Carrying five heavy library books in her small arms, B stepped out of the library and onto the sunny stone street of Oakhaven Village.
She hugged the stack tightly against her white dress, making sure her floor-length white hair was draped over her shoulder so it wouldn't drag across the ground. Her plan was simple: walk straight down the main road, exit the village gates, follow the dirt path back to Blackwood Cemetery, and spend the rest of the afternoon reading on her soft brown couch.
However, just as getting to the library had been full of unexpected delays, leaving the village to go home proved to be just as impossible to do quickly.
Ting-tang!
Ting-tang!
B had barely walked twenty steps down the lane when the loud, joyful sound of church bells echoed through the air.
A massive crowd of cheerful villagers had gathered outside the local stone church, throwing handfuls of white flower petals into the air. Music played from a wooden accordion, and people were cheering at the top of their lungs.
A young couple in formal wedding clothes, a handsome man in a dark suit and a glowing bride in a long white lace dress, stepped out onto the high stone porch. The bride, laughing happily, turned her back to the crowd, raised her arms, and tossed her big, beautiful bridal bouquet high into the air.
The bouquet of pink and white roses soared over the heads of the crowd, spinning gracefully through the sunny afternoon sky.
B, who was simply trying to squeeze past the edge of the crowd without dropping her library books, looked up just in time to see a massive shadow falling over her face.
FLOP.
The heavy, fragrant bouquet of fresh roses landed perfectly right on top of B's stack of five library books.
B froze, her void-black pupils blinking in total confusion. She stared at the pile of pink roses sitting on her books.
"SHE CAUGHT IT!"
A loud, ear-splitting scream erupted from a group of unmarried young women standing nearby. Before B could even take a single step backward, four women rushed forward, surrounding her completely.
"Oh my goodness! Look who caught the bouquet!"
"She's so tiny! She's so cute!"
Without asking, two of the young women reached down, lifted B straight off her boots, and held her up in the air like a small trophy. They hugged her tight, gushing over her soft white hair and dark, sleepy eyes.
"May you find your true love one day, sweet little angel!" one of the women cried joyfully, hugging B so tight her cheeks squished together.
"Wait... I just... my books..." B mumbled softly, her child-like voice swallowed completely by the cheering crowd.
Before she could explain that she was just trying to go home to read her books, B was swept directly into the wedding celebration.
For the next thirty minutes, B was assigned a brand-new task by the enthusiastic wedding guests. They handed her a small woven basket filled with soft, scented rose petals and guided her down the stone path in front of the newlyweds. B had no choice but to walk slowly down the aisle, dropping handfuls of pink petals onto the ground while holding her five library books under her left arm.
The crowd cheered wildly, showering the quiet, white-haired girl with applause and smiles.
When the wedding ceremony finally wound down and B managed to slip away into a quiet side street, her books were thankfully still completely intact, though they now smelled strongly of fresh roses.
"That was... loud..." B sighed, adjusting the heavy stack in her arms.
She took a deep breath, ready to make a run for the village gates. But as she rounded the next corner, her eyes caught sight of another situation.
A few paces ahead, an old grandmother carrying a heavy woven basket had tripped over a loose cobblestone.
CLATTER!
The basket tumbled out of her hands, spilling dozens of bright, shiny red apples across the paved street. The apples rolled in every direction, under parked carts, into the gutter, and across the stone road.
The old grandmother gasped, dropping onto her knees with a painful groan as she tried to gather the rolling fruit with her trembling hands.
B stopped in her tracks.
Back in her previous life on Earth, even when she was exhausted, stressed, and running late for a terrible shift at her corporate job, B had always been a kind person at heart. She couldn't stand seeing someone weak or elderly struggling alone.
She walked quickly over to the old woman, carefully dropping down onto her knees despite the heavy books in her arms.
"Here," B said softly, using her small pale fingers to grab three large red apples that had rolled near her leather boots.
"Oh! Bless you, child!" the old grandmother gasped, wiping a tear from her eye.
For the next ten minutes, B helped the old woman collect every single dropped apple from the street. She crawled under wooden carts, picked them out of the grass, and wiped the dirt off their red skins using the edge of her white dress.
Once all the apples were gathered back into the woven basket, the old grandmother tried to lift it, but her hands were shaking too hard.
"Let me help," B offered, her sleepy face calm and steady.
She set her five library books down onto the ground, placed the heavy basket of apples directly on top of the books, and used her small arms to lift the entire pile together.
"Are you sure, sweetie?" the grandmother asked, looking worried. "That looks very heavy!"
"It's fine," B replied, balancing the basket on her books. "Where do you live?"
The grandmother led B down a short lane to a small, charming stone cottage with a green wooden door. B carried the heavy load all the way to the kitchen table inside, carefully setting the basket and her books down.
The old woman's eyes filled with warmth and gratitude. She quickly walked over to her counter, picked up a large, freshly baked apple pie resting inside a clear plastic carrying box, and brought it over to B.
"You are such a sweet, helpful little girl," the grandmother said, placing the warm, heavy pie into B's arms. "Take this whole pie home to your family, okay? Share it with your parents!"
Before B could explain that she lived alone in a graveyard, the sweet old grandmother leaned down and planted a soft, gentle kiss right on B's pale forehead.
"Thank you, little angel," the grandmother smiled warmly.
B stood there for a second, touching her forehead where the old woman had kissed her. Her chest felt strange—warm, soft, and completely full.
"Thank you for the pie," B said with a small, polite bow, before taking her books and her new apple pie into her arms and stepping back out into the sunshine.
With five library books and a massive, fresh apple pie held tightly against her dress, B finally made it to the outer boundary of Oakhaven Village.
She could see the open dirt road leading back toward Blackwood Cemetery just ahead.
"Almost there..." B murmured, her arms feeling a little tired from holding so many items.
Just as her boots touched the edge of the village exit, a tall figure stepped out from the shadow of the brick archway.
It was Agent Martha, the stern baker woman from yesterday.
Martha had been alerted by Reed earlier that B was in the village, and she had been standing near the exit to monitor the girl's movements. But seeing B standing there now, holding a stack of library books, a big plastic box containing a whole apple pie, and smelling like wedding roses, Martha didn't jump or throw paper talismans this time.
Instead, Martha stared at the overburdened white-haired girl with a look of pure, dumbfounded disbelief.
"You..." Martha started, her sharp eyes dropping to the massive pile of items in B's tiny arms. "Where on earth did you get a whole pie?"
B paused, looking up at the tall baker woman. "I helped an old grandma pick up her apples."
Martha looked at the pie, then at the books, and then down at B's small, frail arms, which looked like they were working very hard to hold everything together.
"Do you... need help carrying all that back to the cemetery?" Martha asked, her voice softening slightly despite herself.
"No, it's fine," B replied, puffing out her pale cheeks in a tiny display of pride. "I can carry it myself. I'm a strong boy... err, girl."
Martha couldn't help the small, amused chuckle that escaped her lips. Seeing this pale, quiet child trying so hard to act tough while holding a mountain of treats was strangely endearing.
"Alright, if you say so, strong girl," Martha said softly.
She stepped closer, reaching out her hand to gently pat B's head. Martha's fingers sank into the white hair, her eyes widening slightly as she felt how impossibly soft and smooth it was—like touching pure, spun silk.
With her other hand, Martha reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a bright yellow lemon-flavored lollipop. She unwrapped the clear plastic wrapper with her teeth, holding the stick in her fingers.
Since B's hands were completely full holding the books and the pie, Martha gently leaned down and popped the yellow lollipop straight into B's open mouth.
"Here," Martha smiled, her usual stern face melting into a warm, big-sisterly expression. "A little reward for being a good helper in the village. Now go straight home before it gets dark, okay?"
B stood there, holding her books and pie, with the stick of the yellow lollipop sticking out of her mouth.
The sweet, sour taste of lemon burst onto her tongue.
"Mmph... fank you..." B mumbled around the lollipop, giving Martha a small nod.
"Safe travels, little grave keeper," Martha waved, standing by the village archway as B turned around and walked onto the open dirt road.
As B walked slowly down the long path toward Blackwood Cemetery, her high leather boots making steady sounds against the dirt, the sun began to set, painting the sky in gorgeous hues of deep gold, orange, and purple.
A cool evening breeze rustled through the tall ironwood trees along the road.
...sssshhhh... vvvvv...
The faint, whispering sounds echoed through the air around her ears, swirling through her long white hair like hushed, raspy voices.
B didn't give the whispering wind a single glance or thought.
She took a slow, happy lick of her lemon lollipop, feeling the heavy, warm weight of the fresh apple pie in her arms and the thick stack of library books resting against her chest.
A deep, overwhelming sense of pure satisfaction washed over her entire soul.
In her past life on Earth, she had spent years grinding her body to dust, living through miserable days filled with harsh words, cold food, and continuous overwork. In all those years, she hadn't experienced a single afternoon as happy, warm, and fulfilling as today.
She had petted soft cats, received sweet head pats from kind locals, eaten delicious cream buns and fresh pie, received free books, and tasted a sweet yellow lollipop, all without having to do a single minute of overtime.
"This world is great," B whispered around her lollipop, her large void-black pupils softening with deep, quiet happiness.
Holding her treasures close, the tiny grave keeper walked through the open iron gates of Blackwood Cemetery, heading straight toward her cozy cabin couch for an evening of peaceful reading and sweet treats.
Author's Note
EliteToeCollector
Thanks for reading!