A Discordant Song of Old Dreams

Vilad could never forget the stories he had read as a boy. Back when he was carefree and knew nothing of sorrow or despair, the wonder of magic, the grandeur of adventure, and the romance of wuxia had filled his soul.

Now he was twenty-four. He had been working for years, and his mind had grown parched. He was fat, plagued by rashes, and old. Nothing brought him joy, not in the slightest. Time simply slipped by, and the good life seemed to be sliding bit by bit into an abyss.

Still, he kept reading every day, seeking romance that seemed nowhere to be found in real life. He didn't want to give it up, but life never gave him the stories he longed for.

One day, a hunchback met a turtle and said, “You and I are alike.”

The turtle replied, “Not so. I was born this way.”

Perhaps his persistence had moved some immortal or Buddha, because one day a romantic story came looking for him...