Taotie’s Mouth Everyone is searching,yet forgets their own guilt.We gorge ourselves on desire,yet fear we will fall into its endless cycle. In the distant East,饕餮 (Taotie) is a monster of darkness—nothing but an infinite mouth,no fur, no solid body, only hunger.It devours everything within its reach,crawling through the invisible web of sin. It rises from…

Arrival Before the Rose Dream Ends He says he’ll arrive in Portland tomorrow.It’s his turn to pay—In the silence before the restaurant opens,he arrives early. A self-serve hot pot,steam rising to fend off winter.The union of dead volcanoes and roses,perfect in his mind—a scene from an Italian art film,woven into the hum of lobby music.…