What Is a Castoff to Do?

Below a peak a thousand ren high, above a cliff a hundred paces deep: a trial where nine out of ten perish. One exhausts every last effort, keeping the other alive with his blood. The other asks nothing of the past and harbors no doubts, only wishing to offer a little warmth. As it happens, one is the heart's desire, while the other cannot resist. If things could be like this, then no matter how difficult the road ahead, could it be that no one but you will do for the rest of this life? Could you feel that, even knowing it was a tragedy destined to end like a moth flying into a flame, you still couldn't help wanting to draw warmth that was never yours to claim? But do you still remember? The wings of the grasshopper, the wings of the mayfly: beautiful indeed, but lamentably born at dawn and dead by dusk.

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