Coriander Jones sat quietly by the windows as her three older sisters roamed the garden. Rosemary, the eldest, led the other two through hedges and overgrown weeds and long dead and nearly forgotten rdose bushes.

Coriander hadn’t any idea what the three were doing out there, and judging by the dazed looks given by Parsley and Sage, nor did they.

And Coriander really didn’t care. She was not invited by her sisters. And yet this filled her with relief, rather than disappointment.

If Mother Thyme knew the girls were outside at this hour, in the daylight and for all to see, life would no longer be filled with the common pleasantries they had grown to take for granted.

Coriander laughed at this very thought. Then she closed her eyes tightly, and she wished her sisters would be caught.

Her eyes opened once again. Though for a moment, she was not if they had. What they saw was not to be believed.

Mother Thyme had noticed Coriander’s sisters playing outside. But she did not punish them. She played a game of hopscotch with them instead. Although, depending on who you are, perhaps seeing your Mother playing hopscotch would be a punishment of sorts. And to poor little Coriander that was most certainly the case.