Primrose Egghart's Arc

Chapter 4 of 7

The dog doesn't look up when the footsteps stop. It just keeps digging at the gap between the boards, tail wagging harder now. Primrose stays where she is, the crayon map still in her hands, and waits to see who will speak first. But no one comes. The footsteps fade toward the hollow tree instead, and the dog finally breaks through. Dirt sprays up from under the gazebo as its front paws disappear into a hollow space below. Primrose drops to her knees and peers into the gap the dog has made. The hollow runs deep beneath the floorboards — wide enough for something small to crawl through. Inside, she spots bleached antlers arranged in a careful pile around a pink ball, like someone built a nest. The dog squirms halfway down, then backs out with something in its mouth. Not the egg. A locket on a tarnished silver chain, dirt smudged across the painted pink flower on its front. Primrose reaches for it, and the dog drops the locket into her palm without hesitation. She pops it open. Inside is a tiny photograph of the dog and a smiling face she doesn't recognize. Someone who loved this dog enough to hide a locket in a secret place. Someone who knew about the hollow, the egg, and the path it would take. The dog licks her hand once, then dives back into the hole. This time it comes up with the egg cradled gently in its teeth. The dog sets the egg down between them and sits, waiting. Primrose doesn't grab it. She holds very still, just like she planned, and lets the dog decide. After a moment, it noses the egg toward her basket, then paws at the locket in her hand. The trade is clear. The egg for the locket. Primrose closes her fingers around the chain and nods. She tucks the locket into her dress pocket and places the egg carefully in her basket. The dog wags its tail, satisfied, and curls up in the dirt beside its antler nest. Primrose stands and steps away from the gazebo, changed. The egg didn't choose her. It chose the dog. And the dog chose to let it go.