Caius Shares the Hidden Spark — At the edge of the thornwood glade, Caius kept a thumb-sized glass ember tucked beneath his stem, warm as cider and bright enough to make his grin tremble. Read the full story →
At the edge of the thornwood glade, Caius kept a thumb-sized glass ember tucked beneath his stem, warm as cider and bright enough to make his grin tremble. He had saved it from the kiln where the moon’s broken slivers were mended, and he meant to keep that joy secret—wouldn’t you? Then the bats arrived soundless as velvet, the leaves clicked like little locks, and the crescent moon went dim. Caius opened the ember to share one spark, just one; it leapt into every vein of leaf, wing, branch, and pumpkin rind. Ever since, jack-o’-lanterns shine in pieces, because joy that large refuses to stay whole.
