Plump Sprout held her breath and pricked up her ears.
Silence surrounded her. Apart from the buzz of Granny Tang's wings, she could hear nothing at all.
Plump Sprout immediately realized something was wrong.
Usually, even when Miss Moon Dew was asleep, quiet, soothing sounds of nature filled the cottage: raindrops, a gentle breeze, or the turning of pages.
Sometimes there were even voices. If she listened closely, she could make out Miss Moon Bell and Steward Gelin speaking softly.
Moon Dew had created all that white noise herself. For a child who had only just turned six and lived alone, those sounds helped ease the unease of years of loneliness.
But now every sound had vanished. The place was utterly, deathly still.
The most likely explanation was... Moon Dew had left.
Moon Dew had manifested all the cottage's natural sounds with her own Dream Power. Their absence meant she was no longer in Witch's Cottage.
Of course, there were other possibilities...
Perhaps something had happened to Moon Dew, prompting her to stop the white noise herself.
What sort of thing? Maybe she had come to a realization and switched off the false background noise. Maybe she was injured and exhausted, unable to keep it going. Or perhaps she merely wanted to play a game with them.
After a moment's thought, Granny Tang said, "Let's split up and look. Perhaps Miss Moon Dew is just... playing hide-and-seek."
Moon Dew is a child, after all. It's only natural for her to feel playful sometimes. Even so, a thread of unease lingered deep in Granny Tang's heart.
Plump Sprout nodded, and the two of them separated to search for Moon Dew.
Witch's Cottage looked small, but it contained a great many "miniature spaces." On the third floor, for example, lay an open