Pluto Underworld - Narrative Essay

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Pluto spent many days and many nights contemplating what to do. The irony was not lost on him - he was the thief and he was supposed to do what, turn himself in? Did he risk himself, his freedom, for the sake of his family? Of course he knew that this was what he should do, but there was that small selfish part of him, that wanted to find someone else to blame.

A few days after the meeting with the elders, his sister came to him, frantic. She told him information she had overheard while cleaning for the leader. A war was beginning, one with his own village and another. For what reason unknown, but she did hear the plans their village had made to attack the other. They were going 1 week from that day, in the night. The stress and worry Pluto was already overcome with only worsened, for his family’s safety.

Still struggling with the task the elders had given him, Pluto was trying to find a solution to the problem. The more time that passed, the more the selfish part of him became convincing. Finding someone else to blame sounded like a simpler and more beneficial idea, it was just a matter of who he was still struggling with.

He knew it had to be someone who did not know he was the true thief, and as well it had to be someone the elders wouldn’t expect to blame. If he chose a random villager, it wouldn’t take long for the elders to realize Pluto was lying. The true underlying question remaining was; who was Pluto willing to blame? In order for it to not be random, it had to be someone he knew, perhaps even someone close to him. Would he risk the respect and relationship he had with someone dear to him in order to receive reward? He considered blaming his sister, but he didn’t know what punishment the elders would give - and whether she could handle it - and she knew of his thievery. Pluto had no friends, or anyone beside his family really. Once the answer came to him, he didn’t want to listen to himself. There was truly only one person to blame, but it was terrible, unforgivable. Pluto didn’t want to admit to himself that he was capable of such deception but deep down, he knew he was. The only person he could truly blame and get away with it would be his father. His father is the least person the elders would expect to him to blame, as well as his father was not aware of his thievery. He sat on this idea of blaming his father for many days, and finally knew he had to do it. His father would most likely never forgive him, but Pluto was too selfish and cowardly to take the blame himself, and he knew if he risked his father the rest of his family would at least have a home, have food, have safety.

Once he finally gathered the courage to go to the elders, he had allowed the worst and most selfish parts of his personality to take over. He couldn’t allow himself to feel remorseful for his actions, because if he did he knew he couldn’t do it. He had to come across as believable, no matter how far from the truth his accusations truly were. When he entered the room in which the elders gathered, he mentally was no longer recognizable as himself. He had hardened over, and even to those who barely knew him, like the elders, this was noticeable.

“Hello Pluto,” one of the elders spoke first. “Have you completed our task?”

Without hesitation, Pluto quickly answered. “Yes, my elders. I have discovered the identity of the village’s thief and I am prepared to expose him.”

“Tell us then, Pluto. Who is the thief?”

Pluto knew he needed to make himself convinceable, so he forced a pained expression, appeared to be struggling with his response, and then spoke. “My father.”

The look of surprise was evident on all of the elders’ faces, but they all nodded their heads in acceptance of the information and spoke amongst each other, quiet enough that Pluto was unable to hear what they were saying. Finally, after many moments had passed, feeling like years to Pluto, one of the elders spoke.

“Thank you for this information, Pluto. Great reward will come to your family. Well, most of your family, that is.”

A pang struck in Pluto’s chest, that of sadness and of guilt. For a moment he considered throwing himself down on his knees, confessing the truth, and taking back the accusations against his father. But the remorse passed, he quickly composed himself and pushed his thoughts and emotions to a part of his mind where they’d be locked away.

Pluto nodded and left the room. From the moment he reached the edge of the street and began walking, he did not know what to do. He knew that soon his family would regain possession of his home, but he did not know what would happen to his father. Should he warn him of what was to come? Would the elders even tell his father that it was Pluto who had blamed him?

Consumed by his thoughts, Pluto wandered aimlessly through the streets of his village, almost as if he were in a trance. For how long he wandered he didn’t know, but the farther he wandered the closer he got to the edge of his village. Before he had time to process it, his sister was approaching him frantically, and he could see even from a distance she was distraught. Sobbing, she fell into his arms, her tears soaking through Pluto’s thin cloth for clothing.

“Oh, Pluto! They’ve taken father.” She spoke with a hoarse voice, through broken sobs. “They’ve locked him away and he’s been promised to never see the light again.”

Doing his best to comfort his sister without saying too much, Pluto stood there holding her, guilt fighting its way into his mind and pain erupting into his chest. His sister was speaking, but he did not hear her. His thoughts were too loud. It was like a million voices were shouting in his mind, all saying different things. He felt the fear of his family discovering it was him who had blamed his father. He had to do something, he knew he did. He was just so selfish.

Suddenly, an idea came to him. He pushed his sister off of him and gripped her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes to allow her to see how frantic he was. He commanded her to recount all the information she had heard regarding their village attacking the other, and once she told him, he ran.

He ran for miles, not even stopping for a single moment, until he reached the edge of the neighboring village. Guards stood on the outskirts, and as he expected, the moment he was seen they grabbed him. They threw him into a caged room, one he couldn’t escape from. He begged to speak to their leader, swearing to the gods that he had information he needed to hear.

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