Larissa Lai

We all know that joy and sorrow are entirely matters of fate and have nothing whatsoever to do with planning.

The library was a great sprawling complex with rolls and rolls of paper tucked into many shelves. Between the reading rooms were courtyards with living fountains and singing birds and butterflies that would transform into handsome young women to guide or entertain anyone who stayed there any length of time. I saw one among the stacks, explaining an older style of calligraphy to the newly appointed Heavenly Marine Official of the South China Sea. In another wing, a librarian stepped from her chrysalis for the first time, reciting T__ng Dynasty poetry to the flowers. That__ how I knew I was in the right section.