Melody Llwellyn's Arc

Chapter 14 of 14

Melody reached the desk before the sky turned gray. Three small birds waited at the stage edge, wings folded, exactly as promised. She smiled and looked for the bell. The corner of the desk was empty. She lifted the kelp list. She looked underneath. The pearl-and-sea-glass bell was gone. Her chest went tight. Without it, she had no way to hush the crowd. And a crowd was already forming. Early performers pushed close, calling names, trading places. Their voices climbed over each other. The three birds shrank back into the noise, just as they had the day before. "Help me find it," Melody said. The parrot dropped from a post and searched the sand. The starfish crawled beneath the desk, arms swiping. The cobalt salamander, who traded sea glass for anything shiny, turned out its little hoard on the boards. Bits of green and blue spilled across the wood. "Not here," the salamander said, orange eyes wide. "I would have kept the bell if I found it. I didn't." They searched every corner. The parrot checked the rafters. The starfish felt along the desk legs. Nothing. The bell was truly lost. The crowd grew louder. Dawn had come, and the three birds had no way to be heard. Melody looked at the small gray faces. She had failed them once. She would not do it again. She turned to the parrot. "Fly up," she said. "High, where they can all see you. Tell them to be quiet." The parrot tilted its head. "They won't listen to me." "They'll listen," Melody said, "because you'll remind them why they came. Every voice gets a turn on this stage. Even the softest one. So they have to listen first." The parrot beat its bright wings and rose above the desk. Its jewel feathers caught the first light. "Quiet!" it called down. "This stage is for every voice, loud and soft alike! You'll all be heard. But the quiet ones sing first. So hush, and listen!" The crowd slowed. Faces turned upward. The chatter dropped to a murmur, then to nothing. Melody watched the loud performers fold their wings and claws and wait. The starfish gave a small cheer, then covered its mouth. Into that silence, Melody nodded at the three birds. They stepped onto the stage. The smallest one opened its beak. A thread of song came out, thin and clear. No one shouted over it. The whole crowd leaned in to catch it. Melody let out her breath. The bell was gone, but the quiet had come anyway. She did not need a prop to keep her promise. She needed only to remind them. But as the birds sang, Melody looked again at the empty corner of the desk. Someone had taken the bell in the night. That was not a thing lost. That was a thing stolen. And she meant to learn who.