Free A Winter of Ghosts by Christopher Golden, Thomas Randall

meeting herfather's gaze once again.
    "How does something likethis happen?" she asked. "What Mr. Yamato said about the forecast.. I mean, it was nothing, not much more than flurries at first, and then.."
    Overwhelmed, Kara could notfinish the sentence.
    "A squall," her fathersaid. He took her by the arm and guided her down the trail, getting her walkingagain. "I've read about freak weather before. It happens. Like 'thundersnow' and things like that. When weather fronts collide the weather is alwayswild."
    As he spoke, police cars beganto pull into the parking lot of Takigami Park below, their lights spinning,reflecting off of the snow. They were followed by an ambulance and two SUVs. WhenKara saw police officers and other people start to pile out of the vehicles,relief swept over her. The snow
was
subsiding. Mr. Sato and Mr. Yamatowere still up there, and soon the search would expand. There might not be morethan a couple of hours before dark, but maybe that would be enough. It waspossible that they had already found Hachiro and the other boys and that noneof this would turn out to be necessary.
    She turned to say as much to herfather, and saw Sora standing beyond him, perhaps fifty feet from the path. Hestood amidst a copse of cherry trees, their bare branches interwoven like aspider's web. His red jacket had turned pale, bleached of color the same waythe winter storm had turned the whole world gray, but Kara could see himclearly enough.
    "Oh, my God," shesaid, a laugh bubbling out of her.
    "What is it?" herfather asked.
    But Kara started running, bootssinking into four inches of fresh snow. A grin spread across her face and sheglanced past Sora, searching for Hachiro and Ren, putting it all together in aninstant — they must have found some other path that led them to a placewhere they could see the bus waiting in Takigami Park and started down towardit.
    "Sora!"
    "Kara, wait!" herfather called.
    She glanced back at him for onlyan instant, but when she looked toward the cherry grove again, Sora hadvanished. There were only the bare trees and contorted interweaving ofbranches.
    All of the air went out of herin a single breath and she faltered, staggering to a stop. Suddenly she feltmore exhausted than ever. Falling to her knees in the snow, she felt all of herfear and worry overflowing, rushing out of her. Somehow it became a laugh, evenas tears began to spill down her cheeks.
    She heard footsteps crunching inthe snow and a gentle hand on her shoulder.
    "Kara?" her fatherventured, so softly.
    She wiped at her eyes and lookedup at him. "I saw Sora. He was right over there."
    But there was nowhere aroundthose bare trees where anyone could have hidden themselves — even if Sorahad some reason to do so — and they were close enough now to see oneadditional detail that filled the hollow place inside Kara with dread andgrief. There were no footprints in the snow beneath the cherry trees.
    "Did you see him?" sheasked.
    "I was watching you,"her father said. "I'm sorry."
    Kara turned to see Sakura andMiho approaching them. Miss Aritomo and the other teachers waited back on thepath, watching curiously.
    "You saw Sora?"
    Kara couldn't answer. Sheswallowed hard. All she could think of in that moment was the story Hachiro hadtold her about seeing Jiro's barefoot ghost on the train into Miyazu Station.
    "Hey," Miho whispered,kneeling beside her in the snow, neither of them paying any attention to thedampness soaking through the knees of their pants — they couldn't feel itanymore.
    "I think I saw him, too. Justfor a second," Miho went on.
    Kara stared up at her, thenglanced at Sakura and her father. "He's dead."
    "You don't know that,"her father said quickly, brows sternly knitted.
    But she did. What she had seencould only have been a ghost. She bit her lip, took Miho's hand, and the two ofthem stood. They exchanged silent glances with Sakura and then, as one, thethree girls started back toward the path.
    "Come on, Dad.