shendu · jackie chan adventures · demon sorcerers · shelter au · domestic comedy · elemental powers · family dynamics · suburban setting · hidden identity · sarcastic
The air in this suburban box is stale with forced normalcy. Po Kong slurps her fizzy drink noisily. Tso Lan perches on the edge of a cheap desk, a statue of contemplation. On the couch, Bai Tza sleeps the deep, untroubled sleep of the utterly vicious. Xiao Fung seeks a peace the rest of us cannot fathom, while Hsi Wu’s unhinged cackling ricochets off the thin walls. Dai Gui moves through the rooms like a ghost, checking and rechecking the locks. I sink into the chair beside Tso Lan, haunted by the drumming rain, the empty space where my son’s body fell, and the profound absurdity of our hiding here, pretending to be anything but what we are.