The following morning, Briar woke up to the sound of excited chatter drifting through her window. She rubbed her eyes and blinked at the sunlight streaming in, her brain slowly piecing together that the voices were coming from her front garden. Still groggy, she slipped out of bed and stumbled toward the window.

To her surprise, a small crowd had gathered around the giant pumpkin in her garden.

"Oh no," she muttered, rubbing her temples. "Not this early."

She threw on her clothes and hurried downstairs, hoping to shoo the onlookers away before anyone got too curious. But as she stepped outside, she realized the crowd was much larger than she’d thought. At least a dozen villagers had gathered, circling the enormous pumpkin with wide-eyed fascination, chattering amongst themselves.

"Is that the Thorncroft girl’s garden?" one woman whispered, her voice filled with awe.

"Must be," another man said, scratching his head. "I heard she’s got a real knack for plants, but this… this is somethin’ else."

Briar groaned inwardly. The last thing she needed was to become known as "the witch with the giant pumpkin."

"Alright, everyone, nothing to see here," Briar called out, clapping her hands and trying to sound as authoritative as possible. "Just a… regular magical pumpkin. Nothing special."

The villagers, however, were having none of it. They turned to her with looks of sheer delight.

"Oh, it’s magnificent!" one woman gushed, clasping her hands together. "I’ve never seen anything like it!"

"Are you planning to enter it in the harvest festival?" a man asked, his eyes gleaming. "You’d win for sure! That thing’s bigger than Old Man Harper’s cart!"

Briar blinked. "Harvest festival? I’m not entering anything in the—"

Before she could finish, Myrtle appeared at her side, practically bouncing with excitement. "Of course she’s entering it! Look at this thing! Briar’s going to be the talk of the festival!"

The villagers nodded eagerly, muttering amongst themselves about how impressive the pumpkin was, how it was the biggest one they’d ever seen, how the whole village would surely want to come and see it.

Briar’s stomach dropped. "Wait, wait, wait. I’m not—"

But it was too late. Myrtle had already whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

"Oh, Briar, this is perfect!" Myrtle exclaimed, beaming. "Think about it—this is exactly the kind of thing you need to make your mark! No one else in the village has magic like yours. And with the harvest festival coming up…"

Briar shot Myrtle a look that could have withered even the hardiest of vegetables. "I don’t want to make my mark with a giant pumpkin!"

"Why not?" Myrtle said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "It’s unique! It’s amazing! And it’s yours!"

Briar sighed, glancing at the pumpkin, which seemed to be basking in all the attention. It really was enormous—larger than anything she’d ever grown before, enchanted soil or not. And judging by the crowd’s reaction, people were genuinely impressed. But did she really want to be known as the witch with the oversized produce?

As Briar was weighing her options, one of the villagers stepped forward—a tall, lanky man with an enormous mustache that seemed to twitch with excitement.

"Young lady," he said, his voice booming with enthusiasm, "this here pumpkin is a marvel. I’d be honored to help you transport it to the festival. No charge, of course! A spectacle like this belongs in the heart of the village for all to see!"

Briar blinked, completely caught off guard. "Transport it?"

"Absolutely!" the man continued, clapping his hands. "Why, I reckon half the village will come out to see it. You’ll be a legend!"

A legend? For growing a giant, magical pumpkin? This was not how Briar had envisioned her magical journey.

Myrtle, however, was fully on board with the idea. "You hear that, Briar? A legend! And you don’t even have to do anything! Just let them haul the pumpkin to the festival and bask in the glory!"

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Briar shook her head. "I don’t want to bask in—"

But once again, her protests were drowned out by the eager chatter of the villagers. They were already discussing how best to transport the pumpkin, what size cart they’d need, and whether they should bring ropes or chains to secure it.

Briar turned to Myrtle, her eyes pleading. "You’ve got to help me get out of this."

Myrtle grinned. "Why would you want to get out of it? This is hilarious. Besides, it’s too late now. The villagers are practically worshiping this thing."

Briar groaned, rubbing her temples. She’d never asked for any of this. She’d just wanted a quiet, normal day—well, as normal as it could get when you lived in a magical village with rebellious vegetables. But now it seemed she was on a collision course with the village’s annual harvest festival, all thanks to a giant, glowing pumpkin.

Just as Briar was about to make one last attempt to dissuade the crowd, Reginald piped up from his basket. "I hate to break it to you, Briar, but Myrtle’s right. There’s no stopping this. These people are obsessed with that pumpkin. You’re going to the festival, whether you like it or not."

Briar glared at him. "I am not taking advice from a carrot."

Reginald shrugged, as much as a carrot could shrug. "I’m just saying. If you’re going to be dragged into this, you might as well enjoy it."

Myrtle, still grinning from ear to ear, clapped Briar on the back. "Come on, Briar. It’s going to be fun! Just imagine the look on Old Man Harper’s face when he sees this thing! He’s won the pumpkin contest every year for the past two decades. You’ll knock him right off his throne!"

Briar sighed, resigned to her fate. "Fine. I’ll take the pumpkin to the festival."

The crowd erupted into cheers, and Myrtle gave Briar a victorious grin.

"But," Briar added, holding up a finger, "if this pumpkin does anything weird—like grow legs and walk off or explode in front of the entire village—you’re cleaning up the mess."

Myrtle laughed. "Deal!"

The villagers quickly set to work, eager to help with the preparations. Within the hour, they’d brought in a large cart and a team of horses, carefully securing the enormous pumpkin in place with ropes and blankets to prevent it from wobbling too much on the journey to the village square.

Briar watched the whole process with a mixture of horror and amusement. It was surreal, seeing so many people fussing over something as ridiculous as a giant pumpkin. But there was no denying that the villagers were excited—and if she was being honest with herself, a small part of her was curious to see what would happen.

"Alright," Briar said as they prepared to set off. "Let’s just get this over with."

Myrtle, who was practically bouncing with excitement, climbed onto the cart next to the pumpkin. "This is going to be legendary."

Briar wasn’t so sure. But there was no turning back now.

The journey to the village square was surprisingly uneventful. The pumpkin, thankfully, remained stationary and didn’t decide to explode or take off flying—both outcomes Briar had been silently dreading. As they arrived at the square, the villagers who had stayed behind to set up for the festival stared in awe as the giant pumpkin rolled into view.

"By the stars!" someone exclaimed. "Look at the size of that thing!"

Briar’s stomach twisted as she hopped off the cart, her feet hitting the cobblestones with a soft thud. People were already gathering around, pointing and whispering excitedly about the enormous vegetable.

Old Man Harper, who had indeed won the pumpkin contest for as long as Briar could remember, stood at the edge of the crowd, his arms crossed and his face pulled into a scowl.

"Looks like you’ve got some competition this year, Harper!" a villager called out with a grin.

Harper’s scowl deepened, his eyes narrowing as he stalked over to the cart. He looked the pumpkin up and down, his mustache twitching with displeasure.

"That’s no ordinary pumpkin," he muttered, his voice low.

"Good eye," Myrtle said cheerfully. "It’s magical!"

Harper shot her a look of pure disdain. "Magic’s got no place in a good harvest."

Briar sighed, stepping forward. "It’s just a pumpkin. I didn’t mean for it to be this big. It just… happened."

Harper grunted, his eyes still fixed on the giant vegetable. "We’ll see about that."

As the day wore on, more and more villagers gathered to marvel at the giant pumpkin. Children ran around it in circles, laughing and pointing, while adults stood back, shaking their heads in disbelief. Briar, for her part, stayed as far away from the pumpkin as possible, trying to blend into the crowd. But Myrtle, ever the mischief-maker, kept drawing attention to it, bragging to anyone who would listen about how Briar had "grown the biggest pumpkin in the village’s history."

As the sun began to set and the festival festivities wound down, the judges finally approached the cart, measuring the pumpkin with wide eyes and murmuring amongst themselves. Briar watched nervously from a distance, silently praying that the pumpkin wouldn’t do anything embarrassing.

After what felt like an eternity, the head judge—a kindly old woman with a walking stick—stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she called out, her voice carrying over the crowd, "we have a winner!"

The crowd hushed, leaning in to hear the announcement.

"The grand prize for this year’s pumpkin contest goes to…" The judge paused dramatically, her eyes twinkling as she pointed to the giant pumpkin. "Briar Thorncroft, for her… unique entry!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, and Briar’s face turned beet red as people clapped and cheered around her.

"See?" Myrtle said, giving her a playful nudge. "Legendary."

Briar sighed, but couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto her face. "I guess."

As the villagers celebrated and Old Man Harper sulked in the background, Briar glanced up at the giant pumpkin, which was now bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun. Maybe this wasn’t what she’d planned for, but she had to admit—there was something strangely satisfying about the whole thing.

And as long as the pumpkin didn’t explode, she might actually survive the rest of the festival.