The Cousins’ Halloween

“It looks like a hat,” Phoenixx said.

Makenna looked at the map again. “We can look at pumpkins after we reach the orchard.”

Raven gave the large pumpkin one last glance, and the cousins followed Makenna down the path.

Soon, the rows of pumpkins grew close together. Vines curled over the dirt, and leaves brushed against their shoes. The lanterns still glowed, but some were hidden behind the pumpkins.

Makenna slowed down.

The path split into two.

She held the map near the lantern light. “The left path should go around the big pumpkin.”

“Which big pumpkin?” Raven asked.

Makenna looked up. There were three large pumpkins nearby. One had a long stem. One had a pale spot. One sat beside a pile of leaves.

Phoenixx pointed. “Maybe that one.”

Makenna compared the map with the pumpkins. “I think it’s the one with the pale spot.”

They went left. After a few steps, the lanterns appeared again. Makenna felt proud. The map had helped them choose the right way.

Then a cool gust swept across the patch.

Leaves spun around their ankles. Raven’s hat wobbled. Phoenixx grabbed his scarf with both hands.

Makenna held the map tightly, but the paper slipped from her fingers.

“Wait!” she cried.

The map flew into the air.

It flipped once above the pumpkin vines, then sailed toward a row of tall corn. Makenna ran after it. Raven and Phoenixx hurried behind her.

The paper landed on a pile of leaves.

Makenna reached for it, but another gust lifted the leaves and sent the map skipping across the ground. It slid beneath a wooden sign, popped out on the other side, and fluttered toward the hay bales.

“Almost!” Makenna called.

She took another step, but the map rose again. This time, it sailed over a low fence and disappeared behind a group of pumpkins.

The wind stopped.

For a moment, the patch was quiet except for the lanterns humming softly.

Makenna stared at the place where the map had vanished. Her cheeks felt warm.

“I’ll find it,” she said.

She searched beneath the nearest pumpkin leaves. She checked beside the fence and behind the wooden sign. Raven lifted a few leaves with her boot. Phoenixx peered under a hay bale.

Nothing.

“It may have blown farther,” Raven said gently.

Makenna shook her head. “I should have held it better.”

“You tried,” Phoenixx said.

“But I was supposed to guide us.” Makenna looked at the lantern trail. “Now we don’t know which way to go.”

Raven pointed to the ground. “The lanterns are still here.”

“Yes, but the paths twist.” Makenna turned in a slow circle. The pumpkin rows looked different from this spot. The tall scarecrow was hidden behind the corn, and the barn was nowhere in sight.

Phoenixx tugged at his scarf. “Could we follow the lanterns until we find the orchard?”

Makenna looked down at him. “That was the plan.”

“Then it is still a plan,” he said.

Makenna almost smiled. Phoenixx was right, but she did not want to guess. She wanted to be sure.

The cousins tried the path on the right. It curved around a stack of hay bales and ended beside a wooden gate.

“This isn’t the orchard,” Raven said.

Beyond the gate stood a little garden filled with sunflowers. Their heads drooped for the evening, and their leaves rustled in the breeze.

Makenna checked the ground. “There are no apple trees.”

They went back to the split in the path. Makenna tried the left path next. It led between two rows of pumpkins and opened beside the scarecrow.

The scarecrow wore a blue shirt and a straw hat. A silver ribbon hung from one sleeve.

Phoenixx looked up. “Is this the tall scarecrow from the map?”

Makenna studied it. “Maybe.”

Raven pointed to a lantern behind the scarecrow. “There’s another one over there.”

They followed it, but the path turned again. It led to a small wooden bridge over a dry little ditch. Beyond the bridge, the lantern trail faded among the pumpkins.

Makenna stopped.

The evening had grown darker. The lanterns made bright spots, but the spaces between them seemed wider now. She could hear crickets in the grass and the gentle creak of the barn door.

“We should not keep guessing,” she said.

Raven rested a hand on Makenna’s arm. “You don’t have to know every turn by yourself.”

Makenna looked at Raven.

Phoenixx nodded. “We can all look.”

Makenna glanced back at the lost map’s last hiding place. She had wanted to be the guide because she thought guiding meant having every answer. But the pumpkin patch had too many turns, and the wind had carried away the one thing she trusted.

Maybe being a guide could also mean listening.

“All right,” Makenna said. “We’ll search for clues together.”

Raven crouched beside the lantern pole. “Look at the dirt. There are wagon tracks.”

Makenna knelt beside her. Two narrow lines ran along the path, pressed into the soft earth.

“Those tracks may lead to the orchard,” Makenna said.

Phoenixx pointed to a small wooden apple nailed to the next lantern pole. “There’s a sign!”

The apple was painted red, with a white arrow pointing left.

Makenna felt a little hope return. “Let’s follow the apple signs.”

They moved slowly, checking each lantern. At the next turn, they found another wooden apple. Then another. The signs led them between pumpkin rows and past the pile of leaves.

Makenna kept one hand on Raven’s shoulder and one hand near Phoenixx’s scarf so they would stay close. The path became narrow, but the lanterns marked the way.

A sweet smell drifted through the air.

“Do you smell that?” Raven asked.

“Apples,” Phoenixx said.

Makenna lifted her face. The scent was crisp and sweet. She heard leaves moving high above them, not just around their feet.

They passed the last row of pumpkins and reached a low wooden arch. Vines curled over the top, and a painted sign hung in the middle.

ORCHARD, it said.

Makenna stepped beneath the arch. Beyond it stood rows of apple trees. Red and yellow apples shone among the leaves. Small lanterns hung from the branches, making the orchard glow like a warm, friendly room.

“We made it!” Phoenixx cheered.

Raven gave a happy little jump. “The apple signs saved us.”

Makenna smiled at the trees, then looked back at the winding path behind them.

“We found the orchard,” she said. “But our map is still missing.”

The cousins stood together beneath the arch. The pumpkin patch looked peaceful from here, but the paths were hard to see in the dim light. Without the map, Makenna could not tell which turn would take them back to the entrance.

Phoenixx reached for her hand.

“We’ll find the way home together,” he said.

Raven took Makenna’s other hand. “And we can look for the map while we do.”

Makenna squeezed their hands. She was still worried, but she was not alone anymore. The orchard lights shone above them, and the smell of apples filled the cool evening air.

They had reached the place they were looking for, even without the map. Now they had a new job: find the way home together.

When friends and family share the work, even a mixed-up path can lead to a good place.

End of chapter one. 5 more chapters and about 10,051 words in the full book.