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    Insignia: Southeast Asian Fantasy: The Insignia Series, #3
    Insignia: Southeast Asian Fantasy: The Insignia Series, #3
    Insignia: Southeast Asian Fantasy: The Insignia Series, #3
    Ebook84 pages1 hour

    Insignia: Southeast Asian Fantasy: The Insignia Series, #3

    By Kelly Matsuura, Joyce Chng, Celestine Trinidad and

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    About this ebook

    INSIGNIA Vol.3 includes 7 Southeast Asian fantasy stories with a mix of literary, contemporary, myth-based, and historical fantasy pieces. Countries included are Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

    PART I:  Adventure / Folktales

    'Horse Feet' by Celestine Trinidad

    'The Third Eye' by Sheenah Freitas

    'Interlude' by Eve Shi

    'The Island' by Melvin Yong

    PART II: Adult / Literary Tales

    'Running from Shadows' by Joyce Chng

    'Never Seen' by Kelly Matsuura

    'Spirit of Regret' by Eliza Chan

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBWWP Publishing
    Release dateSep 9, 2018
    ISBN9781386964193
    Insignia: Southeast Asian Fantasy: The Insignia Series, #3
    Author

    Kelly Matsuura

    Kelly Matsuura grew up in Victoria, Australia, but always dreamed she would live abroad.  She has lived in northern China, Michigan in the US, and over ten years in Nagoya, Japan, where she now lives permanently. Kelly has published numerous short stories online; in group anthologies; and in several self-published anthologies. Her stories have been published by Visibility Fiction, Crushing Hearts & Black Butterfly Publishing, A Murder of Storytellers, and Ink and Locket Press. She majored in Asian Studies at university, and (sometimes) studies Japanese, Chinese and German. Her other hobbies include cooking, knitting, sewing, and traveling. As the creator and editor for The Insignia Series, Kelly uses her knowledge of Asian cultures to help other indie authors produce great diverse stories and to share the group's work with a new audience.

    Read more from Kelly Matsuura

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      Book preview

      Insignia - Kelly Matsuura

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

      Stories are the authors’ original work and are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons (living or dead) or real situations is coincidental.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission from the authors. Short extracts for reviews are allowed.

      Other Books in The Insignia Series:

      ‘Insignia: Japanese Stories’ (October 2013)

      ‘Insignia: Chinese Stories’ (April 2014)

      ‘Insignia: Asian Fantasy Stories’ (March 2017)

      ‘Insignia: Asian Science Fiction’ (July 2018)

      ‘Insignia: Asian Birds & Beasts’ (August 2018)

      Introduction

      Welcome to The Insignia Series! Each anthology is a collection of short Asian fantasy stories, written by writers with a passion for Asian culture and folklore, and who support diversity in fiction.

      Along with Joyce Chng and myself, we have five new contributors in this volume: Eliza Chan, Eve Shi, Celestine Trinidad, Melvin Yong, and Sheenah Freitas.

      In Part I, Celestine Trinidad and Sheenah Freitas introduce us to various Filipino mythical creatures; Eve Shi’s vignette is a poetic piece based on Indonesian folklore; and Melvin Yong’s story explores the mystery of the Singapore Stone.

      The stories in Part II have more adult themes and/or original mythology. Eliza Chan’s piece is a moving story about the repercussions of a Vietnamese couple’s difficult decision; Joyce Chng shows us the seedy world of prostitution in Singapore and what lurks in the shadows of the night. My story tells of a young witch’s sacred transformation, set in an imaginary location with Vietnamese names and elements included.

      I hope you enjoy this collection of unique stories. It certainly was a pleasure for me to put together and to work with these wonderful writers.

      Happy reading,

      Kelly Matsuura

      (Editor)

      PART I

      Adventure/Folktales

      ‘Horse Feet’ by Celestine Trinidad

      ‘The Third Eye’ by Sheenah Freitas

      ‘Interlude’ by Eve Shi

      ‘The Island’ by Melvin Yong

      HORSE FEET

      Celestine Trinidad

      ––––––––

      Maria stood before the large black horse bound to one of the trees, feeling a sudden and completely uncharacteristic pang of pity for the creature. A circle of salt had been drawn on the ground, keeping the tikbalang enclosed within its borders. Someone had thrown salt at the creature itself as well –crystals glimmered in its mane, and the portions of its skin where the salt had touched it looked raw and red, like fresh burn marks.

      He’s been like that since we caught him, Lady Sinukuan, the man standing behind her said. Kapitan Alfredo, the captain of the village of Wakas, Tayabas, was a short and stocky man, his bald head only reaching up to Maria’s shoulders. He hasn’t said anything, except when he asked for you.

      That is unusual, indeed, Maria said. Most of the time I have trouble just getting him to shut up.

      He said that he was under your protection, My Lady. Was he speaking the truth?

      Well, in a manner of speaking, I suppose he is, Maria replied.

      How do you know him?

      He is— Maria was about to say, ‘a suitor’, but stopped herself in time. That was what she thought he was in the beginning, indeed, just one out of the many suitors who sought the hand of the guardian diwata of Arayat in marriage. But—as much as she loathed to admit it—he turned out to be more than that, unsolicited though his help had been. Under the circumstances, she felt that she should acknowledge him this time. He has been of great assistance to me in some of my other cases. She hoped he really was unconscious, for if he had heard speak like this, she would never hear the end of it. What has he done, Kapitan, for him to deserve a death sentence?

      Murder, Kapitan Alfredo said bluntly.

      Murder?

      One of my servants, Ernesto, had been missing since dinner last night, Kapitan Alfredo explained. My son Felipe went to look for him, and he found Ernesto’s body in the forest. And then he saw this creature running away from the scene.

      Maria’s eyebrows furrowed as she considered the matter. And how was Ernesto killed?

      "Trampled to death, it looked like.  I saw the body myself. There were all these bruises in the shape of a horse’s hooves all over his body. Exactly how a tikbalang would kill a human."

      But Maria heard the slightest sliver of doubt in his words, so she pressed on. Did Ernesto have any enemies you know of?

      No, Kapitan said. He was a good man. Honest, hardworking, and never gave anybody grief.

      A young man came running towards them. The resemblance to the captain was striking, except that he was almost as tall as Maria, and had a full head of hair. His eyes immediately fell on Maria, and his scowl deepened.

      Lady Sinukuan. I am really sorry my father called you, but we do not need your help.

      Kapitan Alfredo glanced at Maria before turning back to his son, hands held out. Felipe, now calm down, you don’t have to—

      The truth is undeniable, and you know it, Felipe insisted. "This tikbalang killed Ernesto, and it has to answer for it."

      But execution, Felipe? Kapitan Alfredo argued. No. I do not wish to take a life without having investigated the matter thoroughly first.

      "It’s a tikbalang! Felipe yelled. An enkanto, Father, a monster! It does not deserve mercy, especially since it killed Ernesto!"

      "There are laws, procedures we have

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