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"So it is his fault?" Elder Goman asked. There was no blame in his voice; he merely wanted to know the facts.

Alana considered for a moment before nodding her head. "If he would've kept his cool, I think Beth would still be alive. I don't think it's really his fault; he certainly didn't mean to, but..."

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"What others do can hurt us; but what we do ourselves truly breaks us," Elder Goman said with a sigh.

"What do I do?" Alana asked. "He's such a good man and I don't want this to ruin him."

Elder Goman leaned back in his chair and put his fingertips together. "It's easier to mend a broken egg than a broken heart. You didn't cause the damage, so you can't repair it."

"I thought if I told him how I felt it might..." Alana blinked trying to hold the moisture at the corner of her eyes at bay. "I thought he might see that at least some of us knows he's a good guy."

Elder Goman smiled kindly. "Believe it or not, I think it did help. I think h