Chapter 15 — Eva and the Word-That-Shifts

Finn and Lily sat on the rug. They were playing “Quest for the Golden Acorn.” It was a tricky board game. Finn moved his squirrel pawn. Lily frowned at the board.

Suddenly, a bright blue-and-cream blur zipped into the room. It was Eva. She was a small eel. Eva slithered right onto the game board. She knocked over a pile of acorn tokens.

“Hey!” Lily cried. “Watch it, Eva!”

Eva coiled herself into a neat spiral. Her head poked up. Her eyes sparkled. “What are you doing?” she asked. “This looks fun. Let me play!”

Finn picked up the scattered tokens. “It’s a two-player game,” he said. “And we’re almost done.”

“That’s not fair!” Eva declared. Her voice was smooth. It sounded like water flowing over stones. “It’s only fair if I get to play too.”

Lily sighed. “We just said it’s a two-player game, Eva.”

“But it’s not fair to leave me out,” Eva insisted. She wiggled her tail. “Everyone should get a turn. That’s how things are supposed to be.”

Finn looked at Lily. Lily looked at Finn. They knew Eva. She was tricky.

“Okay, fine,” Finn said slowly. “You can join. But you have to start at the beginning. Just like we did.”