What? Oh!
I pull out my painted rock, staring down at it. It really is so beautiful. “Will you be my Light Knot Night match?”
Katsu and Sebastian pull out their rocks. We all hand them to Fox.
“Yes, forever,” Katsu says.
I leap into their arms as lights shoot up from the beach. Pinks, reds, blues, purples, and golds. The laser lights swirl and dance as music plays, growing in volume until it can be heard all over Sunshine Cove. The path of light pulses and ripples, and then ared heart blooms over the ocean. They’ve used Devon’s boat to rig the display up, but it’s so damn pretty. I bite my lip and lean against Katsu, refusing to let go of him.
All the matches come back down to the beach. There are five of us who have found love. But everyone looks so happy, even the singles. I wonder if this reaches more than just the people who find love. If maybe the community is what people are yearning for. To not feel quite so alone.
“Pay attention to the lights, Cordie or Mum will make us do it again next week,” Sebastian rumbles.
I snicker.
Leaning on the rails up on Main Street, I see the rest of Sunshine Cove, Sofia, Devon, Elijah, and Mack. The Sols. My mum and Randall, Harry, Yolanda, Grigori. And to my surprise, a seagull and…is that a magpie?
I hear a neigh and curse, turning to find Gale racing towards us. He jumps over the lights as if they are a massive five-foot jump and then prances happily. He’s got flowers woven into his mane and tail, and he’s wearing a felt saddle of red material that has hearts all over it.
“That is so cute.”
“Sickeningly so,” I mutter. “Ugh, who did this to you, boy?”
“Who did you escape from?” Seb asks the horse.
He simply turns to Fox and starts nibbling his jumper, ignoring both me and Sebastian.
“You are on poop duty forever,” Seb growls at Fox.
“Hello, Sunshine Cove!” Lorelei’s voice comes across loud and clear, booming into the night. “Light Knot Night is almost over, but we have one more gift for you all.”
The lights go out, and everyone walks down to the beach, blowing out candles one by one until the world is in almost complete darkness.
“Hey, Pack Blizzard?”
I get a jolt hearing someone call us that and turn to find Floyd.
“Hey, Floyd.”
“Congratulations! We were rooting for you! Here, these are for you. Don’t light them yet.”
Sebastian is handed a long stick with a lighter as well as four paper lanterns.
“Everyone who wants to participate, come down to the beach,” Lorelei calls over a microphone.
“What is going on?” I ask.
But no one answers; instead, we head down towards the water, the roaring surf and whatever surprise Lorelei has in store for Sunshine Cove tonight.
Chapter 34
Cordelia
We move closer to the growing crowd with Gale following behind us. There must be a couple of hundred people on the beach. Certainly more than the town. Where did all these people come from?
“I wanted something special this year. A gift that allows me to leave behind part of myself. And if this is the only thing I achieve, I hope you will take what you need from it and find peace. Tonight, our lantern festival, Light Knot Night, begins. Lift your lantern for love, for hope, for goodwill, and to honour the past. Let go of negativity and hate. Let tonight, this perfectly balanced day, be a memory of love.”
Lorelei Sol looks like a goddess on the beach, her long dress fanning out behind her, feet bare, flanked by hundreds of people.
