A Winter of Ghosts by Christopher Golden, Thomas Randall Read Free Book Online

idea. If she knew who had suggested traipsing around Takigami Mountainthe first week of January, she would have slapped him in the face. And she wascertain it had to be a him. What woman would be so foolish? She doubted thateven Miss Kaneda, who obviously loved the mountain, and nature, even in thebleakness of winter, would have come up with such an idea.
    She knew that some people lovedwinter, and snow, and the kinds of sports and outdoor activities that wentalong with them. But she had never seen the appeal. And, certainly, it wasn'treally
that
cold. But it was the principle of the thing.
    "Come on, let's not fallbehind," Mai said, reaching back and taking her hand.
    Wakana smiled and they hurriedto catch up to the rest of their group. Another one of their friends fromsoccer club smiled as they joined her, the three girls falling into steptogether. They called her
Aka
for the coppery red highlights in herhair, and Wakana had actually forgotten her proper name, if she had ever knownit in the first place.
    "It's actually been kind ofinteresting," Aka whispered, indicating that they should pay attention tothe commentary their homeroom teacher had been providing during the hike.
    Wakana felt guilty. She had beenraised to be courteous and polite regardless of the circumstances. But shefound it impossible to care about anything that the teachers might say todaybecause she was so frustrated by the entire trip. Her feet were cold. Her handswere cold. Her nose might have been coldest of all. Fortunately she had a hatthat covered her ears.
    Somehow, Mai seemed not to bebothered by the cold at all. Wakana smiled at that. If there had ever been agirl who adapted to change quickly, it was her roommate. Once upon a time, Maihad been relatively quiet and unassuming, though she had enjoyed the popularitythat had come with being a member of the soccer club and a friend of Ume's,back when Ume had still been the one the others would follow. But when Ume hadleft, Mai had stepped into that role. Most of the soccer club girls, she said,just wanted someone to set the pace, someone to follow, and Mai had decided shewould rather be that girl than follow any of the others.
    Wakana had never had aninterest. They had been roommates, but opposites in many ways. Wakana hadremained quiet and mostly innocent. But then their lives had been overrun bynightmares. Daisuke — Wakana's best friend, who might have been herboyfriend if either of them had been brave enough to initiate even a singlekiss — had been abducted and murdered by the Hannya. It had taken Wakanaas well, but she had been rescued by Mai and some others, including that gaijingirl, Kara Harper.
    For the rest of her life, shewould be grateful to Mai. The girl wore a scar on her face that would be withher forever, and it would always remind them both of what they had faced, andof what Mai had done for Wakana. Which was why Wakana had decided that thisterm she would join the soccer club. She had not really wanted to make friendswith some of those girls — though they had turned out to be nicer thanshe'd expected — but Mai had asked her. There had been no pressure, butWakana had been happy to be asked, and she knew it would make Mai happy to haveher in the club. They had become inseparable now, almost like sisters. They hadcome close to death together and they shared secrets they could never tell theother girls.
    If Mai wanted to lead, Wakanawould gladly follow.
    "You two are going to endup off the path and lost in the woods!" Aka said.
    "Don't worry so much. We'refine," Mai told her.
    Wakana smiled. They both likedAka, but the girl had a tendency to get bossy. Mai wouldn't let her get awaywith it.
    "Hey, look," Mai said,tapping Wakana's arm.
    The whole group began to slowdown a little, whispers and mutterings rippling through the class. Fat whitesnowflakes had begun to drift lazily from the sky. A light gust of wind sentthem dancing and swirling, but then the breeze died down and the snow