Venn and the Mapleaf Key — Every day before the first engine cough, Venn tucked a flat red leaf behind the rubber seal of his cab window. Read the full story →
Every day before the first engine cough, Venn tucked a flat red leaf behind the rubber seal of his cab window. It had come from the only maple in Glasswood Grove, and its veins made a tiny maze. Venn wanted to know where the maze led, but the leaf stayed stubborn and dry, smelling faintly of rain and old bark.
Until one day, sun shot through the grove’s colored panes and the leaf blazed gold. Because of that, Venn saw its veins match the cracks of light on the ground. Because of THAT, he swung his boom over roots, clouds, and shining hill-shapes, following the path faster and faster while gravel ticked under his tracks. “Left at the blue shadow!” he shouted.
At last the path stopped beside a silent spring hidden under a stone shaped like a bucket tooth. Venn lifted it, and water burst out with a cold, silver rush, racing through the thirsty grove. He pressed the damp leaf back in his window, its maze solved at last. If the sun catches the cab just right, can you spot the little place where a red leaf would hide?
