WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:19.839 Us studious the Kite Festival. The morning of the Kite 2 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:25.199 Festival always began with the wind. Not the harsh, unpredictable 3 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:29.280 gusts that rattled windows in winter, but a softer kind 4 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:33.200 of wind, the kind that arrived in late April, carrying 5 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:36.719 the smell of cut grass and river water and the 6 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:41.399 faint sweetness of lilac blossoms from the gardens along Maple Street. 7 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:45.799 Mira could feel it the moment she woke up, pressing 8 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:49.960 gently against her bedroom window, lifting the curtain at the corner, 9 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:54.200 and letting a thin blade of sunlight fall across her pillow. 10 00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:58.640 She lay still for a moment, listening to the sound 11 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:03.560 it made against the glass, a low, steady whisper, and 12 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:05.719 she knew that to day would be a good day 13 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:09.359 for flying. Her mother was already in the kitchen when 14 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:13.280 Mira came downstairs, standing at the counter with a cup 15 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:16.439 of coffee in one hand and a recipe card in 16 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:20.840 the other. The kitchen smelled of cinnamon and butter, and 17 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:23.719 on the counter beside the stove sat a plate of 18 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:29.640 sugar cookies shaped like stars and crescent moons. Mira's mother 19 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:32.920 had stayed up late the night before, cutting them out 20 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.239 with small metal molds, and the edges were sharp and precise, 21 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:42.200 the way her mother did everything morning, her mother said, 22 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:47.040 without looking up, Eat something, you'll need your energy. Mira 23 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:50.719 sat at the table and took a cookie. It was 24 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:55.840 still warm, the cinnamon sharp and sweet on her tongue, 25 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.040 and she chewed slowly while watching the curtain in the 26 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:04.239 living room. With the wind outside. Through the window, she 27 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:07.519 could see the tops of the oak trees bending slightly, 28 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:12.000 their new leaves catching the light and turning it into 29 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:17.159 something green and alive. The sky above was pale blue, 30 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:22.240 almost white near the horizon, deepening to a clear, bright 31 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:28.240 azure directly overhead. No clouds, not a single one. His 32 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:33.439 dad setting up, Mirah asked, since six. Her mother said, 33 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:37.639 your brother's helping him with the stakes. Go finish your 34 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.919 breakfast and then get dressed. We need to be at 35 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:44.400 the park by nine. The kite Festival had been a 36 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:47.560 tradition in the town of Renfield for longer than any 37 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:52.439 one could remember. The older residence claimed it started in 38 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:56.800 the nineteen fifties when a teacher at the elementary school 39 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.400 brought in a kite she had made with her students 40 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:03.599 and flew it on the school lawn during lunch. The 41 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:06.520 story went that a farmer driving by on the county 42 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:11.080 road saw it, a bright red diamond against the blue sky, 43 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:16.479 and it reminded him of something he had forgotten, something 44 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:18.800 about being a boy in a field with a string 45 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.879 in his hand. He went home and made a kite 46 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:24.479 of his own, and the next year he brought it 47 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:27.840 to the same field, and there were three kites, and 48 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.240 then five, and then twenty, and then the festival was born, 49 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:35.639 growing a little each year until it became the thing 50 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:39.840 that Renfield was known for, the event that brought people 51 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:44.280 from neighboring towns, the week end that everyone in Renfield 52 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.479 marked on their calendars and read. The festival was held 53 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:54.240 at Littlebrook Park, a wide open stretch of grass between 54 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:59.000 the river and the old mill building, now converted into 55 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:04.039 a community center. The park had a gentle slope that 56 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:07.479 rose from the river bank to a low hill at 57 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:11.879 the northern end, and on festival day the hill was 58 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:17.399 covered with families and blankets and coolers and folding chairs, 59 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:22.360 and the sky above was filled with kites of every 60 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:28.480 size and color and shape, diamond kites and delta kites, 61 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:35.480 box kites and parafoil kites, kites shaped like dragons and 62 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:42.839 butterflies and fish and birds, Kites with long streaming tails 63 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:47.079 that twisted and curled in the wind, like living things. 64 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:51.759 The sound they made was unlike any other sound Mirah 65 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:58.199 had ever heard of, fluttering, rustling, whistling, chorus that rose 66 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:02.560 and fell with the wind, punctuated by the laughter of children, 67 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:06.759 and the occasional snap of a kite string pulled too tight. 68 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:11.399 Maria had been to the festival every year of her life. 69 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:14.720 As a baby, she had been carried in her mother's arms, 70 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:19.680 wrapped in a blanket, watching the sky with wide, uncomprehending eyes. 71 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.680 As a toddler, she had sat on her father's shoulders, 72 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:27.319 pointing at the kites and shrieking with delight every time 73 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:31.360 one dipped or spun. As a young girl, she had 74 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:34.480 run across the grass with the other children, chasing the 75 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:38.199 shadows of kites as they swept over the ground, trying 76 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:42.279 to catch the long, colorful tails that streamed behind them. 77 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.040 But she had never flown a kite herself. She had 78 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:48.600 never held the string in her own hands and felt 79 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:51.800 the kite pull against her fingers, and watched it rise 80 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:57.519 under her own control into the sky. This year, her 81 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:01.519 father had said, would be different. This year, he had 82 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:05.399 made her a kite. He had spent three weeks on it, 83 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:08.879 working in the garage after dinner while Mira did her 84 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:12.360 home work at the kitchen table. She could hear him 85 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:15.439 out there, the sound of wood being measured and cut, 86 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:20.639 the soft rasp of sand paper, the occasional muffled word 87 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:24.879 when he nicked his finger or dropped a tool. She 88 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.639 was not allowed to see it until it was finished, 89 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:31.279 and she had to resist the temptation to sneak out 90 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:35.439 to the garage and peak, which was difficult because the 91 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:38.800 garage door was only half closed and she could see 92 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.399 the glow of his work light through the gap. Her 93 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.040 father was a quiet man, the kind of person who 94 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:50.439 showed his love through actions rather than words. He worked 95 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:53.800 at the post office six days a week, sorting letters 96 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:57.079 and packages with the same steady patience he brought to 97 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:01.399 everything else. He did not talk much about his feelings, 98 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:06.319 but he remembered things. He remembered that Mira loved the 99 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:10.279 color yellow. He remembered that she was afraid of bees, 100 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:15.000 but not wasps, for reasons she could not explain. He 101 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:18.199 remembered that she had once said when she was six 102 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:21.920 that she wanted to fly, and he had held her 103 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:27.680 hand and said, maybe not today, but someday. And now 104 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:31.959 it seemed he had decided that some day was today. 105 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.079 The finished kite was waiting for them at the park. 106 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:38.720 Mira's father and brother had driven over at dawn to 107 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:40.839 claim their spot on the hill and set up the 108 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:45.680 canopy in the foldy chairs. When Mira and her mother arrived, 109 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:49.399 carrying the cooler and the blanket, the kite was already 110 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:54.160 leaning against the canopy pole, and Mira stopped walking and stared. 111 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:58.199 It was a diamond kite, traditional in shape, but her 112 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:02.160 father had painted it by hand. The background was sky blue, 113 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:05.319 the same shade as the morning sky, and across it 114 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:11.000 he had painted a constellation orion in small, precise dots 115 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:14.720 of white and yellow. The stars were connected by thin 116 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:17.639 lines of silver paint, and at the center of the 117 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:23.240 constellation he had painted a tiny, perfect nebula, a swirl 118 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.360 of pink and blue that looked like a small, bright 119 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:30.199 cloud floating in the painted sky. The tail was made 120 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.399 of narrow strips of fabric white and blue and silver, 121 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.799 sewn together and tied in a long flowing ribbon that 122 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:43.480 stretched nearly six feet behind the kite, dad, Mira said, 123 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:47.480 did you paint this? Her father was adjusting the canopy, 124 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:50.559 his back to her. He turned and looked at the 125 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:54.200 kite and then at Mira, and he smiled the way 126 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:58.600 he always smiled, quietly, the smile reaching his eyes but 127 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:02.080 not his mouth. Took a few tries, he said, the 128 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:05.000 nebula was hard. Had to watch a video to get 129 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:09.519 the colors right. Mira walked closer and touched the painted surface. 130 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:13.879 The paint was smooth under her fingers, sealed with a 131 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:17.480 clear coat that gave it a faint sheen. She could 132 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:21.679 see the individual brushstrokes if she looked closely, the small 133 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:25.519 imperfections that told her this was made by Aunt, by 134 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:29.559 her father, for her, And something in her chest tightened 135 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:32.399 in the way it did when she received a gift 136 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:35.320 that was more than a thing, when the gift was 137 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.639 a sentence in a language she was only beginning to learn. 138 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:44.399 Come on, her brother said, he was twelve, two years 139 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:48.600 older than Mira, and he had already unpacked his own kite, 140 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:53.320 a bright orange delta with a wingspan whiter than his arms. 141 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:57.720 Let's get these in the air. Her brother's kite was 142 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.759 the first to launch. He was a experience now, having 143 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:05.039 flown at the festival for three years running, and he 144 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:08.200 knew exactly how to read the wind. He stood at 145 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:11.159 the top of the hill, held the kite behind him 146 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:14.200 with one hand and the spool in the other, and 147 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:18.000 waited for a gust. When it came, he let go 148 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:21.960 and ran three steps forward, paying out line. As the 149 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:26.840 kite caught the wind and lifted, it rose quickly, climbing 150 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:30.639 at a steep angle, the orange wings cutting through the air. 151 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:35.000 With a faint, satisfying whistle. Her brother planted his feet 152 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:38.960 braced against the pole and began to feed out more line, 153 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:42.960 and the kite climbed higher and higher, until it was 154 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:47.279 just a bright orange speck against the blue, dancing and 155 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:51.720 bobbing in the wind like a living thing. Your turn, 156 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:56.039 her father said. Mirah took the kite in her hands. 157 00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:00.000 It was lighter than she expected, the frame made up 158 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:03.720 of thin, flexible bamboo that bent slightly when she pressed it, 159 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:08.080 the fabric taut and smooth. She could feel the wind 160 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:12.360 against her face, steady and warm, and she could hear 161 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:16.600 the other kites around her, dozens of them now, their 162 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:20.960 tails streaming and their strings humming, and the sound made 163 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.960 something flutter in her chest, a mixture of excitement and 164 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.000 fear that she did not quite know what to do with. 165 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:31.559 Hold the spool in your left hand, her father said, 166 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:37.120 standing behind her, and the kite in your right. Keep 167 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:40.720 the string taut. When you feel the wind, take it. 168 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:47.799 Let go. Don't throw it, just let go which direction 169 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:53.240 into the wind? Always into the wind. The wind has 170 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:56.279 to go over the kite to lift it. If you 171 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:01.159 throw it with the wind, it'll just fall. Mira turned 172 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:04.200 to face the wind. It came from the west, from 173 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:07.759 the direction of the river, carrying the smell of water 174 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:12.679 and wet stone. She held the kite behind her, feeling 175 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:17.039 the wind press against its surface, pushing it forward, trying 176 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.240 to take it from her hand. The string was looped 177 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:23.440 around the wooden spool in her left hand, and she 178 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:27.080 held the spool tight, feeling the rough texture of the 179 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:33.000 bamboo against her palm. Ready, her father said, Mira nodded, 180 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:38.679 then let go. She released her grip and the kite lifted. 181 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:44.919 For a moment, it wobbled, tipping left and then right, uncertain, 182 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:49.759 the tail tangling slightly in the wind. Mira gasped and 183 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:52.919 took a step forward, as if she could follow it 184 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:55.879 into the air, but her father put a hand on 185 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:00.440 her shoulder and held her back. Let it find the wind, 186 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:04.679 he said, give it a second. The kite wabbled again, 187 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:09.200 dipping low, almost touching the grass, and Mirah felt her 188 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:14.879 stomach drop. But then the wind shifted just slightly, just enough, 189 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:18.720 and the kite caught it and straightened, and the tail 190 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.720 unwound itself and streamed behind it in a long, flowing 191 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:29.000 ribbon of white and blue and silver. The kite rose slowly, 192 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:32.559 at first gaining a foot, then losing half a foot, 193 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:37.240 then gaining another foot, and then more steadily, climbing at 194 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:41.200 a gentle angle into the sky, the string paying out 195 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:46.200 through Mira's fingers in a steady, vibrating line. She watched 196 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.240 it go, her head tilted back, her mouth slightly open. 197 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:56.360 The painted constellation was just visible Orion's belt, three small 198 00:13:56.399 --> 00:14:00.360 points of light against the blue, and the nebula was 199 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:04.799 a tiny swirling cloud of pink and glue that caught 200 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:10.279 the sunlight and glowed. The tail streamed behind it, twisting 201 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:14.000 and curling in the wind, and the kite climbed higher 202 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:17.279 and higher until it was above the rooftops of the 203 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:21.480 houses along the river, above the branches of the tallest 204 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:26.440 oak tree, above the power lines, rising into the wide 205 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.639 open sky where the other kites were dancing. I'm doing it, 206 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:38.360 Mirah whispered, Dad, I'm doing it. Her father smiled, you are. 207 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.799 The kite was pulling now, a steady, insistent tug on 208 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:44.960 the string that Mirah could feel in her wrist and 209 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.879 her forearm and her shoulder. It was stronger than she expected, 210 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:52.399 the wind more powerful at this height, and she had 211 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.480 to brace her feet on the grass and lean back 212 00:14:54.519 --> 00:14:58.000 slightly to counter the pole. But it was not unpleasant. 213 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:00.960 It was like holding hands with the wind, a firm 214 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:05.759 grape that said iron here, hold on. And she held on, 215 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:09.720 feeling the string vibrate against her fingers like a live wire, 216 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:14.039 like a pulse around her. The festival was in full bloom. 217 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:18.360 The hill was covered with people, families and couples and 218 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:21.279 groups of friends, all of them looking up at the 219 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:24.720 sky where the kites were flying. Mira could count at 220 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:29.080 least fifty kites, maybe more, filling the sky. In every direction. 221 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:33.080 There was a dragon kite, its body made of dozens 222 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:36.720 of small, connected segments that undulated in the wind like 223 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:39.600 a serpent. There was a kite shaped like a butterfly, 224 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:44.000 its wings painted in brulinant orange and black, the edges 225 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:48.039 trimmed with gold. There were simple diamond kites in every 226 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:51.679 color of the rainbow, and delta kites with wingspans as 227 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:55.000 wide as a door, and box kites that stood upright 228 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:58.279 in the air like small floating houses. And there were 229 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:02.840 the tails, hundreds of them, streaming and twisting and curling 230 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:06.159 behind the kites, filling the sky with ribbons of color 231 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:10.120 that moved and shifted with the wind, creating patterns that 232 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:14.639 changed every second, patterns that no one had designed, but 233 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:18.720 that were beautiful precisely because they were unplanned, because they 234 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.720 were the product of the wind and the fabric. And 235 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.240 the patient, invisible hand of the air mirror stood on 236 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:28.519 the hill and held her string and watched her kite fly, 237 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:33.279 and she felt something she could not quite name. It 238 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:39.120 was like joy, but quieter, deeper, a feeling that started 239 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:42.240 in her chest and spread outward through her arms and 240 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.759 her legs and the top of her head. A feeling 241 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:49.600 of connection, of being linked to the kite by the thin, 242 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:53.120 vibrating string, and through the kite to the wind, and 243 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:55.960 through the wind to the sky, and through the sky 244 00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:59.840 to something vast and ancient and patient that she had 245 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:03.440 no word for, but that she could feel the same 246 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:05.759 way she could feel the sun on her face and 247 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:09.440 the grass beneath her feet. Her mother came and stood 248 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:14.720 beside her, holding two paper cups of lemonade. Here, she said, 249 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.880 handing one to Mira, you look like you could use 250 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:21.759 a drink. Mira took the lemonade without looking away from 251 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:25.799 the kite. The cup was cold in her hand, condensation 252 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.880 running down the sides, and she took a sip and 253 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:32.960 felt the sharp, sweet liquid slide down her throat. The 254 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:36.279 lemonade was from the concession stand near the mill building, 255 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:39.839 where a group of volunteers sold drinks and snacks to 256 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:43.279 raise money for the park. The stand was a long 257 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:47.759 table under a strip dawning, and behind it stood missus Abernathy, 258 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:50.279 who had been running it for as long as Mira 259 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:53.880 could remember, a tall woman with white hair and a 260 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:57.480 voice like a foghorn, who called every one dear and 261 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:01.920 always gave Mira an extra cooky. Your father worked very 262 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:05.480 hard on that kite, her mother said. He stayed up 263 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:09.720 past midnight two nights in a row. I know, Mira said, 264 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:13.880 I heard him in the garage. He wanted it to 265 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:17.880 be perfect. Mira looked at the kite again, at the 266 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:22.480 painted constellation, at the nebula with its swirl of pink 267 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:27.559 and blue, at the long flowing tail, and she felt 268 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:30.799 the tightness in her chest again, the one that was 269 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:36.160 not quite sadness and not quite happiness, but somewhere in between, 270 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:41.119 the feeling of being loved so specifically and so carefully 271 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:45.839 that it almost hurt. It is, she said, it's perfect. 272 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:50.400 Her mother put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently, 273 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:55.319 and they stood together and watched the sky. The morning passed, 274 00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:00.279 the sun climbed higher, warming the hill, and the wind 275 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:05.920 shifted and steadied, and the kites rose and fell and 276 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:10.519 rose again. Mirah learned to read the wind, to feel 277 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:14.000 its changes in the string, to know when a gust 278 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:17.400 was coming by the way the other kites leaned and dipped. 279 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.759 She learned to walk with the kite, moving up the 280 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:24.720 hill when the wind weakened, and down when it strengthened, 281 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:29.960 keeping the string taut, keeping the kite steady. She learned 282 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:34.880 to reel in, turning the spool slowly, feeling the kite 283 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:40.240 resist and then yield, dropping corridor in a wide, graceful arc, 284 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:44.559 and then to let it out again, paying out line 285 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:49.160 as it climbed back into the wind. At midday, her 286 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:53.000 father brought hot dogs from the grill near the mill, 287 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:57.680 and they sat on their blanket and ate them. The 288 00:19:57.799 --> 00:20:02.440 mustard sharp and the buns saw, and Mira's kite hung 289 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:06.039 in the sky above them, tethered to the canopy pole 290 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:09.039 by a length of rope her father had tied with 291 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.839 a bowline knot. The other families on the hill were 292 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:17.559 eating two and the smell of charcoal and hot dogs 293 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:22.440 and popcorn drifted across the grass, mingling with the smell 294 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:26.000 of the river and the cut grass and the lilacs. 295 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.279 Her brother had gone off with his friends, a group 296 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:34.640 of boys who ran from kite to kite, comparing strings 297 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:37.960 and challenging each other to see whose kite could fly 298 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:42.839 the highest. Mira could see his orange delta far above 299 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:47.319 the hill, higher than almost any other kite, a bright 300 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:50.960 speck near the top of the sky. She felt a small, 301 00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:54.599 sharp pang of envy, the kind she had learned to 302 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.319 expect from her brother, who was better at most things 303 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:01.160 than she was, and who did not try to hide it. 304 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:06.799 But the feeling passed quickly, replaced by the steady, warm 305 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:10.440 pull of her own kite in her hands, and she 306 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:15.519 focused on that instead. After lunch, Mira's father taught her 307 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:19.240 a trick. If you want it to climb, he said, 308 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.440 give it a sharp tug on the string, just one, 309 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:27.200 quick and hard. The kite will think the wind is 310 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:31.279 stronger than it is and it'll pull up. Mirror tried it. 311 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:34.920 She gave the string a quick tug, pulling down and 312 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:41.440 then releasing, and the kite responded immediately, surging upward, climbing 313 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:45.759 two or three body lengths in a single leap. She laughed, 314 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:48.880 a sound that surprised her because she had not meant 315 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.880 to make it, and she tugged again, and the kite 316 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:55.279 climbed again, and she felt the string hum against her 317 00:21:55.319 --> 00:22:00.279 fingers with the increased tension. That's it, her father's said, 318 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:04.599 you're a natural. Mira was not sure she was a natural. 319 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.160 She was sure that she was doing something that felt right, 320 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:11.559 something that matched the rhythm of the wind and the 321 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:15.039 movement of the kite, something that was not learned, but 322 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:18.559 remembered as if she had always known how to do this, 323 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:22.519 and was only now remembering. She stood on the hill 324 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:24.599 with the wind in her hair and the sun on 325 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:28.720 her face, and the string vibrating in her hands, and 326 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:32.720 she felt the kite pulling against her, steady and alive, 327 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:37.359 and she pulled back, and they held each other, the 328 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:41.200 girl and the kite, connected by a thin line of nylon, 329 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:45.519 suspended between the earth and the sky. Before the afternoon 330 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:50.359 crowds arrived, Mira wandered away from the blanket and walked 331 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:54.759 down toward the river. The path was lined with willow trees, 332 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:00.400 their long trailing branches brushing the ground like curtains, and 333 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:04.440 the grass beneath them was cool and soft, still damp 334 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:09.599 from the morning dew. The river moved slowly here, wide 335 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:13.839 and brown from the spring rain, carrying small leaves and 336 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:17.720 bits of tugue on its surface. Mira sat on the 337 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:21.440 bank and watched the water. And the water moved past 338 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:25.559 her in a steady, unhurried current, and the sound of 339 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.160 it was the most peaceful sound she had ever heard. 340 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:34.079 A dragon fly landed on her knee. It was green, iridescent, 341 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:38.960 its wings catching the sunlight and splitting it into tiny rainbows. 342 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:43.839 It sat there for a moment perfectly still, and then 343 00:23:43.880 --> 00:23:47.519 it lifted off and darted away over the water, its 344 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:52.359 wings a blur. Mira watched it go and thought about 345 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.400 how small things could be so beautiful, how a dragon 346 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:00.519 fly's wings could hold more color than a kite, how 347 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.640 a river could hold more peace than a cathedral. She 348 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:07.039 stayed by the river for fifteen minutes, listening to the 349 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:10.880 water and watching the dragon flies and the occasional fish 350 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:15.519 that broke the surface with a small silver splash. The 351 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:19.119 sounds of the festival drifted across the grass, the fluttering 352 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:22.480 of kites and the laughter of children, and the faint, 353 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:25.799 rhythmic thump of a speaker near the mill building, where 354 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:29.480 some one was playing folk music. The music was soft 355 00:24:29.640 --> 00:24:33.359 and steady, the kind of music that did not demand attention, 356 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:38.039 but simply existed, like the wind or the river, filling 357 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:42.400 the spaces between the other sounds with something warm and familiar. 358 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:45.680 When she walked back up the hill, she found her 359 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:49.319 mother talking to Missus Abernathy, who had come up from 360 00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:52.559 the concession stand with a paper bag of caramel corn. 361 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:56.279 Missus Abernathy handed the bag to Mira with a wink 362 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.400 and said, you looked like you needed a break. Deer. 363 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:02.440 The river has a way of doing that to people. 364 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:06.160 Mara fook the bag and thanked her and ate the 365 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:09.200 caramel corn as she climbed back to their spot on 366 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:13.319 the hill, the pieces sweet and crunchy, sticking to her fingers, 367 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:17.119 and she licked each finger clean and watched the sky. 368 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:22.759 In the afternoon, the festival reached its peak. Every family 369 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:25.440 on the hill had their kite in the air, and 370 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:28.279 the sky was so full of color that Mia could 371 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:33.039 barely find patches of blue between them. Near the mill building, 372 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:35.960 some one had set up a kite making workshop under 373 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:39.799 a large canvas tent. Mira wandered over after eating her 374 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:43.160 hot dog and found a long table covered with paper, 375 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:48.720 bamboo strips, string, glue, and paint. A man in a 376 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:51.720 wide brimmed hat was showing a group of children how 377 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:55.640 to make simple diamond kites from newspaper and sticks, his 378 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:58.680 hands moving with the easy confidence of some one who 379 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:02.559 had done this a hundred times before. He folded the 380 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:07.240 paper with precise, deliberate movements, creasing each fold with the 381 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:10.000 back of his thumb nail, and the children watched with 382 00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:16.000 wide eyes, their hands still, their mouths slightly open. Every 383 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:19.759 kite starts with a fold, the man said. Pressing the 384 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:24.079 newspaper flat, you fold the paper over the spine, like 385 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:27.720 closing a book. Then you tape the sticks to the edges, 386 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:31.720 one vertical, one horizontal, and you tie the string to 387 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:35.920 all four corners. The string is what holds the shape. 388 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:39.759 Without the string, the paper would just flap in the wind. 389 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:44.359 With the string, it becomes a wing. Mira stood at 390 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:47.720 the edge of the tent and watched. The man was 391 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:52.480 building a kite from nothing, from paper and sticks and string, 392 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:57.680 and the process was both simple and miraculous. The way 393 00:26:57.720 --> 00:27:00.759 the flat sheet of newspaper became something that could fly, 394 00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:05.640 could climb into the sky and ride the wind, could 395 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:09.039 carry a person's breath and a child's wonder into the air. 396 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:15.759 She thought about her father's kite, the painted constellation, the nebula, 397 00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:20.240 the hours of careful work in the garage, and she 398 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:23.519 understood now that every kite was a kind of promise, 399 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:28.200 a way of saying, I made this for you, I 400 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:32.160 made this to fly, I made this to carry something 401 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:36.039