Sedge’s Waiting Game — By the cedar lodge, Sedge packed one mitten into the snow and drew three neat lines beside the doormat. Read the full story →
By the cedar lodge, Sedge packed one mitten into the snow and drew three neat lines beside the doormat. He had invented a game called Knock-Not-Yet: guess what sound would come from the door before it opened. The roof ticked softly as snow slid from shingle to shingle. Sedge guessed boot-stomp, mitten-slap, and cookie-tin clatter, then waited with his carrot nose pointed at the wreath.
The waiting was the best part, though he would not have admitted it. Snowflakes landed on his hat pom-pom with tiny pips. The pine tree behind him breathed a cold, sappy smell. Nothing happened for so long that Sedge added a bonus rule: if you stayed still enough, you could hear the berries blink. “That is not a real sound,” he whispered, mischievously, and gave the door his widest grin.
Then the wreath answered with a dry little skritch. One red berry rolled in its circle of green and tapped the wood three times: knock, not, yet. Sedge’s coal eyes went round. The wreath had been playing the whole game, waiting to guess him. When the door finally creaked open, Sedge gave the wreath first point for patience—and if you check the berry wreath by the doormat, you might catch it keeping score beside Sedge’s three neat lines.
