Haru glances to the right, where a man is sitting on a wooden stool, painting in the middle of the street. He gestures at him and whispers, “See what he’s painting there?” A man and woman in long robes are floating in a starry sky, their hands outstretched toward each other, the moon glowing behind them. “That’s Princess Orihime and her husband, Hikoboshi. The two were forbidden to see each other, separated by the stars. Orihime was so heartbroken that her father, god of the heavens, allowed them to meet once every year. It happens on the seventh day of the seventh month. So the festival celebrates their reunion.”
“Why were they separated?”
“The two spent so much time together, they forgot their duties to the world. So the gods forced them apart,” he explains. “But it’s only a story.”
I stare at the painting. “Well, I’m glad they get to meet again.”
Haru smiles at me as we keep walking. There’s a line of carnival-style games, children crowding around them. I glance over their shoulders, wondering what they’re playing. Colorful plastic balls swirl inside a barrel of water.
“It’s harder than it looks,” Haru says, noticing me watching. “The nets are made of paper. You have to catch the balls before it rips.”
“Looks like fun.”
There’s a spinning wheel on the other table. The woman behind it waves us over, speaking in Japanese. “She’s giving us a free spin,” Haru says to me. “Go for it.”
“Why me?”
“It’s your first festival. And I have a feeling you’re lucky.”
I raise a brow. “You’re sure about that?”
“One way to find out.”
I lean forward, spinning the wheel. The colors swirl together before landing on red. The woman behind the table frowns, letting me know I didn’t win. Haru steps forward, handing her some coins from his pocket.
“Try it again,” he says encouragingly.
I give the wheel another spin. The colors swirl before it lands on red again. I let out a breath of disappointment. Haru digs into his other pocket and says, “Now that one didn’t count.” I start to protest, but he hands the woman more change, insisting I give it another go. So I spin the wheel again. This time it lands on yellow.
I glance at Haru. “What does yellow mean?”
“You get to spin again.”
I guess that’s better than losing. I spin the wheel one more time. The colors swirl before it finally lands on white. The woman claps her hands, then gestures to the basket of prizes on the table.
“I knew you were lucky,” Haru says with a wink.
I shake my head, holding back a laugh as we look through the prizes together. It’s mostly key chains, erasers, random toy figurines. I find some bracelets with wooden beads braided through them. “These are pretty nice,” I say.
“She says we can each have one,” Haru says, turning to me. “You can pick yours first.”
“Okay.”
I decide on the blue bracelet and Haru takes the red one. Then he turns to me and says, “Now let’s trade them.”
I give him a look. “Why?”
“This way, we’ll have each other’s,” he says, holding his out for me. “And I think red looks better on you.”
I smile at this. “Alright.”
I hold out my wrist, letting him tie the bracelet around me. Then I tie mine around him, too. It’s like this little secret between us. I keep looking at it as we continue our walk together. The streets are lined with food vendors, filling the air with smoke from hot grills. There’s so many things I haven’t tried before. A woman passes us, holding a stick of round dumplings covered in dark glaze. Haru notices me looking again. “It’s called dango,” he says. “Have you tried it before?”
“No. Is it sweet?”
“Wait right here…”
Haru walks off to the food stands. A moment later, he returns with the skewer of dango. He hands it to me and says, “It’s a very popular dessert. I think you’ll like it.”
