A Crowd of Paradegoers
A Crowd of Paradegoers is located in The Suspicious-Looking Guy's Shady Past.
Initially:
The annual New Year's Day parade was always a surprise to me, since for some reason it was on a different day every time. A different month, some years. Colorful paper lanterns were strung from the signposts, little kids were setting off firecrackers (obscuring the ever-present sound of gunfire), and a train of lanterns, dancers, and floats snaked their way through the streets, all the way out of Chinatown. Lucky bastards. I would have liked to get a closer look, but the crowd was packed like sardines, and nobody was willing to give up their spot. Well, those grapes were probably sour anyway.
After defeating the White Bone Demon:
I stepped into the crowd to check out the parade, and the people moved to let me through, smiling and patting me on the shoulder as they recognized me.
It was quite a sight, even to my cynical eyes. Colorful paper lanterns glowed in the gathering dimness as the the sun began to set. Girls with ribbons in their hair and long silk robes twirled and spun and danced, free of any weight the world tried to put on their shoulders. People sang, and cheered, and laughed.
And then I saw the dragon. It was pearl-white, with eyes of flame, and it twisted and snaked and danced its way down the street toward me. As it passed, the huge lion head turned to face me, and for just a moment I thought I saw it wink.
I stepped into the street, and began to follow it. It picked up speed, and I matched its pace, whirling and dancing down the street. I may even have laughed.
I chased that dragon all the way out of Chinatown.
References
- "Chasing the dragon" is asian slang to drug use. Hence what the the Suspicious Looking Guy is doing these days.
