Juniper’s Candle-Waiting Secret — Under the striped lanterns of Fern Hall, Juniper tapped one claw, then two, waiting for the fifth candle to wake. Read the full story →
Under the striped lanterns of Fern Hall, Juniper tapped one claw, then two, waiting for the fifth candle to wake. Four flames already bobbed on her cake, smelling of sugar and warm wax, but the last wick stayed dark as a sleeping beetle. She took her balloons and stepped past the music curtain to find a spark keeper, though the floor glitter stuck cold and prickly to her toes.
Behind the banner, a pale moth bumped a tiny glass lantern. “Shh,” it whispered. Inside, one blue spark was growing, slow as moonrise. Juniper wanted to stomp, but she held still until her party hat tassel stopped trembling. At last the moth opened the lantern, and the spark floated to the cake.
Juniper came back with the candle shining brighter than the others and a secret tucked behind her wink: sometimes waiting makes the smallest light brave. If you spot the fifth flame, you’ll know which candle took the long way to Fern Hall.
