The heavy snow the weatherman promised had fallen. She pushed her feet into her slippers, wrapped her hanten around her, and pulled back the curtains. Michiko pressed her hand against the windowpane to clear a spot through the ferns of frost. Snow sculpted the wooden tripods of the pole beans int...
The chief greeted everyone in an open-topped wooden hat with long tails of fur hanging from its back. Each time he nodded, the soft bird down that filled his headdress floated about his visitors like snow. The guests came in fringed cloaks, fur boots, and capes trimmed wit...
Dragonflies skirted the scum on the pond in the middle of the baseball diamond. Michiko could almost taste the slime. Kiko took Hiro’s stick and stirred. The tadpoles swarmed to the edge. As they wriggled, they could see their short stubby tails and front legs. ...
Four highly-decorated warriors asked to speak with the Father Superior. Father Brébeuf rushed to Etienne and Tsiko, his skirts swishing. “Fetch the Fathers.” The door to Father Rageuneau’s room sat ajar. Etienne knocked then gave it a small push. Father Rageuneau was working in the yellow glow of...
“It’s an overgrown trail,” he told them. “The wagons took the apples to market this way.” He pointed into the trees. “Follow it until you reach the road, then turn left.” Michiko trudged alongside Geechan. The hardboiled egg, nestled inside her tiny furoshiki, bounced against her leg. She had two...