The Eleven O'Clock Sparrow
mysteryEveryoneElias snapped his watch shut and looked around the empty square. The bakery was dark. The flower cart was gone. Something was wrong with the whole place, not just the bird. He decided to ask the one person who knew everything: Mrs. Otto, who ran the newsstand on the corner.
Mrs. Otto was still at her newsstand, stacking papers. 'Where is everybody?' Elias asked. She lowered her voice. 'Didn't you hear? They're tearing down the fountain Thursday. The whole square's being dug up for a parking lot. Everyone's already packing up to leave.'
What happens next?
2 ways forwardElias felt his chest go tight. A parking lot, right over the only spot that little bird had ever called home. 'Where's this council meeting?' he asked. Mrs. Otto pointed across town. 'Town hall. Started ten minutes ago. But what can an old man and a newspaper lady do?'