Chapter 1: Flour & Lanterns
Mara turned the sign to open and set the first loaf on the sill to cool. Outside, the lamps along Lantern Lane were still lit, going pale one by one as the sky warmed. The cat took the best step, as always, and watched the street wake up.
She had counted on a quiet morning. She had not counted on the fourth stool already being taken, or on the stranger beside it, a suitcase at his feet and the map of a town that no longer existed in his hands.
The kettle began to sing. Mara cut two slices, still warm, and slid one across the counter without a word.
