Li wrapped Jing-sei in some of his wife’s old silk scarves and placed Chun Wa’s cherished jade pendant, the only valuable thing left of hers, around the baby’s neck. The necklace was much too large for her, of course, but a strange thing happened when it was placed on her – the crying stopped instantly.

Li looked down at the suddenly quiet infant, her bright dark eyes shining up at him. His resolve wavered for a moment, but then his wife’s beloved face swam in his mind’s eye again. He took a deep breath and then opened the door. Holding the baby tight against his breast, Li stepped out into the night. A sharp breeze from the mountain was sweeping across the valley. A bird’s mournful cry could be heard in the treetops. The sky was starless, infinite.

Li reached the mountain at daybreak, when the sky was turning a color similar to that found inside of a shell, that iridescent and pure. Li took one last look at his daughter and then placed the sleeping infant at the foot of the mountain and walked away.