Cassie Bridger's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Cassie Bridger keeps her unfinished ideas in a shed at the edge of the yard, past the birdbath and the broken fence. Inside, everything has a place. Failed potions line the shelves in labeled jars. Drawings cover the walls — things that almost worked, things that might still. A workbench holds her current project: the potion that needs one more ingredient, the one she hasn't found yet. She sees the flag before she sees anything else. A small stuffed tiger stands outside her shed, paws wrapped around a wooden pole. The flag is orange, handmade, planted firmly in the dirt near her door. Cassie stops. She doesn't recognize the tiger. It wasn't there this morning. Someone put it here while she was gone. The tiger's button eyes stare straight ahead, like it's been waiting. Like it plans to stay. Cassie circles the tiger slowly, studying it from every angle. No note. No explanation. Just the flag marking territory that isn't theirs. She crouches down and notices something else — a second structure has appeared behind her potion hut. It's a pastel playhouse with mint-green shutters and a coral roof, positioned so close their shadows nearly touch. Through its round window, she can see shelves inside. Empty ones. Waiting to be filled. She straightens up and looks between the two buildings. Her shed full of unfinished things. The new hut with nothing in it yet. The tiger standing guard between them. Someone else needs space for half-formed ideas too. Someone who found this spot and decided it was theirs as much as hers. Cassie picks up the tiger and carries it to the space between both buildings. She plants the flag there instead. If they're both staying, they'll need to share the ground.