Chapter 17

Red and yellow leaves float down through the air like rubies and gold coins drifting underwater, a pirate’s treasure trove carpeting our front lawn in lustrous Autumn splendor.

I’m sitting on the window seat in my parents’ room, looking out through the misty glass panes. I clutch Funnybunny, my favorite stuffed toy, against my chest, and I begin to sing the song we learned in kindergarten yesterday.

The blackbirds in the tree outside gather on a branch near the window, bobbing up and down, trilling in time with my rolling melody.

My song finishes, and the birds take flight, cawing their goodbyes on the breeze.

There’s a delicious fragrance in the air – a quince and pear pie baking in the oven downstairs, gran’s idea of a healthy lunch. As she says, it’s mostly fruit, after all.

But I’m not hungry yet. There’s something I must do.<