The garden!
Almost like magic, folk filtered into the main square, their whispers turning into shouts of joy. Tears ran down my face; they ran down Hesper’s, too. And as I looked out at the gathering Dwindlers, their eyes shone brightly along with mine.
Angus directed everyone into an organized glob of chaos,and we all marched toward the cottage. Turns out, Angus had hosted a town meeting that neither Hesper nor I were invited to and created a plan for when the garden was ready. He anticipated that many hands would be needed and requested volunteers.
Everyone volunteered. So, on an exceptionally sunny day in the middle of summer, all of Dwindle showed up at the honey-yellow cottage and spent the day together, harvesting a whole host of fruits and vegetables.
I had to spend the first hour instructing everyone on the correct way to harvest each crop, but folk were happy to learn. Thankfully, everyone brought their own version of gardening tools with them. Charles the Blacksmith had spent the last few weeks forging garden trowels, hand forks, and even a few pruning shears for this very moment.
All along, Dwindle never lingered on the bad side of awhat if. They never thought for a moment that the garden might be impossible. They always chose the light, the endless, hopeful possibility ofwhat if. They believed. And because of them, I did, too.
Hesper and I were shunted to the side, Angus demanding that we rest after all our hard work. Neither of us had the ability to sit still while others toiled, so we took to the kitchen. There, Edge and Warty drummed up a recipe from one of the old tomes Edge had been flipping through.
A SOUP FOR THE HEART
Summer vegetables, warming seasonings, a bit of spice, a heap of lemon. And in the margins of the recipe book was ahelpfully scrawled note indicating measurements to feed anywhere from one to two hundred folk.
Hesper and I had a pot big enough for eight servings.
Twenty-one pots of soup later…
Everyone was sipping out of empty gourds and pumpkins with a few bread bowls (donated by Giddy) in the garden. The day ended with all of us heading back into town and setting up market tents.
The main square looked grand and sprawling, each table like its own little world. Our tables were set up right in the middle of it all, the center of the entire market. Angus had managed to build tables, but in true Dwindle fashion, they were not regular tables. Each one was shaped like a different vegetable, and there was even a gourd-shaped shelf for stacking purposes.
“You did good, princess.” Hesper slung her arm over my shoulder, planting a kiss on my forehead as we walked home after what was arguably the best day of my life.
“Wedid good,” I patted her hand affectionately.
“And we are naught but mealworms,” Edge said under his beaky breath. Warty gave a disgruntled squeak.
“And we couldn’t have done it without you,” I self-corrected. “Edge, thank you for ensuring our safety each day. Warty, thank you for keeping Dwindle’s cracker sales soaring.”
DWINDLE’SFARMERSMARKET
RETURNSINTWENTY FOURTEEN NINE FOUR THREE ONE DAYSTODAY
“Clara, love, wake up.” A gentle hand caressed my face, the gesture so achingly sweet until the hand began wiping away my crusted slobber from sleeping soundly. I grumbled my reply, longing for a few more moments of slumber. “It’s market day.”
Oh my Goddess.
It’s market day!
The end of the quest!
I bolted upright.
What happened now? Did lightning strike and Eldrene appear? Did Hesper immediately have to leave? Did—
“Don’t fret too much about what happens next.” Hesper read my thoughts. “Let’s just enjoy today.”
She was right. Whatever was to happen would happen whether I dithered on about it or not. I tried to get up from the bed, but she pressed me back down onto the mattress, a hungry look in her eyes.
“We have to get ready for the market,” I said, dragging her on top of me, unlacing her tunic.
“Yes.” She kissed me. “We do.” She nipped at my neck and began kissing down my chest until she lifted up my nightdress and…
We were late to the market.
