The guardians were shocked by the news that one of their number had died. Death at the age of 307 is not regarded as a catastrophe by mere mortals but those who think they are immortal find it disheartening when a colleague dies. Such things are not meant to happen.
Tom joined the throng of blue-haired figures entering the Forbidden Zone to pay their respects to the recently departed. They walked in silence between the rows of jars with bowed heads. The heads in the jars stared back with sad expressions. A sense of grief hung in the air. Tom felt he could almost reach out and touch it.
He reached the jar with the deceased guardian and nodded respectfully before passing on. The expression on the aged face puzzled him. A sudden thought crossed his mind.
The dead man looked more saddened than sad.
There wasn't time to dwell on it. He was part of a procession and had to keep moving. But that didn't mean he couldn't nip off to the side if he got a chance. It came when he reached the end of one of the rows. He recognised the alcove where Father lived and seized the opportunity to speak to him.
A quick shuffle was all that was needed. He stepped to one side. The procession moved on and he slipped into the alcove. The walls changed from blue to green and he felt the same warm feeling as on his earlier visit.
The face in the jar greeted him with a smile.
'Thomas. I expected you.'
'I couldn't miss the opportunity, Father.'
The head nodded. 'You will be amongst those who came to pay their last respects to a departed colleague ... he was a dear friend.'
The remark came as a surprise.
'I thought you were a prisoner of the guardians, Father.'
'I might be, Thomas. But that does not mean I cannot count some of them as friends. I would have died long ago without my friends and you would not be here speaking to me now.'
'I saw him,' Tom said.
'How did he look?'
'Not as I expected.'
'In what way?'
'I thought he would look as if he had just wasted away but his face was full of life. I don't know why the thought came to me but it did. I guess I had heard the expression before and something conjured it up.'
'What was the expression?'
'He looked more saddened than sad.'
'Yes.' The old man nodded. 'That probably sums it up.'
'I'm still puzzled.'