East
Home to where the birds go to chase fate. Across a river of hidden stars – the ferocious melting, beating down their feathers. A bridge of bodies, a nook to hold dreams. Their wings cracking under the weight of defiance, shattering in the wind.
Their tears drift and settle on the top, twinkling.
West
Koi the keeper of flame. Guardian of the bodies swelling with the tide. Beating on the great wall. She had cried, the salt like crystals, burning the surface – and the sea saw through it. Eating the gems with a breath.
North
A hole to the sky. Round, a gasp echoing on the bottom. It screams, veins the ropes reaching in to pull it out. It’s legs straining, skin taut. A howl on the circular moon, glittering on the surface. Unaware of the lake around it.
South
Where the sun never reaches, the shell is the most golden. Dulled and cracked, arched to the sky full of riches. Yet still shining.
By Sophia Li
