A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"Go ahead and have some fun," Norton told Mavis, stepping aside.

"Okay," Mavis replied, making her way to the booth.

The stall owner visibly relaxed. He'd been sweating bullets while Norton played. If Norton kept going, he'd probably clean out the whole place. At least with a girl, the guy thought, there was nothing to worry about. No way she'd have the same aim.

He plopped down on his folding chair with a sigh.

But a couple of people in the crowd nudged each other, whispering loud enough for others to hear. Some had seen Mavis at another booth earlier, and she'd been a total sharpshooter there too.

People who were about to wander off paused, curiosity piqued.

"Wait, isn't that the same girl from the ring toss? She didn't miss a single shot!"

"Yeah, I remember! She won that huge teddy bear and gave it to some little kid. I was jealous, honestly."

"That's her! I'm positive!"

"Wow, she's really something!"

"Look at the owner, he thinks he's off the hook. He has no idea what's coming!" "He's so done for!"

Soon half the crowd was buzzing, eyes flitting between Mavis and the booth

owner.

The owner, meanwhile, was scrolling through his phone, glancing up now and then. He noticed Mavis' grip on the toy rifle looked pretty pro, but hey, lots of people looked like they knew what they were doing. These carnival guns were rigged anyway, no way she'd be as accurate as Norton. And she was a girl, no offense, but hardly any girls were ever that good at these games.

He shrugged and went back to his phone.

Then Mavis took her first shot. Dead center.

The owner's head snapped up. He put his phone down, staring at her. Must be a fluke, he thought. No way she could do that again.

But shot after shot, Mavis hit every single target, exactly like she'd done at the last stall. The crowd gasped and cheered, and the color drained from the owner's face. He jumped up, mouth twitching in disbelief.

This kind of marksmanship? He could go a whole year without seeing anyone this good. And today, he'd gotten two in a row.

Unreal!

He eyed Mavis warily, frantically tallying up in his head how many prizes they could win, how much he'd lose if they kept playing. Was it even worth keeping the booth open at this rate?

"Holy smokes!"

"She's incredible!"

"Poor guy! She's nailing every shot! He's gonna lose all his stuffed animals!"

"Tough luck. Two sharpshooters in a day. That's brutal."

"If they keep going, he'll have nothing left to give out. He might as well just close up shop."

"Yeah, I almost feel bad for the guy. Almost."

Everyone's attention was glued to Mavis and the now-nervous booth owner.

After a few more perfect shots, Mavis set the gun down. By then, a group of wide- eyed kids had gathered around, staring at her and the mountain of prizes she'dnoveldrama

won.

Mavis's heart melted a little. She turned to the owner. "Hey, can I trade the big stuffed animals for a

bunch of small ones? I don't need

them, but these kids look like they'd love it."

The owner nodded eagerly, relieved she wasn't taking him for everything he had. "No problem at all!"

He hesitated, voice shaky. "So, uh... you... you want to keep playing?"

He couldn't exactly chase off a paying customer, but if she kept going, he was

gonna be out of business by sundown.