Togg's Arc

Chapter 5 of 8

Togg stood at the base of the twig ladder with the trug at his feet. Delphine was gone. Jimothy was too heavy to climb. The rafters waited bare above him, and the afternoon was slipping. He grabbed one purple vine and started up alone. The blooms slid from his grip and dropped. He climbed back down, jaw tight. One climber, one trug, and no way to do both. A blue shimmer crossed the doorway. A brown mouse fairy landed light on the railing, black eyes taking in everything. Togg knew her from the treeline. Hazel Softpaw, the one who noticed when anything in the forest was off. "Saw the strawberry girl run out," she said. "You're hiding something." Togg's fur bristled. "It's a secret. For Grampy and Grans. Forty years." Hazel's whiskers softened. "Grans is my best friend. Then I want it right." She flew a small circle over the trug. "I can help. I won't tell." He studied her. She could fly. She could carry. But the whole surprise sat in her paws now. "Promise," he said. "Not a word to either of them." "Promise," Hazel said. She looked to Jimothy, who was sorting blooms with his long arms. "Good. He needs friends." She said it plain, like a fact she had carried all summer. They went to work. Jimothy braided the purple vine into a long garland while Togg wove leaves through soft ribbon. Then the plan clicked into place. Togg scrambled up the ladder light and quick. Hazel gathered a finished garland in her paws and beat her blue wings, lifting it straight to him at the beam. He looped it over the rafter and tied it fast. Jimothy fed the garlands up from below. Hazel ferried each one high. Togg hung them, one after another, purple clematis draping down in lush strands. The bare pavilion began to bloom. On the last garland, a small white spider crept from a flower onto Togg's paw. Pale, with soft rose markings. He nearly flinched. "Trade," the spider said. "Set me outside. I'll spin your ribbons in place. My webs hold." Togg looked at the swaying garlands. He nodded. The spider ran along the beam, trailing fine silk, anchoring each vine snug against the wood. Every bloom held firm. Togg carried her to the doorway and set her on a leaf in the grass. "Fair trade," he said. She scuttled off. He turned back and looked up. The rafters hung heavy with purple and green. Not one bare beam left. Hazel hovered beside him, satisfied. Jimothy grinned wide from the floor. The hanging was done. But garlands alone weren't a party. The pavilion still had no tables set, no place for Grampy and Grans to sit when they arrived. And the light outside was already turning gold.