Trevor And The Missing Hat

“Which way goes to the pond?”

He tried to remember. The pond was near the white gate. Or perhaps the white gate was near the apple tree. Or perhaps the apple tree was beside the pond.

Trevor frowned.

“I should have brought a map,” he murmured.

Then he remembered that he did not own a map.

He chose the path on the left. It wound between tomato plants and a row of bright orange marigolds. Trevor walked slowly, listening for the sound of water. He heard a bee buzzing. He heard leaves rustling. He heard a small bird singing from somewhere high above.

No pond.

At the end of the path stood a basket filled with smooth garden stones. Trevor stopped beside it.

“I have seen this basket before,” he said. “That means I am going the right way.”

He took three steps.

Then he turned around.

He was looking at the basket again.

Trevor blinked. He had walked in a circle.

“Oh,” he said. “The garden is very good at making paths look alike.”

He sat on the warm ground and rubbed his eyes. The flowers swayed around him, cheerful and bright, but Trevor did not feel cheerful. He wanted his hat back. He wanted to know where it had gone. Most of all, he wanted someone to help him remember.

A tiny yellow petal landed on his nose.

Trevor sneezed.

The sneeze made him smile a little. He stood and looked more carefully at the ground. Near the basket, a line of flat stones led between the marigolds. He had not noticed them before.

“Flat stones,” he said. “I can follow those.”

Trevor placed one foot on the first stone. Then he stepped onto the next. He counted as he went.

“One, two, three, four…”

At five, he forgot what number came next.

He looked at his toes.

“Six,” he guessed.

The stone path led past a bed of lavender. Its tiny purple flowers brushed Trevor’s shell, and their fresh smell filled the air. Soon he heard water trickling over pebbles.

“The pond!” Trevor cried.

He hurried forward, though “hurrying” for Trevor meant taking three steps instead of two. The path opened beside the pond. Sunlight sparkled on the water, and two familiar figures were sitting near the bank.

“Mason! Mia!” Trevor called.

Mason looked up from a handful of reeds. Mia turned from the pond and waved.

“Trevor!” said Mia. “What brings you here?”

Trevor reached them, breathing a little faster than usual. He touched his bare head.

“I am looking for my top hat,” he said. “Did you find it?”

Mason shook his head. “No, I did not find a hat.”

“Neither did I,” said Mia. “What happened to it?”

Trevor opened his mouth, then closed it. He tried to picture the last time he had worn the hat. He remembered the blue ribbon. He remembered polishing the black brim. He remembered standing near a window.

After that, his memory became as blank as a clean sheet of paper.

“Why did you lose it?” Mason asked gently.

Trevor looked at the pond. A duckweed leaf drifted across the water.

“I forgot,” he said.

Mia’s face softened. “You forgot where you put it?”

Trevor nodded. “I forgot where I put it, and I forgot when I saw it last, and I forgot which way I came through the garden.”

Mason glanced at the winding paths. “That last part is easy to understand. Even the flowers seem to move the paths around.”

“They do not really move,” said Mia. “But they are very tall.”

Trevor felt better knowing that the garden could confuse someone else, too. He sat beside the pond, and Mason scooted over to make room.

“Let us think,” said Mason. “What do you remember?”

Trevor pressed one finger to his chin. “I remember wearing my hat.”

“That is a good start,” said Mia.

“I remember a window.”

“Another good start,” said Mason.

“And I remember something blue.”

Mia pointed to the ribbon on a small bundle of flowers. “The hat’s ribbon was blue.”

Trevor nodded. “Yes. Blue like that.”

The three friends looked around the pond. They checked beneath the bench. They peered behind a watering can. Mason lifted a broad leaf, and Mia looked along the edge of the water.

Nothing.

A breeze slipped across the pond and tugged at Trevor’s shirt.

“Perhaps it blew away,” said Trevor.

Mia shook her head. “If it did, we can still look for it. We just need to know where to start.”

Trevor remembered the winding paths and the tall flowers. He did not want to wander in circles again.

“I thought I could find it by myself,” he said. “But I could not even find the pond.”

Mason smiled. “You found us.”

“With help from the flat stones,” Trevor added.

“And with your careful eyes,” said Mia. “You noticed the stones.”

Trevor looked at the garden. The paths still twisted and turned, but they did not seem quite so confusing now. Mason and Mia were beside him. He was not searching alone anymore.

“Will you help me look?” he asked.

“Of course,” said Mason.

“We will ask questions as we go,” said Mia. “Maybe your memory will come back.”

Trevor stood. He brushed a little dirt from his shell and looked toward the white gate.

“Which way should we go first?” he asked.

Mason pointed to a narrow path between the sunflowers. “That path leads toward the school.”

Trevor took a step, then paused. “The school?”

“Jasmine may have seen your hat,” said Mia. “She often walks through the garden on her way there.”

Trevor’s eyes brightened. “Then we can ask Jasmine, too.”

Mason picked up a smooth yellow stone from beside the pond. “Let us leave this by the path so we know where to return.”

Mia placed a second stone beside it. “And we can follow the sunflowers. They are hard to miss.”

Trevor looked at the two stones and the tall golden flowers. He felt ready to begin again.

The hat was still missing, and Trevor still did not remember where he had lost it. But now Mason and Mia were walking beside him, and together they started down the garden path toward the school.

Trevor touched his bare head once more.

“Do not worry,” Mia said. “We will keep looking.”

Trevor smiled as the warm breeze rustled the flowers above him.

“Thank you,” he said. “I may forget many things, but I will remember that my friends help me.”

End of chapter one. 4 more chapters and about 7,657 words in the full book.