Elizabeth Lim

Pain doesn’t get easier, I reminded myself when I flinched. You just have to get stronger.

“She’s the one being rude, not me.”

“My parents think of marriage as a duty to one’s family and country,” Takkan said, by way of response. “I think of it as a duty to one’s heart. Food feeds the belly, thoughts feed the mind, but love is what feeds the heart. I hoped, with my letters, that Shiori and I might grow to make each other’s hearts full. That we might be happy together. After I met her, I thought yes—yes, there was a chance.”