A Thousand Steps into Night

by Traci Chee

“I think you believe you ought to be small,” he said softly, almost meditatively. “I think you have been taught that greatness does not belong to you, and that to want it is perverse. I think you have folded yourself into the shape that others expect of you; but that shape does not suit you, has never suited you, and all your young life, you have been dying to be free of it.”

No, what she wanted were a man’s privileges, and at that moment it was abundantly clear to her that neither she nor anyone else should have to be a man to have them.

“I think you could be happy all the time, if you allowed it.”

Was birthing a monster worse than being one?

“It’s not hurt if it’s gift. We help you, you help us. That’s how it works, yes? Everyone needs everyone, and no one gets what they want alone.”

things ended, whether you wanted them to or not, and rarely in the way you hoped. In such circumstances, the best you could do was tighten your belt and carry on.