Of course it's easy to comply when I don't really have much else that I need to gather for my paper. In fact, in the six weeks that we've been in China, I've collected more than enough to complete my research.
But something nagging at a corner of my mind keeps drawing me back to one particular area of ruins along the south China seashore. Something far more perilous than anything my mother is imagining.
Traveling in the translucent sylphide form that I can assume cuts my travel time down by half, and when I reach the overgrown ridge above the beach in advance of the steep hike down, I spend a moment letting my wandering gaze rest on the distant line of the birdsnest coral reef that I've been exploring. In the dazzling light of day, even the low rise of it is visible above the waves.
