Violet pushed the final block onto her tower. It wobbled. It leaned. Then — crash! A clatter across the sun-warmed grass. She stared at the pile of colorful blocks. Her lips pressed into a thin line. The garden flowers nodded in the breeze, but Violet didn't notice.
She kicked one block hard. It skidded into a bed of lavender and released a puff of sweet purple dust. 'I HATE blocks!' she shouted at the empty garden. Beside her on the stone bench, Mochi the stuffed cat sat propped against a cushion, one glass eye catching the light.
A whisper floated through the garden air — soft and scratchy, like paper rubbing against paper. 'Violet,' it said, and Mochi's embroidered mouth didn't move. 'Three breaths. In… and out.' Violet froze, one hand still curled into a fist at her side. She looked at Mochi, then at the scattered blocks, then back at Mochi.
Violet lifted her hands to her ears and closed her eyes. 'One,' she whispered, drawing air through her nose until her cheeks puffed out. 'Two,' she exhaled slowly, watching a butterfly land on Mochi's paw. 'Three,' she breathed again, and when she opened her eyes, the blocks looked different — just blocks, not enemies.
Violet picked up the first block and set it carefully on the grass, then the second, and the third, building higher and higher until the tower reached her shoulder. She stepped back, wiped her hands on her dress, and a wide smile broke across her face.
Mochi sat proudly on the bench, and the garden smelled like lavender and victory.
She stepped back, wiped her hands on her dress, and a wide smile broke across her face. The tower reached her shoulder — perfect and tall and hers.
Mochi sat proudly on the bench, and the garden smelled like lavender and victory.
