This is a story I heard from my grandmother, who came from a far province in the west during a time when spirits still walked among us. There was once a young nun of a monastery who went by the name 寒鴉 (kan’a), or Winter Crow. Quiet and composed, she always wore black robes that… Read more The Fox and the Crow

Once upon a time, a man and a woman crossed each other’s paths, and fell instantly in love. And so they ran, in opposite directions. The woman came to a lake, and she began to cry. ‘There has been a war in my womb,’ she said ‘There has been a war in my womb What… Read more The Union

Once upon our time. The brothers Rose live in a concrete forest. High up among the choking fog they have a small brick hut; up there with all the other brick huts, another blinking light in the darkness. The elder Rose is a hunter- he tracks wild images across the cityscape and imprisons them forever… Read more The Brothers Rose

Aurelia walked along the path, the oil lamp swinging from her hand cast shadows around her which ebbed and flowed like pools of ink. She wasn’t supposed to be out here, she knew better, and was guaranteed a red ear if her parents discovered her absence. She’d waited anxiously till the sounds in the house… Read more Stay The Course

Greece was finished. It was time to head north, leave the ruins and the olive groves to the new refugees clambering on the rocky shores of the islands. The time of gods was long gone, even in the Peloponnese. But before she left the scene, she needed to visit Delphi. ‘Will I ever see him… Read more The Deer Hunter

By order of His Majesty the King, all spindles and spinning wheels are henceforth forbidden within  the borders of the Kingdom, on pain of death. Hear me, Sister Spinsters, and feel the full weight of this egregious edict. We spinsters, the lowliest in the kingdom, without wealth or property, husband or prospects, are being unjustly… Read more The Spinster Sisters Revolt

“Is that the bird, Atuk?” Arif wrinkles his sweaty forehead. A penguin-like fowl is perching upside down on the Angsana tree, swaying to and fro against the wind. It uses only one foot to grab the branch. It is ominous if it perches upright on the roofs of homes with young infants or pregnant ladies.… Read more The Upside-Down Bird

Frogworth the frog sat on a lily pad near the edge of his pond. It was a quiet day and just a bit boring. The lily pad shook. He opened one eye to see a small turtle sticking a head up on the other end. ‘Thought I’d best come warn you. Looks like that bucket… Read more A Princess and Frogworth

The sea strikes against the rocks, sending up billows of white spray. The drops strike Perseus’s cheeks and coat his lips with salt. He wipes his mouth and looks out at the bleak coastline. A sheer cliff plunges into ocean depths, bare rock burning under the sun’s fierce eye. A set of empty chains nailed… Read more The Head of Medusa

Mexico City, 1946 The mural was not going well. The Great Artist glared at his half-finished wall, as if it was at fault. His plastering assistant worked in silence, scooping fresh lime paste with a shaky hand. The trowel’s unsteady edge gouged the wall’s fresh coat. The Artist hissed. The plasterer hastily smoothed the error.… Read more Wind and Wisdom