The Parade Finds Its Way

Lila pointed at the pavement. “My arrow has turned into a puddle!”

Firefighter Andre crouched beside her. The chalk arrow that had pointed from Maple Park toward the town square was gone. Rain had washed it away, leaving only a pale smudge beside a puddle.

“Oh, crumbs,” said Lila. She held her yellow umbrella over both of them. “The parade is supposed to follow my arrows.”

Andre looked toward the park gate. Neighbors were gathering there with paper flowers, little drums, and umbrellas in every color. A small wagon carried a bunch of balloons that bobbed whenever the breeze nudged them. Andre wanted to guide the parade all the way to the square, where everyone could sing together.

“We’ll find a way,” he said. “You made the arrows, so you know the route best.”

Lila’s face brightened. “I drew them after breakfast. First we go past the bakery. Then we see the big clock. After that, it’s just one more turn.”

A woman with a tambourine came over. “Are we ready to start?”

“Almost,” Andre answered. “We’re checking the path.”

He stood and looked down the street. The rain had stopped, though drops still clung to the tree leaves. The pavement shone in places, and the park gate stood open like a friendly doorway.

Andre walked to the gate with Lila beside him. They looked left, then right. At the corner, the street split in two. One way curved past a row of houses. The other dipped behind the library.

“Which one?” Andre asked.

Lila studied the corner. “I’m not sure from here. My arrows showed us.”

Behind them, the parade waited patiently. A little boy tapped his drum: bum, bum, bum. The balloon wagon squeaked as it rolled half an inch.

Andre raised a hand to let everyone know they were still working it out. “We don’t have to hurry,” he said. “Let’s see what we can recognize along the way.”

Lila peered down both streets. A warm smell of cinnamon floated from somewhere nearby. She sniffed and pointed. “That might be the bakery!”

Together, they started toward the corner, ready to follow the clues the neighborhood already knew.

At the fork, the cinnamon smell grew stronger. Lila turned toward the street with the houses. “The bakery is that way. I remember its striped awning!”

Andre nodded. “That’s a good clue. Let’s check before we lead everyone.”

They walked a little farther. Around the bend, a bakery stood with a red-and-white awning stretched over its front windows. A baker inside lifted a hand in greeting. Lila waved back.

“So the parade goes past the bakery,” she said. “And then we look for the big clock.”

Andre turned to the neighbors. “We’ve found our first landmark! Follow us past the striped awning.”

The parade began to move. Drums went bum-bum, tambourines jingled, and the little wagon squeaked along behind them. Everyone kept to the sidewalk and walked at an easy pace. Andre and Lila went ahead, calling back when the street bent or a driveway crossed their path.

“Bakery on our left!” Lila called.

“Thank you!” called the woman with the tambourine.

Past the bakery, the road opened into a small square of gardens. But there were two streets ahead, and neither had a chalk arrow. Lila looked up at the rooftops. For a moment, she couldn’t see the clock.

Andre pointed to the tallest building. “Let’s look from the garden gate.”

They stepped to the gate and spotted the town clock beyond the rooftops. Its round face showed two o’clock. “There it is!” Lila said. The clock stood above the next street, just where she remembered it.

“The route passes the big clock,” Andre called to the parade. “We’re going toward it!”

The group turned the right way. A child in a raincoat marched beside the wagon, keeping time with the drums. When they reached the clock, Lila pointed toward the town square’s stone fountain, just ahead.

“There’s our last landmark!” she said.

The parade followed her voice around the corner. They stepped onto the square, where the pavement beneath the broad roof of the bandstand was dry. Andre smiled at Lila. She took a piece of chalk from her pocket and drew a fresh arrow on the dry pavement, pointing back toward the park.

“Now the next parade can find its way, too,” Andre said.

The neighbors gathered around the fountain. The drums quieted, one by one, until only a soft tap-tap came from the little boy who had carried his drum all the way from the park.

Someone passed around warm rolls from the bakery. Lila chose one with a little twist of sugar on top. Andre sat on the edge of the bandstand and rested his elbows on his knees. His firefighter jacket had a few raindrops on the sleeves, and Lila’s yellow umbrella leaned against the stone step.

“Your landmarks worked,” Andre told her.

Lila took a bite of her roll. “The awning and the clock were easy to remember.”

“And you remembered them just when we needed them.”

She smiled. “I liked being a parade guide.”

A neighbor began a song about a marching duck. Everyone joined in, even the balloon wagon’s squeaky wheel, which made a little eek at the end of each verse. When the song finished, the children bowed and the grown-ups clapped.

The clouds had thinned, and the square felt cozy beneath the rooftops. Andre helped fold a picnic blanket. Lila gathered a few damp paper flowers, careful not to bend their bright petals. Nobody was in a rush. There was time to chat about the parade, the cinnamon smell, and the funny squeak of the wagon.

At last, families began walking home in small groups. The drummer carried his drum under one arm. The baker waved from his doorway. Andre and Lila stayed by the bandstand as the parade slowly thinned, the last bright umbrella disappearing into the square.

“Do you think we’ll need arrows again?” Lila asked.

“Maybe,” Andre said. “And now we know landmarks can help, too.”

Lila looked back toward the street they had followed. The striped awning was far away, but she could picture it clearly. She could picture the big clock above the rooftops, and the fountain waiting in the square.

Then she picked up her umbrella, and Andre walked beside her toward home. Their steps made quiet pats on the damp sidewalk. The evening settled around the neighborhood, while the parade’s cheerful tune stayed with them all the way to their doors.