Town Market Hats

A teetering stack of broad-brimmed straw hats and patterned felt caps, their brims curling slightly at the edges, arranged in rough piles atop a vendor’s makeshift table. Bright dyes—sunset reds, emerald greens, and deep purples—stand out against the cracking paint of the table legs. The hats draw giggling town children looping around Mirabel, who ticks off familiar names instead of her own. Each hat is touched, lifted, and tried on in turn, becoming a playful barometer of how the family’s magic outshines individuality.