Page 33 of The Autumn Leaf Bookshop (Everly Hollow #1)

Scattered like golden dust

Raene

I wander past the rows of booths set up around the town square. The air is buzzing with laughter. The soft hum of music drifted from nearby speakers. Everyone is in a great mood. Chatting among one another, locals and visitors.

I officially met the mayor and his wife. Elora is her twin. They were both very kind and grateful for the help with the festival.

I see Grandma sitting at a table with her friends, gossiping, drinking tea, and working on a lantern together as a group.

There have to be at least two hundred people here.

Friends and family from the local town and outsiders are coming to enjoy the fall festivities.

It’s packed. The weather is perfect. The sun is still bright this afternoon, the air is crisp and cool as a light breeze bustles through the square.

It feels like the perfect day for high-waisted jeans, sneakers, a white tank top, and my caramel-brown cardigan.

Each station is strung with fairy lights and a garland of dried orange slices, cinnamon-scented pinecones, and small pumpkins and gourds .

The first day of fall has blessed us with its presence, and I'm surprisingly excited to see everything we planned come to life this week.

I approach a long table covered with a checkered white and orange fabric tablecloth, scattered with little glass jars that hold paint brushes. Dried leaves are sitting in a wicker basket beside them with bottles of paint and paper plates to pour colors and mix them.

A little girl, with paint smeared on her green cheeks, uses a sponge to dab orange spots on her paper lantern.

She sits back and a smile appears between her tusks as she taps her Dad's shoulder to point to her creation.

He presses a kiss to the top of her blonde curls and turns his attention back to his lantern, carefully tracing a stencil of a crescent moon.

Another table is full of glitter, dried flowers, sequins, glue, and colorful tissue squares. The creativity is amazing, and I can't wait to see these lanterns take flight in the night sky this evening.

"Hi!" Seren waves at me as I approach her, Jas and Dominik sitting at a table with others, busy decorating their lanterns. Each of them is working on a lantern. Seren's lantern has glitter on one side, dried flower petals and leaves on the other, and now she's drawing a little picture.

"Hey there, Seren!" I smile. She's so tiny and cute, always smiling.

"What are you drawing?" I take a seat on the bench across from them. Jas looks down at the picture her daughter is drawing.

"My family. Mom, me, and Dominik. "

Dominik clears his throat and looks over at the drawing. A look of uncertainty passes over his eyes before he gives Seren a small smile.

"It's perfect," he says softly. "When you're finished, we will put it on your lantern."

Sitting on her knees, Seren wiggles in her seat before sitting back down on her legs. She grabs a few pieces of popcorn from the brown bag in front of her and shoves them in her mouth. Humming a little tune of her own as she continues her drawing.

Jas looks over at Dominik, and I don't know if it's cute or funny seeing a man his size with a small lantern in his hands as he's gluing leaves and flower petals on it.

Her eyes are wide for that entire picture conversation, but softened when she turns her attention to me. She places her completed lantern in front of her.

"So what do you think of day one so far?" She tucks a curl behind her ear. Her hair is normally up, but today it's down, and the thick, lush curls flow down past her shoulders.

Looking around at the busyness of it all makes me excited for this evening, and I wonder how many visitors will attend the festival throughout the week. I haven't seen Ash yet and hope to soon.

Yesterday, we said we would take it slow.

One day at a time, no expectations and no pressure.

Just enjoy each other’s company, and when I leave Everly Hollow, we can set up visits.

He is already planning to come the first weekend of October, and when he said that, my stomach did flips in excitement .

“I think it looks pretty amazing, honestly. Everyone seems pretty excited about the lantern parade.”

“Well, it’s a great idea. Something new to start the festival with,” Jas says, her nails do a quick tap on the table.

Dominik nods his head in agreement.

“I like it!” She finishes, giving her a quick kiss on her head, before resting her head on her hands with a beaming smile.

“Speaking of someone you like, he’s coming this way.” Her eyebrows dance up and down in excitement, matching the broad grin on her face. She’s a sucker for romance.

I stand and turn—and he’s right there.

My Ash.

Enough to reach out and tug me, possessively. Kissing me like I’m the closest thing to air that gives him breath.

“You miss me?” I whisper into his lips, brushing my nose ever so lightly against his.

“You saw me last night...and again this morning.” A little laugh escapes me, feeling his hands squeeze my sides.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t give you a kiss when you’ve been blessed with my presence.”

“Oh…so you're something special now?”

“You said it, not me?” He shrugs his shoulders, a smirk playing on his lips.

I shake my head slightly, but the smile on my face is still there. “So, have you made your lantern yet?

“Not yet. I thought I would do it with you. ”

“Okay,” I say, playing with the buttons on his flannel shirt. It’s soft with a mix of colors—black, orange, and a light cream.

“We can sit with them.” I turn around to see Jas and Dominik standing up.

“Seren wants a hot dog and to stop by the baby farm animals, so we figured we would just go grab something to eat now before it gets too busy,” Jas says, pointing in the direction of a few food booths.

“I’ll catch you later,” Dominik says to Sylas.

Well, never mind then .

I give them a quick wave goodbye as we walk towards the bench.

Ash quickly grabs two new lanterns for us to decorate, and we sit side by side. He begins working on his lantern, using a maple leaf stencil. Predictable, but it makes me smile. Looks like we’re not much different because I’m thinking of using the sun stencil with dried flowers.

“Hey, Rae!”

I glance up to see Poppy balancing a tray with her lantern and a small mountain of decorating supplies. “Mind if I join you?”

“Sit.” I grin, flicking my hand toward the empty spot in front of me as I sort through the flowers I plan to strategically glue on.

“So…” She uncaps her glue bottle with the kind of flair that shows she’s about to toss trouble into her cauldron of shenanigans and stir it up. “How are you two?” Her mouth curls into a playful, crooked grin.

I chuckle. This girl .

“Why are you being so nosy?” Garruk asks, dropping his tray. The clatter on the wooden table causes Poppy and me to jump. She physically shivers and rolls her eyes, but keeps working as he takes a seat beside her.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Garruk .” Her head whips toward him, amber eyes glowing as her glare burns into him, then she turns her attention back to her craft.

“Awe…Penelope,” he says softly, twirling a finger at the end of her ponytail, and she immediately goes rosy in the cheeks.

“Trying to live vicariously through them?” He asks.

“Fuck off,” Poppy hisses, batting his arm away, gluing a leaf to her lantern. She then begins to draw a few doodles of baked goods. I try to hold in my laughter, bubbling in my throat.

“Don’t you have some cinnamon rolls to overbake?” She gives him an icy stare as her lips curl. As he laughs and quips back at her, I realize these two can go at it for hours.

I may have to pull inspiration from them later on.

Fortunately, the weather for today’s event has been on our side, cool but dry, and I’ll take that as a win. A rainy day would have ruined it.

The sun and new moon have slipped low into the horizon, and now everyone stands in two lines. Ash and Nim stand in front, taking turns at lighting each lantern .

The kids get a kick out of seeing Ash’s magic and Nim’s dragon fire.

Even I stood there, mouth agape, watching his eyes glow, the fire breathing through his soul and out of his hand.

The vibrant flame that he had sparked to life dances over his palm.

There are no burns on his skin, no pain reflected on his face, just tender joy. For the fire lives within him.

The illuminated lanterns light up the town square along with the street lamps. I walk side by side with Ash as we begin our walk to the lake.

Glancing up at him, I take in the awe of his facial expression at the glow of the lanterns in the starry night sky as the light guides our way down the path to the lake. “I like your lantern,” I tell him, bumping my hip lightly against him.

“Thanks, I like yours too.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “I liked how everyone’s personality shows in their creation. How they brought what they loved in their hearts to fruition in these lanterns.”

“This was a great idea, Raene.”

I smile to myself as I bask in his praise.

We look forward to following the crowd. Holding our lanterns out in front of us, I feel his fingers faintly brush against the hand on my side, causing a sudden rise of goosebumps to spread.

Testing to see what happens, maybe?

We had sex, we kissed publicly, but I guess I can understand why he may be hesitant to hold hands. Holding

hands may be a way he wants to show that he loves me? Maybe to him, it is more vulnerable than sex .

I brush my fingers back against his. One finger loops another as we walk side by side, our hands clasp together as one, fully linked.

His hand is larger than mine, warm and steady as we almost reach the clearing ahead.

A chirp sounds above our heads as Nim flies over us, beginning to dodge the lanterns that flicker and float as they release into the air above us.

It’s a breathtaking view. The sky stretches out like an endless blanket of black velvet, deep and infinite.

Without the moon to contrast against the night, it feels so pure, just right for this night.

The stars burn brighter than ever, like pieces of diamonds scattered, silver dust above us.

Orion’s belt and the pale light of the Milky Way are spilling across the sky in a river of stardust.

The absence of the moonlight has made the constellations seem sharper. I’ve never seen anything like this. As the lanterns release into the air and the faint glow of the lake adds its shimmer to the world around it, it feels magical. This place is special.

“You ready?” Ash asks, giving my hand a light squeeze as he holds his lantern higher.

“Ready.”

We release, and then they float.

You can hear whispers and murmurs of blessings to Ruskaya; some people cheer. Others huddle together watching the quiet magic of it all.

The flames of the lanterns flicker as they take flight and drift to the stars in the sky, and glow-moths begin to flutter out of the forest, weaving among the people, dancing in the air beside the lanterns. Even Nim twirls, swoops, and dives gently with the moths.

The stars in the midnight blue sky transform. The inky painting above us is now stars scattered like golden dust. Lanterns are lifted into the air as they catch a breeze, transcending into the golden-dusted sky.

This community radiates kindness. I laugh, swept up in the pure magic and light of this entire evening. Together, we watch the lanterns float away, leaning into each other, our fingers intertwined.