The Night Parade Read Online Free

ember remained. Saki went inside to wash the smell of ashes off her face before she changed for bed. She still felt guilty, but there was nothing she could do now.
    On her way back from the bathroom, her towel and toothbrush in one hand, Saki passed another door that Grandma had left open to the woods. The wet summer air sank into the folds of her clothes as she braced her hand against the frame to slide the door shut. Away from the city lights, the moonlight coated the forest. The leaves rustled in the wind and looked like silver fish scales in a black ocean. Her body was hot, but she shivered. She blinked and thought she saw it again: the path winding up to the mountaintop. Another breeze shifted the leaves, and the path was gone.
    Saki shut the door.

Chapter 3
    After a heavy breakfast of brown rice and pickled vegetables, Saki lay with her brother on the floor beside the fan until their parents started to shout for them to get going. Outside, their father had the rakes hoisted over his shoulder, and their mother had stuffed a few rags in one of the empty fire buckets. Once Saki and Jun had kicked on their shoes, they all began to walk the short distance to the temple. Down the road, the cars parked in a line as families arrived for the annual grave cleaning.
    Grandma had arranged the grave offerings on a tray—simple foods that included many of Grandpa’s favorite dishes. She straightened as far as she could with her crooked back and gave Saki a smile.
    â€œIt’s so nice to have the four of you here again this year. I know Grandpa will be glad that you’ve come to visit.”
    Saki and her brother looked at one another.
    â€œYeah, Grandma, it’s great,” Jun said. “Hey, do you think I could catch a bug and put it with the offerings?”
    â€œJunnosuke, what in the world are you talking about?” their mother asked. “If you have so much energy, then you can scrub the stones.”
    â€œNo, come on! That job sucks!”
    Their father shot a warning glance over his shoulder.
    â€œI mean, I always used to go collecting bugs with Grandpa, right?” Jun said, mischief at work in his eyes. “So if I’m going to leave an offering, it should be something that has a good memory attached to it.”
    Grandma smiled. “I think that’s a wonderful way to celebrate Grandpa, Junnosuke. He’ll be very happy to receive a gift like that from you.”
    Saki rolled her eyes. “Mom, come on. He just wants to play around while the rest of us are working.”
    â€œSaki,” her mother warned. “Don’t talk like that around your grandmother.”
    â€œBut, Mom!”
    There was no room for argument. Saki trudged the rest of the way to the edge of the graveyard enduring Jun’s maniacal grin. Inside the low stone walls, people from the village had begun to gather around their family plots. Incense burned and filled the air with a heavy musk. Grandma struck up a conversation with almost everyone she came across, though the solemn ritual of the grave cleanings spared Saki from an endless parade of introductions. The old villagers simply smiled, bowed their heads, and went on their way.
    Only one face caught her off guard. As Saki dragged her feet through the rows of gravestones, a girl with long, straight hair glanced up from the stone she was scrubbing and smiled. Saki was too surprised at seeing another girl her age in the crowd of old people to return the gesture. When she looked again, the girl was laughing and talking with her own family, and the chance was gone.
    At the family gravesite, Saki’s mother and father exchanged only paltry words as they decided who would rake the leaves around the gravestones and who would sweep the smaller debris into piles. Jun had long since disappeared on his quest for the perfect beetle, and Saki was cursing her luck once more when her father tapped her on the back of the head.
    â€œUp all night on your