Hollis Hears the Pillow Star — Under the roof of the star-nap room, Hollis carried one last soft wish in his mouth. Read the full story →
Under the roof of the star-nap room, Hollis carried one last soft wish in his mouth. It smelled faintly of cedar shavings and warm milk, and it made a papery shush against his teeth. He slid it beneath the big moon-blue pillow where the youngest fawns slept after long night runs. No one had asked him to do it; the room was already quiet, and the small stars in the rafters blinked like sleepy eyes.
Hollis tucked his legs under himself beside the pillow and listened. The wish settled with a tiny crinkle. Then another sound answered from deep inside the cushion: plink, plink, plink, like frost tapping a glass bell. He pressed one ear close. The pillow was not stuffed only with feathers. Hidden in the middle was a little pocket of fallen starlight, saved from all the wishes Hollis had tucked away when nobody saw.
“Keep glowing,” Hollis whispered. The starlight warmed his cheek, and the wish beneath the pillow warmed back. By morning, every fawn would nap under a softer shine, never knowing who had filled it. If you peek at the stars around Hollis, can you guess which one slipped out of the moon-blue pillow first?
