Mabel's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Mabel hammered the last nail into the wooden sign and stepped back to check her work. The clearing sat halfway between the village and Creepy's cave, flat and open enough that no one could claim they felt trapped. She'd swept away the rocks and brought a water jug and two benches. She walked to the edge of the clearing and placed bright candies in a bowl on a flat stone. The colors caught the afternoon light—pink swirls, blue stars, yellow hearts. Anyone passing by would see them and know this place welcomed everyone. She added a second bowl beside it, this one filled with the purple crystals Creepy had brought down from the mountain last week. He'd been so careful carrying them, like they were fragile eggs instead of stone. Mabel sat on one bench and waited. Birds called from the trees. A squirrel darted across the path. She counted her breaths and watched the three stone paths that led down from Creepy's cave. He would come—she'd asked him this morning, and he'd nodded in that slow, thoughtful way of his. But would anyone from the village show up? Footsteps crunched on gravel. Mabel's head turned. An older woman appeared on the western path, walking slowly with a cane. She stopped at the edge of the clearing, eyes moving from the sign to the benches to the bowls of candy and crystals. Then she stepped forward and sat on the empty bench. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. Mabel smiled and turned back toward the mountain path, watching for Creepy.