12: Empathy For the Children of Batu
10/13/2011
Another eight-plus hours with Tapu. I’ve grown fond of that hare. On page 50 now. He’s running for the river of fire with Damu right behind him. I feel bad for Tapu and what I’m about to do to him. But it was his fate from the beginning. Poor little hare. I think I’m finally beginning to find my voice. Finally, now at the very end.
Present-Day Reflection
6/6/2026
I always feel bad about what I do to the children I a gave birth to in my fiction. Empathy is the only thing that allows it to work, and it’s the thing that keeps me coming back to it. Whenever I leave my work sitting off to the side of my life, I’m always drawn back by their need for me. I can feel their silent eyes boring into me from the shadows, waiting off in the wings for me to return so they can continue to finish living out their lives.
Even now, I feel their eyes upon me.
