I think I've been able to see certain things since I was little, but I'm pretty thick-skinned and never paid much attention. It wasn't until I stepped into a different world that I thought it over and realized those things had all been spirits and monsters.
When did I first start seeing them? I think I was about five. I could remember things by then. My family lived on an island. Long ago, it was so remote that even the emperor's authority barely reached it, and it's still much the same today. Though it's part of Suzhou, it's in a very isolated rural area. Back then there was no bridge, and the only way to get around was by boat. There was little trade, and people were mostly self-sufficient. My dad was a child when disaster struck. A family of seven that had once managed to keep food on the table suddenly began living off its savings. Thankfully, my capable grandmother shouldered all the work for the family. In the end, at least none of us starved to death, though I don't know how many people in the village died that year. Some starved, some died of heat, and some were so desperate they decided death was better. By the time my dad and uncle grew up and my aunt got married, my dad and uncle began trying to make a living on their own. They delivered newspapers and milk, and did all kinds of dirty, hard work as long as it paid. My dad even twisted rebar. Later, after he married my mom and I was born, he started a business and opened a restaurant made of wood. Oh, I think he ran a bookstore before I was born, but it went under pretty quickly.
