Episode 6 — The Paper Opens

The sixth night came without wind or rain.

Milo unfolded the paper slowly across the floorboards. Inside rested a pressed flower, small and pale, flattened carefully between the folds. One stem had bent sharply near the bottom before drying that way.

Milo touched one petal with the edge of his paw. It felt thinner than the paper beneath it.

The button rested nearby. The ribbon. The folded cloth. The key. The box. Each one carried marks from being used or held.

The flower carried almost no weight at all.

Milo folded the paper again carefully around it and placed it back inside the box. The flower stayed flat between the pages.

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