Descendant of the Crane(113)

He didn’t bring a flint. He doesn’t need one.

He bites his thumb. Lets the blood roll.

It splatters onto the paper money.

The joss catches fire seconds later. Smoke curls heavenward, carrying with it a wish, a promise, a truth yet to be realized.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


I started writing this story in 2013, when I was younger than Hesina herself. Since then, it’s grown with me, helping me find my voice and my people. In some semblance of chronological order, my deepest thank-yous go out:

To my parents, who’ve supported me in all the ways that matter.

To my early critique partners Deborah Kreiser-Francis, Anne Cole, Jessie Devine, Rivka Gross, and Carissa Taylor. To Julia Byers; your journey made me feel less alone. To Kyra Nelson; you were the first industry professional to validate my work.

To Molly Calcagno, who helped me revise deeper than ever. To Mara Rutherford, whose one yes opened more doors than I can count.

To John Cusick, champion of this book through its many forms.

To Michella Domenici and Michelle Armfield, for your unflinching friendship and feedback. To Jamie Pacton, Kristen Ciccarelli, Joanna Hathaway, and all of Pitchwars 2015. To Kat Hinkel and Leigh Mar, the adults I aspire to be. To Kara Wolf; our turd frond-ship is a very special thing. To Megan England, Sheena Boekweg, Allie Schellong, Jenny Chou, for your perspective when I lost mine, and Danielle Rebisz Fifer, for restoring my faith in the book.

To my Soar to 1600 SAT students; I was in a summer of rewriting hell, but you made it memorable and fun. To my UPenn Chinese classes, especially EALC001 taught by Dr. Paul Goldin and TA Debbie Huang, and Li laoshi, for enriching my knowledge of the language and culture. To Jamie Lee and Lyndsi Burcham for being my Pusheen fam. To Jordy Carrick and Marisa Finkelstein, who remind me to be human.

To Christine Herman, Amanda Foody, and the cult for your support during the second round of submission.

To Eliza Swift, for taking this story in the best possible direction; Ellen Kokontis, for magicking it into a real book; and the entire team at Albert Whitman, for going above and beyond at every turn.

To Maura Milan, best publishing sister ever, for your guidance (and for Knives). To Judy Lin, for helping me through that final revision.

To Hafsah Faizal, Heather Kassner, and N. Rory Power; your generosity, grit, and talent inspire me every day. To the Novel19s; I’m so lucky to be sharing this journey with you.

To Marina Liu and June Tan, Alyssa Carlier and Grace Li. Your reads mean the world to me. To Lori Lee and Julie Dao; your words raise our community. To Krystal Song and June Hur, for making the dreaded book two a little less dreaded. To Hesina’s Imperial Court, for conspiring with me.

To Feifei Ruan, for the cover of my dreams.

To my Fanfiction.net readers, who gave me the courage to begin.

To William, who gives me the courage to go on.

To teenage me and teenagers like me. Our stories deserve to be told.