To the little Mycelium in golden foils,

Today and thereafter, our little lessons will have to come to a stop. I saw you with pleasure as you improved from a brambling bush to something with gest of beauty. You have impressed me. The reason our lessons came to an end is no fault of yours but a decision that has simmered since the garden date with all your friends. There are things that we all must do to survive our fate. Things we might all want to avoid another time… Since we might never meet again, I would like to leave with you my story out of my own fear of being forgotten.

I had a quite strange life, to say the least. My father was a faceless soldier to me, but someone nostalgic to my mother, who took care of me with only her own hands. She used to work on prettying the lady inside the inner palace in the capital. I learned how to make my own ‘masks’ from her as her assistant – men weren’t allowed near the emperor’s women after all. I saw the beauty of the world by following my mother and learning from her. The glitter of that world was just that: glitter. Like tea leaves in a sculpted box of rare wood, some parts are of exceedingly bad quality only when observed close; they avoid being thrown away under the guise of hiding among stars. Or simply said with a similar meaning: a bad apple worsens the lot. Yet, you still consume the rotten one… My mother got into a fight due to unwarranted jealousy. The reason was that the emperor glanced at her for a second… a thing this wolf does to everyone. Dinner came, and my mother was pressured to eat at the same table as those stagnant leaves full of envy. She hasn’t recovered since that day—poison, I think. Honestly, I don’t know what they did to this great person.

As she was my guiding light, I became hers and used the skills she taught me to make my living. In my early days, I met an old client of my mother. Someone who didn’t have a face of their own and traveled with only a dried white hibiscus as an ornament. From old to young, man to woman, or beautiful to ugly, once that small flower came into my view, I knew for certain who I had before me. Without any real physical appearance, they were the most beautiful person I ever knew. They didn’t need the usual glitter to hide their rotten core, and they distanced themself from others so as not to be tied to them. I loved them. But when I shared my feelings with this strange being, they simply disappeared the next day. Since then, my life has been a perfection of my beauty so that I may enter their sight once more. My quest unfortunately led me to be noticed by the ugliest people I could imagine. So, with my shine starting to fade at this intersection of fate, I believe it is time to use the skill one last time to lure the largest fish with reserved strength able to protect many. Hopefully, my beauty will be able to save many people…

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

So, my little Mycelium, do take care of yourself. I have left you a present at the location written below. I hope you will continue to improve even when I’m not present, and do not forget to nurture your friends, which are all part of what makes you beautiful. If we meet again, allow me to see your dance while I brew you a warm cup of tea.

Lotus

.

.

.

❀

Tsuki had read the letter Lotus left her a few times, with a ball of sadness growing each time in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she would never be able to meet them ever again. If only she knew that the day prior would be their last meeting, she would have said a lot more.

She wanted to cry, but no tears came out. The mood was too depressing to even do anything really. Instead, she looked at the gift that was left for her. It was a jade brush and Tsuki’s favorite tea leaves, which Lotus would often make.

The girl, all alone, lit a fire to boil water and prepared two cups with what was gifted to her. Slowly, she filled the cups, detailed with the cloisonné of a large tree. Her small fingers brushed against the rough surface with complex textures and put her lips on the lid. The liquid went down calmly: bitter. An hour went by, and all that was left was an untouched cup for a seat without any owner.

✤

Hours later, when Tsuki left, someone came to the usual meeting place. They let their fingers glide across every surface until they found a small nick in a wooden desk. Pushing on it opened a compartment where a picture of a boy, his mother, and a cat with a white hibiscus was protected. The person took the picture and left, a peculiar flower on their belt…