Moonshade Tea And The First Hunter

Samantha hurried after it, holding her sketchbook in one hand and her tea in the other. The dream-shelves shifted as she walked. A row of books about flying dreams slid to the left. A row of garden dreams rolled gently to the right.

Samantha stopped.

The orange leaf had vanished.

She looked up and down the aisle. The Library was safe and quiet, but the shelves seemed taller than before. The little dream on the leaf had disappeared too.

“Oh dear,” Samantha said. “I lost it.”

She tried to remember which way the leaf had gone. She pictured the pond. She pictured the sugar moon. She pictured the child’s boots.

Nothing appeared.

Samantha placed her sketchbook on a shelf and checked behind a stack of dream books. No leaf. She looked beneath a reading cushion. No leaf there, either.

Then a black cat stepped from behind a bookcase.

His fur was smooth and dark, and his green eyes were bright with thought. He carried a small bowl in his mouth.

“Have you seen my ramen?” he asked.

Samantha stared. “Your what?”

“My ramen noodles,” said the cat. “They were here a moment ago. A bowl of noodles cannot simply vanish. That would be a very poor scientific result.”

Samantha glanced at the bowl. It was empty.

“I’m Samantha,” she said. “Are you Romulus?”

“Correct.” Romulus set down the bowl. “And you are searching for something orange.”

“How did you know?”

“You are holding orange tea, your eyes are looking in three directions, and you have stepped over the same blue book twice.” He tapped the book with one paw. “Also, orange is difficult to ignore.”

Samantha looked at her cup. The tea glowed gently, but when she stared at it, the orange seemed to move. It became gold, then peach, then orange again.

“I lost a dream,” she said. “I need to find it before it drifts onto the wrong shelf.”

Romulus sat beside the blue book. “Then you need to pay attention.”

“I am paying attention.”

“You are paying attention to everything,” Romulus replied. “That is not the same thing.”

Samantha frowned, but Romulus’s voice was calm. He was not teasing her. He was thinking.

She took a slow breath and listened.

The Library hummed. Pages turned by themselves. Somewhere far away, a book gave a tiny sneeze. Beneath those sounds, Samantha heard a soft splash.

“The pond,” she said.

She followed the sound. Romulus trotted after her, carrying his empty bowl.

The shelves opened into a round reading space. A silver rug covered the floor. In the middle sat a low table, and on the table was Samantha’s missing leaf.

The dream on it had changed. The child with the sugar moon was now sitting beside a small orange boat. The boat rocked on the pond, but no one was inside.

Samantha reached for the leaf.

It floated away again.

She tried to catch it with her sketchbook. The leaf slipped beneath a shelf. Samantha knelt and reached under it, but her fingers brushed only cool dust.

Romulus peered beneath the shelf. “The dream is moving because you are chasing it.”

“I have to catch it.”

“Perhaps it wants you to notice something first.”

Samantha sat back on her heels. She did not like losing dreams. She liked neat shelves, clear pictures, and books returned to their proper places.

Then she noticed the steam rising from her cup.

The orange steam curled into a little trail. It drifted toward the shelf, then curved away from it, pointing to a narrow space between two tall books.

Samantha held the cup closer.

The steam brightened.

She took one careful sip.

The tea tasted like warm fruit and fresh leaves. A gentle heat spread from her tongue to her fingertips. The Library changed.

She could see the dream trail at once.

It was a thin golden line, almost hidden before. It slipped under the shelf, wound around a book about lost mittens, and climbed toward the top of the case.

Samantha gasped. “There it is!”

Romulus’s ears lifted. “Interesting.”

Samantha followed the golden line. She did not rush now. She watched where it curved and waited when it grew faint. The shelves no longer seemed confusing. Each book showed a small glimmer that matched the dream it held.

A book about a child learning to swim shimmered blue. A book about a birthday cake glowed pink. The book about lost mittens gave off a soft gray sparkle.

The golden trail led Samantha to a high shelf.

The orange leaf rested there, tucked behind a book with a silver moon on its cover. The dream had grown clear again. The child sat in the orange boat, holding a tiny lantern.

Samantha reached up, but the shelf was too tall.

“I need a step,” she said.

Romulus studied the room. “A step is useful. Ramen would also be useful, but I see none.”

Samantha pulled the silver rug toward the shelf and folded it twice. She climbed onto it, but it wobbled.

“Careful,” said Romulus.

Samantha stepped down. She did not want to fall or damage the books. She looked around the reading space and noticed three large pillows near the table.

Together, she and Romulus pushed the pillows across the rug. Romulus used his head to nudge one pillow into place. Samantha stacked the others on top.

“That is not a perfect staircase,” Romulus said.

“It only needs to be safe.”

Samantha climbed onto the pillows. The top one sank under her feet, but Romulus placed one paw against it.

“Now,” he said.

Samantha reached the shelf and gently lifted the leaf free.

The dream glowed brighter. The little lantern in the child’s hand shone like a star.

Samantha held the leaf over her sketchbook. The picture floated onto the page, drawing itself in smooth orange lines. The child climbed out of the boat and walked toward a cozy house beside the pond.

When the picture was finished, the leaf became an ordinary fall leaf and settled in Samantha’s hand.

She smiled. “It worked.”

Romulus sat on the rug. “You worked. The tea helped.”

Samantha looked at the cup. Only a little remained.

“Why does it help me see dreams?” she asked. “I have always used it when I write. I thought it was just a habit.”

Romulus’s whiskers twitched. “Moonshade tea is not just a habit. It helps Librarians study, pay attention, and see beyond ordinary sight. It helps you track stars, keep books, and watch dreams.”

Samantha looked at the glowing page.

“That is what I do,” she said softly. “I watch dreams.”

“Exactly.”

She turned toward the tall shelves. Now she could see tiny trails everywhere. Some were bright. Some were pale. One curled around a book and faded into a picture of a sleeping puppy.

The sight was beautiful.

It was also a lot.

Samantha covered one eye. The trails still showed. She closed both eyes, but the dreams continued to shimmer in her mind. A garden appeared. Then a tower made of pillows. Then a field of floating umbrellas.

“Romulus,” she said, “how do I make it stop?”

Romulus looked at the empty ramen bowl. “That is an excellent question. I would think better with noodles.”

Samantha laughed. “You really do think about ramen all the time.”

“Ramen is a serious subject.”

Samantha took another sip, hoping the pictures would settle. Instead, a whole new dream appeared in front of her. It showed three moons hanging over a festival square. Orange tea leaves danced in the air. A girl with a bright locket stood beside a coffee shop.

Samantha reached toward the dream.

The picture moved closer.

She saw a friendly face in the coffee shop window. She saw a tall baker carrying a tray of warm rolls. She saw dragons sitting at tiny tables, drinking tea from teacups.

Then the dream spun away.

Samantha lowered the cup. The pictures faded, but they did not vanish completely.

“I can see too much,” she said.

Romulus curled his tail around his paws. “Then you must learn to choose what you see.”

“How?”

“Perhaps slowly.”

Samantha looked at the orange leaf in her hand. She understood one thing now. The tea did not appear because she was forgetful or because she liked warm drinks. It appeared because dreams needed a careful watcher.

The color changed with the seasons, too. Red in summer. Bluish purple in winter. Orange in fall, when the Moonshade festival came to Velora and the three moons painted the tea with their light.

Samantha placed the rescued dream in its proper book. The book opened with a happy sigh, and the orange picture settled safely inside.

The Library grew quiet again.

Samantha poured the last drops of tea into her cup and held it close, not drinking this time.

“I will learn,” she said. “But I do not have to learn alone.”

Romulus brightened. “If learning includes ramen, I will assist.”

Samantha smiled and tucked the orange leaf into her dream book. Far away, beyond the shelves, festival bells began to ring.

The orange tea had helped her find the lost dream, but it had also opened her eyes to many more. Samantha did not yet know how to control what she saw.

Still, the dream was safe, the books were in order, and Romulus was beside her.

Samantha closed her book and listened to the warm bells.

She knew now that Moonshade tea was part of her duty, and that asking for help was part of being a good Librarian.

End of chapter one. 12 more chapters and about 19,893 words in the full book.