Golden Parade Love

The giant white marble clock tower chimed noon. The clerk's eyes lit up.

“It's time,” she said. Naoko gave her a confused look.

“Time for what?” he asked. The clerk smiled as she walked from around her counter. She grabbed the mouse boy on the wrist and rushed outside.

“Whoa!” he shouted. “Where are we going?” The clerk giggled as they came hurried outside of the shop. Everyone stood on the sidewalks, watching. Naoko looked around.

“What's going on?” he asked.

“Shhh,” the clerk said. A loud cymbal exploded through the sky. The mouse boy looked down the street. A girl dressed in blue and gold with long black ponytails danced in the middle of the street with her baton. Gold dust flew up from the ends as she twirled around. The girl paused and smiled. She threw down her baton and it exploded into rose petals. She moved aside and twelve dancers in black and purple danced and flipped around in the street. A marching band joined them with fast-paced jazz tunes. Naoko's eyes widened.

“What is this?” he asked.

“The Welcoming Party!” the clerk shouted back.

“What?!” the mouse boy asked over the loud music. A giant gold and purple float towed by two white elephants entered the frame with a shower of confetti. Shirtless men painted in gold stood on the edges under a giant purple cat with its paw up. In the center sat a curvy woman dressed in purple, sitting on a golden throne. She wore a golden crown on her head and equally gold jewelry. She held a giant red pot in her lap that bubbled silver and green. Naoko listened among the amazed crowd.

“So who is it going to be this time?”

“I don't know.”

“I hope it's me this time.”

“What's going on?” Naoko asked. “What are they talking about?” The clerk turned to him with a big smile on her face.

“Every day, they pick one new arrival to join them at the gold palace in the next circle above,” she said. “The chosen one gets to have a feast with many guests and the princess will answer one question for each guest.” Her words made the mouse boy's ears perk up. Maybe this could get him to Midori-chan faster.

“How does it work?” he asked.

“You'll have to work and see,” the clerk said. Suddenly, the dancers and the music stopped. The performers sank to their knees. The elephants stopped and cried out to the sky as the woman rose to her feet. She reached into her red pot. Everyone waited with bated breath. Naoko stared with wide eyes. The clerk crossed her fingers for him. The woman on the throne withdrew her hand and threw a golden card into the sky. It exploded into colored dust as she smiled.

“Naoko! Come forth!” she said.

“Huh?” the mouse boy asked. Before he knew it, he found himself raising into the sky and vanishing through the air. The last time he could remember was the clerk smiling and waving as she told him good luck. The performance resumed and danced all the way up to the white castle on the hill overlooking the city.