Chapter 21: Under the Lantern Sky (Part 1)
The final day of the Sujin Festival arrived with a quiet kind of magic.
Gone were the tomato fights, the roaring laughter from the karaoke chaos, and the spicy bite of grilled skewers. Instead, the village had settled into a soft hum — like a lullaby after days of shouting. Lanterns floated gently overhead, swaying in the breeze, and families walked hand-in-hand toward the heart of Sujin.
Tonight wasn't about chaos or games.
It was about remembrance, fate… and finding love.
Yue stood beside her friends near the main square, wearing a pale violet hoodie with a sash tied around her waist, her long sky-blue hair neatly tied into a fluffy side ponytail. A small festival fan with bunny ears dangled from her fingers as she watched adults light candles near the riverside shrine in honor of their ancestors.
She didn't fully understand all the traditions yet, but even she felt the heavy stillness in the air. It was nice… but also kind of scary.
"You know," Nana whispered, "they say tonight is when spirits walk the streets."
"I heard they gather near the shrine," Mei added, eyes wide. "And follow people home if they forget to say thank you after lighting the candles!"
"Lies," Yue said, but her voice wobbled a bit.
"Even if it's lies, I'm still sleeping with my flashlight," Nana muttered, hugging her knees.
Farther ahead, couples and friends had begun gathering at the Matchmaker's Circle — a glowing ring of red paper lanterns placed on the grass. In this tradition, each participant would write their name on a wooden tag and hang it beside another person's tag. It was a way of expressing friendship, crushes, or future hope for a bond.
Some villagers took it very seriously.
"Aw look, your dads put their tags together again," Mei giggled, pointing to a pair of middle-aged men holding hands with bright pink cheeks.
"Wait—" Yue blinked, "Isn't that Uncle Tao? But he's already married to Miss Sera!"
"Polygamy, remember?" Nana reminded. "And I think Miss Sera encouraged it."
Yue rolled her eyes but smiled. "Right, right. Our world is a bit different."
"Only a bit," Mei said sarcastically as a tall, muscular woman swept past carrying two men bridal-style toward the matchmaking ring.
"Dibs on both of them!" she shouted.
"Hey, they already matched tags with me!" another woman yelled, chasing her with a fan.
Laughter rippled through the air.
Yue, feeling oddly warm, glanced toward the lantern tree near the shrine. Quietly, she walked up, picked two wooden tags, and tied her name and her dad's together.
"I may not understand everything," she whispered, "but I love you, Dad. And I'm glad you're the one having my baby sibling."
She blushed, then giggled. "That sounded weird…"
The firelight flickered in the reflection of her gem-blue eyes.
From the shadows of the shrine, a faint hush fell across the square.
A creak… then the soft tapping of a cane on old wood.
Tap… tap… tap…
"Is that—?"
"Wait… no way…"
"She hasn't come out in years!"
From the narrow gate beside the ancestral shrine, a hunched figure slowly emerged, wrapped in an old ceremonial robe woven with bone-colored embroidery and dark crimson dragons. A tattered veil hung over her face, but there was no mistaking her long silver hair, curled like drifting smoke, and her cold, piercing voice:
"Did you children think you could hold a Sujin Festival… without fate?"
It was Grandma Kiku. The Terrifying Oracle of Death.
Even the strongest women in Sujin stopped breathing when she walked past. Kids whispered that she once cursed a man just by looking at him. Elders swore she predicted the mayor's death five years before it happened, to the exact day and time.
"She's so old," Nana whispered, frozen stiff.
"She's so scary," Mei added.
Yue, however, was fascinated.
Grandma Kiku reached the center of the square and struck the ground with her cane.
"Bring me the table," she commanded.
Auntie Zhen nearly tripped over herself to obey, dragging a small table and setting it near the shrine. A black velvet cloth was draped over the surface, and atop it, Kiku placed a strange round mirror, a bowl of bones, and a lantern filled with blue fire.
"I will now offer fortune readings," she croaked, her voice like crumbling paper. "Come if you dare."
The entire village backed up at once.
"Not it!" "You go!" "No way!" "She said my cousin would die, and he did!"
Even Yue felt a chill creep up her spine. But she also felt a tug… deep inside, almost like a whisper.
Something about Grandma Kiku's presence made her heart beat faster.
"Is this… fate?" she murmured.
Behind her, Li Jun waddled over with a wide grin. "Did she really come out? I haven't seen her since I was pregnant with you!"
"She told Mom she'd marry two men and one would be allergic to mushrooms. Guess what? She was right."
"I can't believe she still looks the same," Shan Yue muttered beside them. "Like a ghost that refuses to leave."
People began whispering nervously again.
One by one, brave villagers inched closer to the table. A trembling teen asked if he would pass his exams. A shy woman wanted to know if she'd marry her childhood crush. A young boy asked if his cat would come back home.
Grandma Kiku answered each question without hesitation, her voice cold and certain, sending shivers down everyone's spine.
"Next," she barked. "The girl with the sky-blue hair."
Yue froze.
Her heart thumped so loud she was sure the whole village could hear it.
Me? But… why?
She hadn't said a word.
Slowly, she stepped forward, her sandals crunching softly on the gravel. She stood in front of the table, eyes wide, unsure what to say.
Grandma Kiku lifted her veil.
Yue stared into pale, foggy eyes that still gleamed with frightening clarity.
"You…" Kiku whispered, her voice almost wind. "You carry two souls. One old… one new. And something inside you is awakening."
Yue gasped.
"What are you—?"
But Kiku raised a wrinkled finger.
"Come with me," she said softly. "And I will tell you… everything."
To be continued....