The second story in Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women is “Kapre: A Love Story” by Rin Chupeco, and this is my kind of romance. There is no sappy ego messing everything up. No simpering princess looking for adoration. There is only love—pure, imperfect and true. If you fall in love with a monster, this is how it is. Honest.
And if we are being honest, I have to admit I cried at the end of this short story. Chupeco caught me up so deep in the selflessness of Kapre the end came, in many ways, like a death. I had experienced a lifetime with these characters in just a few short pages. When it was over I was overcome with loss… but it came with a gift.
The concept of love is something we pretend to know all about, yet so few of us practice it. We bandy the word around like it’s something magic—which it is—but without action it stays stagnant. In this story we see love working, alive and changing things—even beyond the grave.
To learn how to love, perhaps we need monsters for lessons.
“Kapre: A Love Story” by Rin Chupeco is the second story in Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women an anthology of Asian women in horror. Despite an unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. She is represented by Rebecca Podos of the Helen Rees Agency.
Sign up at her newsletter to receive updates on new books, author events, and giveaways!
Get your copy of Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women
direct from the publisher here.
Find out about the other stories
in Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women (and more)
here under the #amreading tag.
Related links:
Black Cranes: A Review in Verse by Renata Pavrey | Tomes and Tales
Skeleton Hour 04: Black Cranes | Horror Writers
Black Cranes Release Day Panel | Omnium Gatherum
Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women by Lee Murray I | Gingernuts of Horror
Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women by Lee Murray II | Gingernuts of Horror
Meet Black Crane Lee Murray | AngelaYurikoSmith.com
Meet Black Crane Grace Chan | AngelaYurikoSmith.com
Meet Black Crane Geneve Flynn | AngelaYurikoSmith.com