Free Serendipity Market by Penny Blubaugh

oatmeal was served, Earl and I were out and about. Because our people never stay in any one place for long, we needed to see everything, to experience all of it, before we were pulledon our way. The clean cobbles of the village streets, the sun riding on the thatched roofs, the warm smells of fresh bread—all of this was almost more than we could bear.”
    â€œWe were fifteen, and for us everything held a sense of wonder, a sense of excitement. We always felt we had to be smack in the middle of it—whatever it was.”
    â€œWe were gone before our mother could miss us, gone into the cool, fresh damp of morning.”
    â€œGone, with every intention of coming home before the caravan pulled horse stakes, before the wagons were packed, before everything disappeared.”
    â€œEarl makes this sound exciting. But being unwelcome in most places is hard.”
    â€œNo, adventurous. Moving was in our blood.”
    â€œAlthough it could be sad.”
    â€œWell, yes. But on this day—”
    â€œOn this day the whole world seemed welcoming,as if it had been put together just for our benefit. The sky was the perfect shade of blue that only seems to show in the early morning, the birds were singing the summer in, the river danced with water sprites, and, in the center of all this, the town smiled and held out its arms. It was—”
    â€œIrresistible.”
    â€œWe wandered the town. We bought a loaf of smooth bread from the baker, bottles of mead from the vintner, green-and-gold pears that were just ripe enough to make the juices drip down our chins. We stopped in the square, sat on the lime-green grass, and watched the pageant of life parade past us. A coconut-brown dog joined us, and we fed him bits and pieces of our picnic.”
    â€œBut we misjudged.”
    â€œâ€˜Misjudged.’ A nice word. A polite word. An untrue word. We made a huge and very complete mistake. We’ve lived with it ever since.”
    â€œYou make it sound terrible. Threatening.”
    â€œNot at all.”
    â€œIt hasn’t been terrible, Maddie. In its own way, it’s been very fine.”
    â€œIn its own way.”
    â€œWhen we went back to join the caravan, it was gone.”
    â€œWe can make things vanish. We’re fey, after all.”
    â€œBut Maddie, no one had ever made the caravan vanish.”
    â€œI never said. I only made a cogent comment.”
    â€œJust tell, Maddie.”
    â€œWhile our caravan hadn’t been spelled away, there was certainly a spell that cloaked its direction of travel. And a good, strong spell at that. We stood in the empty field that had been so full of life the night before. We sent out feelers, floating our searches on the four winds. And we found nothing.”
    â€œWe were fifteen, remember. In fact, we’re barelysixteen now. For an elf, that’s very young. Our finding powers were still quite weak.”
    â€œWe were on our own for the first time. It was an adventure. No one to report to. No explanations for any behavior, no matter how peculiar. No schedules. Bedtime whenever we chose. Then the seasons began to move through their cycles. Summer skidded into autumn. We cavorted through town, keeping below the radar of the humans.”
    â€œWhich is quite easy for an elf.”
    â€œThat sounds so much like bragging, Earl.”
    â€œIt’s not. It’s truth. It’s only hard to hide when you’re in a group, like our old caravan. Now tell them about the part when things began to stumble.”
    â€œWe had no way to get back to our caravan. We had long ago run out of money. During the warm months, we had been reduced to ‘borrowing’ food and drink. Sleeping under the stars had been fun. And on rainy or thunderous nights, we’d slip into dry sheds orthe upper reaches of stables. The brown dog from the square always seemed to know when we were unsure of our next move. He’d appear like he had