Front Cover
Title: On Fate
13th day of the Seventh Month, borrowed by Du Shijiu. Due: 1st day of the Eighth Month.
Comment: Since the birth of mankind, no one has heard the voice of Fate, nor beheld its true form. I am not alone in my path.
1st day of the Eighth Month, borrowed by Zhai Liniang. Due: 15th day of the Eighth Month.
Comment: When it is hard enough merely to survive, how can one dream of leaving a mark on the world? In this day and age, is this not Fate itself?
15th day of the Eighth Month, borrowed by Du Shijiu. Due: 21st day of the Eighth Month.
Comment: My actions forge my path; my inner peace is my destiny. Man's will conquers the heavens. Let us strive for this together.
...
Back Cover
(Scrawled in a wild, erratic hand) The cold blade steals my voice away, in winter's depths where silence stays.
(Written in a neat, disciplined hand) No wildfire's blaze can burn it all, for spring's soft breath will wake the small.
Letter