Nell stood beside the slow stone fountain, humming to herself as she rubbed one smooth pebble against another. Her soft apron was dusted with tiny gray specks, and the pebbles in her pouch felt cool and round at her side. Every few swipes, she held one up, turned it in the lantern glow, and smiled at how the shine made the little stone look like moonlight.
Moonbean Market was busy even this late. Fish-shaped lanterns and one crescent lantern swayed above the round courtyard, and the wet cobblestones gave back their colors in the puddles below. Steam carts drifted past with apricot-sweet clouds. People paused by the fountain, slowed by the water crossing the pebbles, just as Nell liked.
Then a tiny sound rang out from somewhere in the middle of the market.
Ding.
A woman by the bench blinked and said, “I forgot the sugar jar at home.” Ding.
A stallkeeper with flour on his hands laughed nervously. “And I borrowed this basket without asking.” Ding.
Nell looked up from her work. Mina, with her striped scarf, had both hands over her mouth, but the words slipped out anyway: “I was hoping someone would notice me.” Ding.
Near the lantern ropes, Tavi straightened his tiny apron and said very carefully, “I think the market sounds different tonight.” Ding.
The bell itself could not be seen, but its ringing hopped from one truth to the next, bright and shy and impossible to ignore. Around the fountain, embarrassed smiles spread as neighbors realized everyone nearby had heard them too.
Nell pressed her thumb against the pebble in her hand. She could keep polishing and hope the music of the fountain would make the whole market feel calm again. Or she could step away from her stones and go toward the ringing in the middle of the courtyard, where Mina and Tavi were already looking around for the cause.
What happens next?
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