The River Kami Asked Before Taking My Hand novel · Chapter 22 of 24
Chapter 22: First Snow in the Village
The snow was falling in big slow flakes, the first of the year.
It lay on the stump of the persimmon tree.
Akari stood in the doorway in her aunt's old padded coat, a scarf wound to her nose, and looked at the road.
It was white and empty.
Past the gate, past the milestone, it ran all the way down to the bridge.
"Nobody is there," Nagi said. "May I take your arm?"
"Always."
"You said I was not to ask for your hair. Is it the same for your arm?"
"It's the same for everything," Akari said. "You can ask if you like it. You don't have to."
"I like asking."
"Then ask."
"May I take your arm?" Nagi said, shining.
"Yes."
They went down the road together, arm in arm, with Nagi's bare feet leaving long clean prints in the snow.
"Aren't your feet cold?"
"They are exactly as cold as I want them to be," Nagi said. "It seems that is also new."
At the bridge she stopped and looked down at the water.
The Tsuruse ran black between white banks, and a thin skin of ice crept at the edges.
"She is happy," Nagi said, in the careful tone of someone talking about herself in the third person. "She does not have to hold me. She is only a river. We are both easier."
Past the bridge was the shop.
Its lights were on, and a stack of crates stood outside the door.
Sayo was sweeping snow off the step in her green apron when she looked up.
The broom dropped.
"Hello," Nagi said.
Sayo's mouth opened and closed.
Her freckles went white.
She bowed from the waist, as the old women did, and said, "You were kind to a stranger's window. Thank you."
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