"Hold on tight, Qiqi. Careful the Sky Lantern doesn't carry you away."
Tony was the most eager of them all, taking the first Sky Lantern from Lin Ze. After studying it briefly, he understood how it worked. Before anyone else could act, he lit it himself, then turned and handed it to Qiqi.
The girl took the Sky Lantern. A faint warmth radiated from inside the glowing lantern, but she did not find it uncomfortable. Her wide eyes watched it intently.
A few fleeting images flashed through her blank memory.
"Lantern Rite... Qiqi remembers."
Qiqi hugged the Sky Lantern to her chest, savoring its warmth.
She remembered that Mr. Baizhu knew how to make Sky Lanterns, too.
When Mr. Baizhu was giving children Sky Lanterns during Lantern Rite, he had noticed that she seemed to like them as well and asked if she wanted to release one. How had she answered him back then?
Qiqi tilted her head. That... she could not quite remember.
"Mr. Tony, what does it say on there?"
"It's a wish we want to come true."
Tony had already written on the Sky Lantern. He gently stroked the ends of Qiqi's hair. "If you write a lovely, kind wish on a Sky Lantern and let it fly, your wish is sure to come true. That's what Aether said, anyway."
"Look, Qiqi, Paimon wrote something on her Sky Lantern, too. Her wish is-to have an endless supply of delicious little cakes. Pfft, hahaha!"
"Hey! Tony! Don't go peeking at other people's wishes!"
Paimon puffed up her cheeks and urged Lin Ze beside her, "Write faster, Traveler, faster! Paimon wants to be the first to release a Sky Lantern!"
Because of the way Qiqi was holding the lantern, she could not see what Tony had written on it.