Mortal

Grace Danqing Yang ‘26

“You cut off my wings,” she said. “All those years ago. Thank you.” They tensed, bringing a hand to their sword. Her serene smile wouldn’t last; they’d have to fend off an attack any second.

“I had been flying so long that they bled and bled. When you cut them off, I had to use my legs again. I had to learn how to walk.

“So I did. I taught myself to walk, to roam halls of a castle I had long abandoned. Then to run. I hadn’t remembered that you could fly like that on the ground. And I taught myself to dance again.” She smiled. “Remember how I cried? When I finally surrendered to you?”

“You couldn’t believe you were mortal,” they said slowly. They gripped the hilt of their weapon, still in its sheath.

She glanced at the hilt of their sword, at their apprehensive posture. She spread her hands to show they were empty. “Yep! I thought I had to be above human. I thought the stardust I earned was everything. When you stole that from me, I shattered. You plunged me in the dark, so I made my own light.”

So she wasn’t going to attack? “You’re... welcome?” She laughed softly and walked away, footsteps echoing in the distance.