A Thousand Steps into Night

by Traci Chee

Being ceramic, the teacups were nervous by nature, but Miuko’s clumsiness had so increased their anxiety that it seemed all she had to do was look at them, and they’d shatter.

MIUKO’S FIRST THOUGHT was that she was having the first kiss of her life, and she was having it with a demon.

“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.

everyday curses, such as those inflicted by fox spirits or petty demons, could be eliminated by common priests, but only the followers of Amyunasa, the December God, could remove a curse as formidable as the kiss of a shaoha.

Perhaps she did not know how she fit into the world anymore, for she was no longer a mere girl of the servant class, but she knew her worth.

“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.”

“Come on. There is so much more out there than this.” The girl’s eyes glittered—with tears, or perhaps excitement. “For a girl?” “For anyone brave enough to look.”

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.

Over the wild blue countryside they flew, like a pair of heroes from some ancient tale or a constellation limned in stars, and not once did she look back, for she did not need to—she had the support of her loved ones behind her, and the big, beautiful world ahead.