The garden was quiet, save for the rustle of leaves tumbling across the ground. Pumpkins lay in tidy clusters, their skins catching the last gold of afternoon light. She paused on the worn path, her hand reaching down to the sleek black cat that had appeared as if from nowhere. Its amber eyes glimmered with a knowing gaze—mischievous, yet oddly comforting. In the hush of autumn’s embrace, with the trees painted in fire and shadow, it felt as though she stood at the edge of something unseen, where the ordinary brushed gently against the magical.
