Flying the Dragon
Page 19
“Actually, we both speak Japanese and English,” Skye said.
One of the reporters stepped forward. “I heard you two made this kite. Is that correct?”
Skye looked at Hiroshi and he smiled. “Yes, we did,” she said.
“It’s made of washi paper and bamboo,” Hiroshi added.
Mr. Sato sighed. “It reminds me of the kites I flew when I was young. May I?” He held out his hand, and Hiroshi gave him the winking dragon. “This is exquisite.”
Hiroshi nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
“One more clarification,” a reporter said. “I want to make sure I’m getting your names right for the article. You both have the last name Tsuki, correct?”
Skye and Hiroshi nodded.
“And your first names are Skye and Hiroshi?”
Hiroshi nodded. But Skye stepped forward. “My first name is actually Sorano. S-o-r-a-n-o.” Hiroshi looked at her. She shrugged and grinned.
The reporters packed away their cameras and started to walk away. “Oh, look!” someone called.
Suddenly the air seemed filled with cherry blossom petals swirling and dancing on the wind. Skye drew in a breath. A reporter unzipped his camera bag. “I didn’t think there were enough blossoms left on those trees for this kind of thing.”
“They’re beautiful,” someone else said.
Skye closed her eyes and felt the strong, fragile blossoms whisper around her. And she knew.
Hiroshi hardly noticed the blossoms, but he did feel the wind shift. Like always, he paused and looked skyward to see what the breeze would do next. And that’s when he saw it. Floating overhead was a single cloud the color of a white kimono. Hiroshi could make out the winding tail, long body, and head. He blinked again.
A dragon cloud. He remembered what Grandfather had said that day on the hill. The dragon is a creature of the sea. When it takes to the sky, it means it is looking for something precious it has lost. When it finds what it was looking for, it returns to the sea in the form of rain.
The first gentle raindrops fell on Hiroshi’s upturned face. And he knew.
Hiroshi and Sorano turned back for a last glimpse of the competition field. People trickled up the hill toward the kite show at the Washington Monument. One of the white tents was being taken down, billowing sails against spring-green grass.
They watched the wind lead the dragon cloud and the cherry blossoms eastward. Hiroshi and Sorano knew they’d be back.
Acknowledgments
This story never would have taken flight without many helping hands.
For the bamboo bones that make the story fly straight and true, I thank Harold Ames, past (and likely future) winner of the National Cherry Blossom Kite Festival Rokkaku Challenge in Washington, DC, and David Gomberg of Gomberg Kite Productions, International. Two teachers in the Japanese Partial Immersion Program in Fairfax County, Virginia, checked my manuscript for cultural and linguistic accuracy. Domo arigato gozaimasu to Akiko Bentz of Great Falls Elementary and Yuko Frost of Fox Mill Elementary. Thanks to ABGC Cheetahs and the X-treme 98 Red girls’ soccer team for teaching me all I know about soccer.
For the washi paper that takes ages to create, but is beautiful and strong, heartfelt thanks to the communities of writers I’ve had the privilege of knowing over the years: Verla Kay’s Blueboards, the Gango, and the Lit Wits, my critique partners extraordinaire—Cynthia Jaynes Omololu, Ammi-Joan Paquette, Julie Phillipps, and Kip Wilson—whose invaluable feedback helped shape this story and whose friendship and support helped shape me as a writer.
For the painted colors that are the finishing touches to this story, my respect and thanks to my agent, Erin Murphy, and my editor, Emily Mitchell, both of whom are smart, savvy, and funny. And to illustrator Kelly Murphy, a thousand thanks for bringing my characters and setting to life on the cover—Grandfather would be impressed.
For the reel and line that both let me fly and keep me grounded, love and thanks to my family. My parents, Chuck and Carol Dias, read several versions of the manuscript, offered their feedback, and never stopped believing. My children, Teah, Sofia, and Jordan, let their mom spend oodles of time on the computer and gave their kid stamp of approval as the story progressed.
And finally for the wind, Davide, who makes my heart soar.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Copyright
Chapter 1: Skye
Chapter 2: Hiroshi
Chapter 3: Skye
Chapter 4: Hiroshi
Chapter 5: Skye
Chapter 6: Hiroshi
Chapter 7: Skye
Chapter 8: Hiroshi
Chapter 9: Skye
Chapter 10: Hiroshi
Chapter 11: Skye
Chapter 12: Hiroshi
Chapter 13: Skye
Chapter 14: Hiroshi
Chapter 15: Skye
Chapter 16: Hiroshi
Chapter 17: Skye
Chapter 18: Hiroshi
Chapter 19: Skye
Chapter 20: Hiroshi
Chapter 21: Skye
Chapter 22: Hiroshi
Chapter 23: Skye
Chapter 24: Hiroshi
Chapter 25: Skye
Chapter 26: Hiroshi
Chapter 27: Skye
Chapter 28: Hiroshi
Chapter 29: Skye
Chapter 30: Hiroshi
Chapter 31: Skye
Chapter 32: Hiroshi
Chapter 33: Skye
Chapter 34: Hiroshi
Chapter 35: Skye
Chapter 36: Hiroshi
Chapter 37: Skye
Chapter 38: Hiroshi
Chapter 39: Skye
Chapter 40: Hiroshi
Chapter 41: Hiroshi and Sorano
Acknowledgments