing reading it. Sunny wore the awestruck face he'd always put on after Basil finished a story he really enjoyed, the same face Basil remembered seeing when they read books together as children.

"What do you think?" Basil asked.

"I didn't expect everyone involved in the heist to get away with it," Sunny replied.

"Yeah, but the victim ended up becoming happier after he lost his diamond ring, so in a way he got a good outcome, didn't he?"

"That's, well, debatable," Sunny said. "Most victims of robbery aren't happier after it. But maybe there's always the rare crime that ends up benefiting everyone."

"For him, only because he was so greedy," Basil noted.

"I guess people sometimes become happier only after losing something."

"That's true." Basil thoughtfully added, "Some might interpret that what he really lost was his greed, which burdened him more than his ring."

"But if the lesson is that greed is bad, why did the thieves just end up becoming greedier after they made lots of money?" Sunny objected.

"Ummm."

"Maybe the real lesson is that sometimes, a bad deed becomes convenient for everyone," Sunny said in a remarkably suggesting tone.

"Y—Yeah..."

"Well, except for his fiancée," Sunny added with a slight laugh. "But he was able to get a replacement ring for her, so as long as she never finds out about his stolen heirloom, he's going to be fine."

Are things really better just because people don't find out?

Basil averted his eyes; he noticed Sunny did the same.

"Uh..." Basil said. "Maybe this wasn't the best book for us to read."

The mood became sensitive. Even though Sunny had confessed the truth to his friends, what had happened to Mari was still a touchy topic between them that they avoided talking about if possible. The elephant in the room had shrunken, but it had never left. It might stay with them their whole lives.

"Sorry," Sunny said. "I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay," Basil said, trying to smile. "I know, I know. We...did a terrible thing. But the important thing is that we've admitted the truth and now it doesn't haunt us so badly anymore."

Sunny simply smiled.

"Oh, Kel told me the other day," Basil continued, "someone moved into your old home."

"Did Kel talk to them?" Sunny asked.

"Yeah. They're an old couple who wanted to retire in a quiet town like Faraway. Kel says his parents might invite them over for poker and drinks on Friday."

"That sounds like a good way to get to know them," Sunny said cheerfully.

Kel almost seemed...

I want to try to get my friends to forgive Sunny, but I don't know how to approach them about it. I don't even understand why they'd forgive me but not Sunny.

Basil sighed. He couldn't hide the negativity in his facial expression; Sunny certainly picked up on it.

"What's wrong?" Sunny asked.