Love Charms and Other Catastrophes Read Online Free

was a terrible idea.
    â€œYour heart is so small,” Love said quietly. “There’s no room for love. Or so you believe . Let me prove you wrong. Give Ken a chance.”
    But he’s fake. No more a boy than an illusion , Hijiri thought. Tears burned the back of her throat, but she refused to show them how upset she was.
    Love exhaled loudly and wiped his face. He let the scrap of wrapping paper fall from his hand. “The time has come for me to take inventory again. I must measure the state of love in the world, and that means I won’t be here to watch how Grimbaud fares in the next few months without me. There will be challenges, Hijiri. Pay special attention to the new love charm-makers.”
    â€œYou know about the love charms competition, then?” Hijiri said, grateful for the slight change in topic. She tried not to look at Ken.
    Love’s smug smile was all the answer she needed. He had to be involved somehow. “The town is in good hands with you here.”
    The praise made her squirm. “But you gave me this charmed boy. Like I actually need the help. Which I don’t.”
    â€œThen solve him,” Love said, losing patience, “if he’s such a puzzle to you.”
    Ken shrugged with a shy smile.
    â€œFind me if you need me. The cupids have ears,” Love said, raising his hand in a mock salute. He stepped back on his heel and the wind returned, tossing her hair in her face. When the air settled, Love was gone. So was the box.
    The red ribbon still hung around Ken’s neck, but the wind must have stolen his pink coat. He wasn’t wearing it anymore. Instead, he slung a large duffel bag over his shoulder and smiled at her. “You miss the coat,” he said.
    â€œNot really,” Hijiri said. “What was the point of it?”
    â€œLove’s idea. He thinks pink is my color,” Ken said.
    Hijiri stared at him. He looked almost normal now, with the duffel bag and the plain white shirt and the fact that his chest expanded and shrank with each breath. Like a person. But he’s not a person. He’s a charm. She rubbed her eyes, squinted at him, and then rubbed them again. Unease made her fidgety. She turned on her heel without another word and climbed the staircase. When she heard footsteps on the stairs below her, she looked over her shoulder. “Are you following me?”
    Ken grabbed the handrail. “My room is on the second floor.”
    Hijiri sucked in a breath.
    â€œYou don’t have to show me where it is.”
    â€œYou’re living here?”
    â€œI have a scholarship,” he said. “Love is paying for everything.”
    Hijiri nodded, as if his answer made perfect sense. Then she reached Fallon’s door and knocked as hard as she could.
    Fallon opened the door within seconds, her hands red and slightly soapy from the kitchen sink. “What’s the matter?” she asked, wiping her hands on her skirt. “Who’s that behind you?”
    â€œKentaro Oshiro,” the charm-boy said, brushing past Hijiri to shake Fallon’s hand. “Love sent me here as a gift to Hijiri. I hope she’ll fall in love with me.”
    Fallon chewed on her lip, amused. “Is that so?”
    Hijiri’s hands started shaking. She curled them into fists. First the love charm-making competition. Now this. She needed Fallon on her side, to understand. “He’s serious. I found him wrapped up in a box outside my door. Like, with a ribbon and everything.”
    Ken slid the red ribbon off his shoulders and handed it to Fallon for inspection.
    Fallon rubbed the ribbon between her fingers. She raised it to her nose and sniffed. “Grosgrain ribbon, nice,” Fallon murmured. “And a little … The ribbon’s humming with charm magic. Even I can feel it.”
    â€œDo I hear the evaluation of clothing material?” called Sebastian, from inside Fallon’s