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Clarissa made it more than halfway to the next tree that
marked her imaginary altar before she ran out of petals. She
frowned and started back to collect her fallen petals when a
movement to her left caught her eye. A little sandy-brown
hedgehog was nosing his way through the grass. He froze
when Clarissa moved closer. They stared at each other for a
moment, and then the hedgehog suddenly sped away, darting
in and out of shadows of the trees. Clarissa followed into the
woods, avoiding low branches and loose rocks that would
cause her to fall. She was far enough in that the lights from
the party were hidden from view. Her dress snagged on a
gorse bush and she stopped. The hedgehog paused too,
looking back to see if his pursuer had given up. Determined to
capture the creature, Clarissa flung her basket. It landed with
a soft thud and a frightened squeak.

Clarissa disentangled herself from the plant and went to
investigate. She nudged the basket with her toe, then
crouched low and carefully lifted the basket enough to peek
beneath. There was nothing there.

She huffed and looked about, puzzled. She had been so
sure the hedgehog had been caught. She scanned the forest
floor, kicking up dried leaves and searching among the brush.
There was a rustling behind her and Clarissa turned with a
grin, only to let out a startled gasp when she saw a man
standing where she had expected to see a hedgehog. She
didn’t recognize him from the wedding. Surely, she would
have remembered him, with his dirty blond hair that stuck up
in all directions.

The man reached down and snatched up the basket,
examining it. “It’s not very nice to throw baskets at people,
you know.”

“I didn’t throw it at a person. It was a hedgehog.” Clarissa
replied, defensively.

The man looked confused, then shrugged. “Same
difference either way.” He shook a dirty finger at her. “It’s
rude.”

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