Page 126 of The Girl with a Thousand Faces
I’m not sure I’d ever describe any of them as friends, and they definitely killed my cat, Mercy mutters.But you know, it was a long time ago. A woman’s got to move on. After everything I have done, I still hope someone forgives my mistakes, too. Therefore… yes, I can forgive them.
“Then let the haunting of Shek Ham Chau end.” I stomp my foot.
As my heel hits the ground, green vines surge from beneath, pushing up through rock. Foliage, leaves, and moss rocket in all directions, spreading across the cavern walls like a spill of green ink. You flinch, and come stand next to me for safety; I allow it.
Mercy, meanwhile, swears vehemently and retreats to the safety of the water. This must look like her nightmare made flesh, but my dreams were never meant to terrorize her, only awaken memories of the spirit that her flesh had long buried. And my power, used now, is likewise not intended to harm. I am only here to help.
Living tendrils force cracks and crevices to widen in the unfeeling stone,crumbling away years of lime and sediment and crusted earth. Rubble begins to rain down in the cavern.
Then the headland bursts open from the force of new growth and the cavern roof collapses, smashing all the way through the ancient temple. When the dust stops, you lift your head and look around.
The cavern is gone completely, the weak headland having collapsed under its weight and my power. Open sky pours from above, bright blue and heavy with hot sunlight. Rock has fallen along the former cave entrance, blocking it off from the sea and forming a crude wall that will keep out the tide. The tunnel has collapsed, too, though you cannot see that from here.
At our feet, the ocean still pools, but it cannot be replenished any longer. In time, the sun will dry it out. When it does, this will just be a grassy hollow near the sea, ringed by rocks and filled only with earth.
As for the temple—that is destroyed beyond recognition. What wasn’t smashed by the cavern roof has been destroyed by vines and bamboo, those stark green shoots engulfing the ruins. Lotus blossoms—a symbol of my power—explode into bloom, the pink-tipped petals opening wide and white to the sun. Giant taro spreads huge leaves, covering many sins.
Soon, in a matter of weeks or months, this place will be swallowed by nature, with no trace of its past remaining on the surface.
The growth doesn’t stop there. All around the island, vines and trees and bamboo groves and mangrove shrubs are surging, engulfing buildings and smoothing over their presence. The land remembers what was done to it, but it will find ways to grow around the damage. Much as the human heart can also do.
“You… destroyed your own shrine,” you say, stunned.
“All things come to an end. No one has prayed at my temple in almost half a century.” I pause. “Once it was a place of light and joy, but now it has become a nexus of darkness, sorrow, and pain, to which these unfortunate souls were bound.”
A wind picks up and on it, you can hear the cry of a multitude of ghosts. Their voices are a chorus, loud and searing. The noise rises to its peak and then, one by one, they begin to gradually fade. I feel each one like a plucked lute string as they dissipate, and an invisible weight seems to lift from the island.
“Is that it, then?” you say, awed. “Are they finally at peace?”
“Until the next life, yes.”
I’m glad, Mercy says softly, from the shrinking pool where she lurks.I never meant them to suffer so long.
“Nor did they mean that for you, I am certain.” I turn slightly, her bones still cradled in my arms. “Siu Yin, if you are both ready, the time has come to bury Mei Chi’s remains.”
“What will happen, when I do?” you say, suddenly apprehensive.
It’s a natural reaction, that fear. After all, Mercy has been the center of your thoughts for decades. It’s terrifying, the thought of letting go.
Who even are you, without your hate?
“Truthfully, I am not quite sure what will happen,” I admit, and smile at your startlement. It is not every day that a deity confesses to ignorance. “I know that in a few days, you will settle into your body, as you would into any other skin. Likely, you will forget your memories of being a ghost, experiencing a kind of rebirth. But after that—well, it is anyone’s guess.”
“A death and a rebirth, all at once,” you muse.
“Yes. And I will be there to guide you through this rebirth,” I say, holding your mortal gaze with my divine one. “Only when you are fully human can your forgiveness have enough power to lay Mei Chi to rest. It is no longer her own anger that keeps her here, but yours.”
You stare back and forth, between me and the mostly submerged Mercy. “Am I not human now?”
“No. You are still a ghost in a transient shell. It is not quite the same.”
“What happens if I settle into my skin, you tell me the truth about myself, and I can’t then forgive?”
“Then what will be, will be,” I say, simply.
“I see.” You glance up at the island, rapidly greening in the distance, all soft and quiet and empty; you look back at Mercy, hovering and silent in her tepid pool—all that remains of the cavern.
Slowly, you walk over to her and crouch down.
