Juno and the Waiting Cherry — Behind the garden gate, the moonlit cupcake cart smelled like vanilla and rain. Read the full story →
Behind the garden gate, the moonlit cupcake cart smelled like vanilla and rain. Juno reached for the bright cherry to set on the tallest cake, but the baker’s note said, Wait until the bellbug sings. Waiting felt prickly. So Juno stepped off her warm stool and followed a tiny silver hum past mint leaves, wet pebbles, and sleepy snails. Her shoe splashed in a puddle, and her sock went cold.
At last, under the cherry’s green leaf, she found the bellbug curled like a dot of gold. “Not yet,” it buzzed. Juno held the cherry steady while frosting stars blinked around her. Ding-ding! The bellbug sang, and a hidden sprinkle seed rolled out from under the leaf, sweeter than any cherry. Juno carried both back to the cart, sock squishing, smile quiet. If you peek at the cherry stem, can you keep the secret until ding-ding?
