Alesia pressed her nose to the glass. Next door, a girl with dark braids was already at work — stacking fallen leaves into a towering wall. The wind sighed through the yard, and the leaves whispered like crinkling paper.
One. Two. Three. She counted on her fingers. Four. Five. Six. When she reached ten, Alesia marched out the front door and across the sidewalk. Her shoes slapped the wet grass, leaving dark prints behind her.
She stopped at the low hedge that separated the two yards. 'Ciao,' she said. The girl looked up, her braids falling over her shoulders. 'I'm Arianna. What's your name?' Alesia opened her mouth. Nothing came out at first.
'Alesia.' The word came out small. Arianna's eyes lit up. She bent down and picked up a large brown leaf — crisp, veined, perfect. She held it up like a queen holding a scepter. 'This one's for the castle.'
They pressed into the leaves together. Arianna showed her how to lean the leaves against each other, interlocking them like bricks. Alesia placed one carefully, then another. The wall rose. Then another. The fortress was growing.
Alesia added the final leaf — a big curled one with edges like lace. She held her breath. The fortress stood tall for one second. Then the wind arrived. CRACKLE. RUSTLE. The walls tumbled inward in a cascade of brown and gold.
They sat perfectly still for a heartbeat. Then Arianna snorted. Alesia felt it too — the laugh bubbling up like carbonation. They laughed until their cheeks hurt, until the sound rolled down the street and bounced off the houses. CRACKLE-RUSTLE-laugh.
When the laughter finally faded, Arianna reached into the leaf pile and pulled out two more good ones. 'Ready for round two?' Alesia nodded. They got to work — side by side — building again.
