A Winter of Ghosts Read Online Free

they had all updated each other about Christmas already — she put on the teapot and then joined them at the table.
    "My father and I got up tosee the sunrise on New Year's Day," Sakura said. "It's good luck."
    Kara blinked in surprise. "Youdidn't tell me that. Was it your idea or his?"
    Sakura gave her a tiny, sheepishshrug. "His. I know. It is strange."
    "Not strange at all. It'samazing that he actually noticed you were there," Kara said.
    "Actually, Sakura had agood time with them," Miho said.
    Kara looked at her, then atSakura. Her hair had been freshly cut but she had not altered the style. Shortin the back, but longer in the front, it framed her face in two slashes ofblack hair, highlighted by dyed streaks of bright red. Yet she wore a black andwhite checked sweater, and her face had an uncharacteristic softness about it,a lightness that took some of the edge away from her rebellious image.
    "That's huge," Karasaid. "That's great!"
    Sakura nodded. "I suppose. Idon't want to make too much of it. I'm back, now, and it will be easy for themto forget me again."
    Even before her sister, Akane,had been murdered, Sakura's parents had not paid their children much attention.And with Akane's death it had only become worse. Kara had spoken to her fatherabout it once and he had suggested that their grief might have made theMurakamis afraid to love Sakura. But Kara refused to let them off the hook. Theyhad lost a daughter, but they had one still alive and they barely acknowledgedher existence, traveling on business or on holiday, leaving her at boardingschool even when she was on break, hardly ever coming to visit. Their neglecthad reached a level where Kara had been genuinely surprised when Sakura hadtold her she was going home for the holidays. And now to hear that her fatherhad made an effort to spend time with his daughter came as an even greatersurprise, but a welcome one.
    "I don't think they'llforget you again," Kara said. "If they're trying to. ." Shecouldn't think of the Japanese words for 'amends.'
    "It's a start, at least,"Miho said.
    "It's great," Karasaid, but she could see that the conversation had begun to make Sakurauncomfortable, so she changed the subject. "Anyway, I have something Iwanted to talk to you both about."
    Flashes of worry flickered inthe girls' eyes and Kara realized they had misunderstood her.
    "No, no," she saidquickly. "No demons, no curses. Nothing bad. Something good, I hope."
    "Don't scare us like that,"Sakura said, her tough-girl core resurfacing.
    "Sorry."
    Miho smiled. "It's not yourfault. We're all trying not to think about the curse, but it is always in theback of our minds. I guess it always will be, even if nothing happens foryears."
    An awkward, dreadful quietdescended upon the house. It lasted only a few, nervous seconds before Kararose and went to get them tea cups.
    "A new year, a newbeginning," she said. "We can't live with that shadow over us all thetime. And nothing's happened for months."
    "I know," Mihoreplied. "It is just difficult to put it out of my mind."
    Miho was right. Kara had to workat forgetting. It took an effort not to be afraid of the dark, to be able to goout at night or feel safe being home alone. It helped that they weren't theonly ones who knew about the events of the spring and fall. Her father and MissAritomo had been involved, and Mr. Yamato, the principal, knew. So did theMiyazu City police, who had instructed them all to report anything unusualimmediately, but otherwise not to discuss it with anyone. Officially, those thingsthey had experienced had never happened. The deaths of the students andteachers who had been killed in both instances were attributed to human causes.Human killers.
    Last spring, they had stopped anancient demon called Kyuketsuki from entering into the modern world. In theprocess they had learned that some of the spirits and gods and demons that hadonce been worshipped in Japan still existed, weak and nearly extinguishedbecause most people