Defying Fate

The child stood beneath the tree, chin tilted up, a pair of black eyes like a fawn’s gazing wide open. He looked like an undergrown bean sprout, with a grand red eunuch’s robe hanging so loosely from him that it seemed to dangle from the tiny shoot, absurdly oversized. His outstretched hand was so thin the bones showed through. Pale blue veins stood out in clear branching lines beneath his bloodless, white skin. Blue and white framed his slender knuckles, sharply contrasting with the blazing red robe and the ornate vermilion tray painted with gold flowers.