Soren’s Invisible Parade Gift — Before the parade drums began, Soren slipped paper moons into his coat pocket and hurried along Maplehook Avenue. Read the full story →
Before the parade drums began, Soren slipped paper moons into his coat pocket and hurried along Maplehook Avenue. He wanted every quiet corner to have a little sky, so he tucked silver scraps by lamp bases, doorstep cracks, and the roots of bare trees. The night smelled like chalk dust, leaves, and cinnamon from someone’s cider pot. No one saw him work, and that suited him fine.
When the giant pumpkin float rolled near, its wheels hush-hushed over the street. Children in masks waved; a robot clanked; a skeleton’s cardboard bones clicked softly. Soren reached into his pocket for the last moon, but a warm orange glow moved across his hand. The jack-o’-lantern’s grin had opened wider, and from behind its carved teeth drifted dozens of tiny paper moons—his moons, gathered and lifted by a curl of pumpkin vine.
“Keep some,” Soren whispered. The vine dropped one bright scrap back into his palm, as if sharing the gift. Above the avenue, moons and confetti turned together, and the corners he had filled in secret shone back at him. Next time you spot the smiling pumpkin and the falling bits, see if you can find the last little sky Soren kept in his coat pocket.
