The house had not fallen quiet all at once. The noise of the party had faded gradually as people began leaving in small groups, laughter trailing out through the gate with the last of the goodbyes. The caterers and the hired help had moved efficiently through the garden afterward, clearing plates, stacking chairs, and gathering decorations that had fallen loose during the afternoon. Within an hour nearly ninety percent of the mess had disappeared, leaving only the soft traces of a celebration that had recently filled the yard.
Now the garden looked calm again. The silver ribbons and small stars still hung between the trees, turning lazily in the warm evening breeze. The lanterns shaped like pale moons drifted gently among the branches, brushing softly against the leaves whenever the wind moved through them. The long table still stood in the center of the lawn, though the plates and trays that had covered it earlier were gone.
