unclouded eyes

The world is full of spirits.

Asato, too young for an adult name or adult thoughts, tilts his head to look up at the setting sun and sees a flaming bird who spreads red wings across the arch of the sky, from east to west, as though to embrace him. The wind is full of tigers, white-furred, steel-clawed, and the river sings of dragons as it coils down towards the sea. He stands on the back of a great tortoise, and feels its pulse deep beneath his feet.

He tries to explain this. He tries. He really tries.

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