Rain had been falling on the village since morning, and forty paper lanterns hung dark up the hill path. Squirtle said, "My brother Wooper is walking up tonight. He has never done it in the dark." Charmander looked at the path, then at his own tail. He put one hand over the flame.
Charmander went out to the first lantern and leaned his tail close. A drop landed on the flame and it shrank down to a bead. He backed under the eaves quickly. "One more," he said, looking up the long dark hill. "Thirty-nine more."
Then Squirtle came up behind him and leaned right over Charmander's tail. The rain ran off Squirtle's shell instead. They went up the path that way, close together, lighting one lantern and then the next. "One more," said Charmander at each pole, until there were no more.
At the top the path burned gold all the way down to the harbour, and Wooper was already climbing it. Squirtle ran to meet him. Then he stopped and turned around, because behind him Charmander's tail had gone down to a small orange bead.
Squirtle lifted the nearest lantern off its pole and held it low, under Charmander's tail, out of the rain. The bead grew, and steadied, and grew. "One more," said Squirtle. Then Wooper took the next lantern, and the three of them walked home down forty warm lights.
