Flame in the Mist

I’ve never been angry to have been born a woman. There have been times I’ve been angry at how the world treats us, but I see being a woman as a challenge I must fight. Like being born under a stormy sky. Some people are lucky enough to be born on a bright summer’s day. Maybe we were born under clouds. No wind. No rain. Just a mountain of clouds we must climb each morning so that we may see the sun.

I believe the stars align so souls can find one another. Whether they are meant to be souls in love or souls in life remains to be seen.

Be as swift as the wind. As silent as the forest. As fierce as the fire. As unshakable as the mountain. And you can do anything...

You are first and foremost a person. A reckless, foolish person, but a person nonetheless. If I ever say you are not permitted to do something, rest assured that the last reason I would ever say so would be because you are a girl.

Sometimes we must fall forward to keep moving. Remain motionless—remain unyielding—and you are as good as dead. Death follows indecision, like a twisted shadow. Fall forward. Keep moving. Even if you must pick yourself up first.

If I am marching to my death, then I will march to it as a girl. Without fear.

The only power any man has over you is the power you give him.

You don't know the beginning of me." She trembled as she spoke. "And . . . you will never see the end.

There is such strength in being a woman. But it is a strength you must choose for yourself. No one can choose it for you. We can bend the wind to our ear if we would only try.

Until nothing at all existed between them. But shared breaths. And unspoken promises. Lies. And unshakable truth.

The stars could fall - the moon could crash from the heavens - and Mariko could not care.

Beautiful words were beautiful words, even to the most practical of minds.

The entire time she'd watched him - waited for him to join her, even in death - her features had remained serene. A flame in the mist.

But Mariko knew it was time to do more. Time to be more. She would not die a coward. Mariko was the daughter of a samurai. The sister of the Dragon of Kai. But more than that, she still held power over her decisions. For at least this one last day. She would face her enemy. And die with honor.

Bravery did not come to her naturally. She spent too much time weighing her options to be brave. Too much time calculating the many paths before her. But Mariko knew it was time to do more. Time to be more. She would not die a coward.

She remembered Chiyo telling her that finding one's match was like finding one's other half. Mariko had never understood the notion. She was not a half. She was wholly her own.

The air between them filled with all that remained unsaid. All that should be said. Yet wasn't.

Control is an illusion. Expectations will not rule my days. Not anymore.

Perhaps true weakness is weakness of the spirit

Curious had been the word most often ascribed to her when she was younger. She’d been the watchful sort of child. The one conscious of every mistake. When Mariko had erred, it had usually been intentional. An attempt to push barriers. Or a desire to learn. Usually it was that. A wish to know more. As she grew from a curious child into an even more curious young woman, the word she most often overheard at her back was odd. Much too odd. Far too prone to asking questions. Far too apt to linger in places she wasn’t meant to be.

Words are foolish. Promises are useless. Anyone can say anything to get what it is they desire. Believe in actions and actions alone.

Stay or go. I leave it to you. But you are welcome always. In all ways.

I deny being a slave to any one thing. In any situation we can choose who we are and choose who we want to be.

Are you ever angry you were born a woman?" "I've never been angry to have been born a woman. There have been times I've been angry at how the world treats us.

She refused to die like an animal locked in a cage. Like a girl with nothing to save her name. Better to die by the sword. Better to die at the mercy of the nightbeasts. To die in the night air. Free.

Believe in actions and actions alone.

This boy did not take steps. He glided like a shark through the water. And like the sea, the members of the Black Clan parted around him

She’d fought off her assailant. And in doing so, she’d displayed one of the seven virtues of bushidō: Courage. The way of the warrior. Mariko