Later that night, all the villagers walked down to the river, accompanied by their loved ones’ spirits. Each villager held a glowing lantern in their hands. As they got to the river’s edge, they set the lanterns in the water, watching the current pull them away. They each said their last good-byes to their loved ones, then they turned and headed back to the village.

Kubo made another altar on the riverbank. He put two new paper lanterns on top of it, then knelt down. “Hello, Mother; hello, Father,” he said. “I know my stories can tend to get a little, um, long… so I’ll keep this brief. I am very grateful I had the chance to meet you both. Hear your wisdom. Feel your kindness. Even eat a meal sitting between you. This was a happy story… but it could still be a whole lot happier.”

He took a deep breath, feeling his eye well with tears. “I don’t know exactly what the rules are or how this works. But, you know… I still need you. So I could say this has been a happy story, or I could feel it. We could all feel it. And then we could end this story… together.”

He looked up, and light spilled across his face. Then he heard the first beautiful notes of a familiar song: “The Song of the Dead.”

Hundreds of paper lamps floated out to sea. Kubo watched as each one lifted into the air and refolded itself, coming together to form a giant paper bird. It was the glowing golden heron, and its light was brighter than ever before.

Kubo smiled, a tear falling down his cheek. His parents were on either side of him. They were there, he knew they were—Hanzo and his mother, their hands on each of his shoulders. For the first time in his life, he didn’t need to see them or hear them.… He could feel their presence. They were with him, always.

Hundreds of paper lanterns lifted off the river, folding into paper birds to join the rest of the flock. The light danced over Kubo’s face. He watched as they circled the sky, darting this way and that in one spectacular display of beauty.

“The end,” he whispered, clutching his parents’ hands.

And with that, an even more beautiful story began.…