Easter Lily's Arc

Chapter 3 of 5

Easter Lily returned the next morning with a fresh bowl of food. She walked the familiar path to the clearing, already imagining the empty bowl she would find. But when she reached the spot, the bowl from yesterday was gone. She set the new one down in the same place and turned toward the toolshed. The door stood open like before, but something was wrong. Renee wasn't on her petal. Easter Lily called softly, then louder. No answer. She circled the shed twice, looking up at the branches, checking the grass. On the ground near the back wall, she found a small pile of bird seed scattered in a line, as if dropped while moving quickly. Her chest tightened. Renee had been here. Easter Lily followed the scattered seeds away from the shed. They led toward the far edge of the clearing where the wild growth began. There, half-hidden by tall grass, she found a narrow pathway lined with spring flowers. The blooms pressed close on both sides, brighter and thicker than anything in the clearing. This path went deeper into Easter Corner, toward places she'd never walked. A single elegant feather lay at the entrance, gray and white, caught between two stones. It hadn't been there yesterday. She picked up the feather and looked down the pathway. The flowers made it beautiful, but the thickness of the growth made it clear—this wasn't a place meant for easy passage. Renee had gone this way, following someone or something. Easter Lily slipped the feather into her petal and stepped onto the path. The choice was made. She would go where her friend had gone, even if it meant leaving behind the familiar rhythm of bowls and empty sheds. The question of who needed help had just gotten bigger, and so had the distance she'd have to travel to answer it.