"Runa!" he yelled through the crowd. She waved her arm at him and he pushed his way through to her.

"Hello," she said smiling at him.

"I got out later than I wanted to," he said, "We had a last minute emergency job."

Runa locked her arm in his and reached into her pocket, pulling out two candles. She handed him one as they followed the crowd. Everyone filled in a half circle near the Gazebo where The Mayor, Michael Bismark stood with other city officials and Sable Weihl. He was a little portly but not extremely overweight. He had thinning dark hair and bushy eyebrows. He was smiling from ear to ear and holding his own candle.

The crowd was still being loud and moving around.

"That's right," the mayor told all of them; waving his arms. "Fill in. Move as close as you can together so you can stay warm."

Then he started motioning for the crowd to quiet down, which they did. Sable stood there smiling as he looked her way and smiled.

Speaking to the crowd he said, "Welcome. On behalf of the city of Zephyr we welcome all of you here tonight, whether you are a resident or just a visitor. Tonight we gather as we do every year to open our Week Long Festival to celebrate fall. This is a tradition that goes back to our founders, the Smiths."

"And sadly," he continued, "no one living knows neither the actual origin of the founders' family nor the fate of their descendants.  All we have are the mysterious architecture, stories and traditions of Zephyr. Tonight, this tradition, begun by the founders themselves, will be our starting point as we once again follow the breadcrumbs and try to find our way back there, to the beginning."

"The original intent of this tradition has been lost except we know that one of the earliest writings about it says that the founders would walk the path of the rose. The path is on very old maps of the town. It leads us past all of their markers and buildings until it leads us to the city park. This year, we will not be entering the park as in years past. Sadly, we've had a tragedy this year and out of respect the ghost walk will end there." He nodded to Sable who smiled and bowed her head slightly to him.

"Usually we follow the last known markers to the very end at 'All Hallows' Hill'. But this is not a tradition for the faint of heart. Over the years, people have claimed to see more than architecture as we walk."

"Margaret," the mayor said, "if you please."

Margaret Bismark appeared from somewhere behind the Mayor, carrying a brightly shining lamp.

"This is the original lamp," he told the crowd, "that the Smiths handcrafted for the ghost walk."

It was a golden plated lamp with oil and wick, burning brightly. Margaret opened the glass door and the mayor put the wick of his candle in to light it.

"I will now read from the inscription on the lamp," he said as Margaret closed the door.

"This is the eternal flame of wisdom; kissed by the Zephyr wind. Let it burn bright in our hearts on this night as we search the hidden paths for the few who stand on the ocean and the land. We beseech their favor to guide us where spirits walk."

The crowd cheered as Mayor Bismark lit Margaret's candle and then the flame was passed slowly through the crowd. Mayor Bismark began to walk down the gazebo steps and around the whole Gazebo as the crowd began to follow him in a circular pattern. The crowd formed a line of about 5 people wide as it spread out to follow the path of the rose.

"I love our silly little town," Mendalie said as they walked. She was on Runa's left side. Brian held on to Runa's right arm.

"Yeah," Runa answered her, "Me too."

Runa looked up and saw Grant in one of the other circles that had formed to follow the line. He looked up at her and looked away. He was walking with his grandmother, Eleanor Ravensdale. She noticed them looking at each other.

"Grant dear," Eleanor told him, "You don't have to walk with an old woman. You can go at your own pace."

"No way grandma," he told her. "I'm only here to spend time with you tonight."

He looked back at Runa and saw Brian holding her very tightly around the wrist. He lowered his eyebrows.

"Well, you are a gentleman. You always were. Someday, you'll have a girl your own age to walk with." Eleanor smiled at him.