The giggling parcel coughed just as Mara lifted the beanbag.
The party was nearly tidy now. Theo stacked cushions, and Corin gathered spoons into a neat silver pile.
Mara still wore Corin's paper star on her dress. It shone whenever she bent down.
"Did that parcel laugh again?" Theo asked.
"It said, not finished," Corin whispered.
Mara nodded. "Then we listen."
⁂
They followed the parcel's tiny voice beneath the beanbag. The ribbon-shaped handle glowed like warm honey.
Mara pulled it open. Inside, more prizes huddled together in the small cupboard.
Wooden medals hugged paper stars. Three blue whistles hid behind a folded party crown.
"You came back!" said Mara.
"Not back," peeped a whistle. "Still escaped."
A medal pointed at a chalk card on the cupboard wall.
Win alone, shine alone.
Corin's smile disappeared. "That sounds like the old game."
"It does," Mara said. Her cheeks grew hot. "I missed it."
⁂
The prizes bounced out, quick as peas from a pod.
One medal rolled under Theo's foot. A star stuck to Mara's crown. A whistle swung from Corin's sleeve.
"They don't trust us yet," said Theo.
Mara held up both hands. "No grabbing. We make a better rule."
She turned over her welcome card and wrote carefully with chalk.
"What does it say?" Corin asked.
"Shine together, share together," Mara read.
The prizes paused, but only for a blink.
Then the blue whistles blew one sharp peep, and every prize scattered faster.
⁂
"A parade worked before," said Corin. "Maybe a tidy parade?"
"Yes," said Mara. "Everyone carries one thing, and nobody finishes alone."
Theo lifted the beanbag. Corin carried the spoons. Mara gathered the fallen paper chains.
They moved slowly towards the cupboard door, side by side.
A sticky patch caught Corin's shoe. He wobbled hard.
The medal near him began to roll away.
"Wait!" Mara cried.
She caught Corin's elbow. Theo dropped the beanbag softly and caught Mara's sleeve.
The Toothbrush darted in and scrubbed the sticky patch with a proud little hum.
Corin stood straight again. "I didn't fall."
"We didn't fall," Theo said.
The prizes watched with wide, shiny eyes.
Mara placed the paper chains inside the cupboard. "A prize is not for being first. It is for remembering we helped."
One by one, the prizes hopped back in.
The chalk card turned over by itself.
Shine together, share together.
Corin grinned. "That rule can stay."
⁂
Pippa arrived with a dustpan and a kind smile. "Splendid. The prizes have chosen trust."
Mara tucked her welcome card beside the chalk card. "For the next party," she said.
The hidden door clicked shut.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Then the Welcome Clock upstairs rang backwards.
Behind the cake table, a new silver door slid open.
Painted on it was one small golden word: Music.
