The Tiger Inside

by Nasu Hasami

Orthopaedic surgeon Mulan Hua is dedicated to her career and determined to rise above the statistics of her profession. But that shouldn't mean she has to compromise on the things she wants. Surely, in the 21st Century, a girl can have everything. (Flash fiction series. Companion story to The Nightingale's Song.)

81. Freedom

The Tiger Inside

By Nasu Hasami

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"I don't hate you…I just hate all the hurt you put me through."

~Hailee Steinfield~

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81. Freedom

Perhaps because of the day and the months and the years leading to this moment, this moment where Mulan Hua is on an operating table with a sharpened pencil in her stomach, she dreams of Shan Yu.

The Shan Yu that was an airman first class and a broken Afghanistan vet. The Shan Yu that thought her father was a god.

But in her dreams, the smoke has cleared. Mulan sees the tiger inside Shan, the one crouching in the darkness, ready to strike.

In her dreams, she realizes, Shan never sees the dragon curled inside her reflection. The one that consumes her like a hurricane trapped in a bottle shaped like a body.

When Mulan's in the ICU with Shang asleep on the bed beside her, she decides it's a strange thing that Shan never saw that dragon. She's convinced, in part, that dragon is the reason Shang Li fell in love with her. Her husband certainly adores the eternal fire burning inside of her, and he does nothing but encourage her ambition and determination. Mulan knows this because Shang tells her as much whenever he can.