Chapters (30)
Akki plunges his hand into the human’s face.
Andrew thrashes awake on the carpeted floor. “Oh, thank God.” It was all a horrible dream. He presses his hands over his face. Something feels wrong. His eyes. “What the fuck?” He feels around in the dark until his hands meet the wall. The wall comes to a stop. The bathroom. He pulls himself in, fumbling for the light switch to look — or try to look — in the mirror. He sees nothing. For there is nothing for him with which to see.
“No … no!” He feels around in the empty sockets. “It’s not possible!”
But it is. The demon had taken a perfectly good pair of eyes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I gotta give props to God for bringing me in the presence of all the influences (human or otherwise) that led to 夢, and for carrying me through the toughest times. Me da Nyame ase.
Second, I want to acknowledge the driving forces behind the books that helped me get the yokai names and details just right: An Introduction to Yokai Culture: Monsters, Ghosts, and Outsiders in Japanese History by Komatsu Kazuhiko, Even Monkeys Fall from Trees: The Wit and Wisdom of Japanese Proverbs, Volume 1 by Jun Hashimoto and David Galef, The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore by Michael Dylan Foster, Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt, ARTBOX ゆるかわ妖怪絵 by Toshinobu Yasumura, and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, which inspired me to shape my dreams and experiences into something comprehensible and shareable. Japanese Wikipedia helped a lot, too.
Finally, I have several humans to thank:
Team 夢 at Dundurn Press, with an especially big fat thanks to Whitney and Cheryl for their patience and advice, and to Scott for taking the risk!
My translation team and my creativity crew: Nina, Atsuko, Megumi, Hiroko, Norie, Eileen, Heidi, Hamish, Michael, Jessica, Amanda, Christina, Richard, Candace, Katie, Marion, Tamara, and Sarah, who all cheered me on at some point in the process and never made fun of me once.
Marcia and the JET Programme, for giving me the chance to go back.
Lora, for re-introducing me to the world of writing.
Jesmond, for his expertise and generosity.
Everyone behind the well-timed “From Eery [sic] to Endearing: Yokai in the Arts of Japan” exhibit at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in 2016, and the patient staff and security who let me wander around until closing time.
The Toronto Horror Writers for their critiques that helped me in making certain scenes nice and gruesome.
Laura, for taking an awesome photo of me.
Last but not least, I want to thank my mother, Angelina, my sister Liesl, and (again) my best friend Nina for withholding all major judgements about me and the contents of this book, as they have always done with all my weirdness — hopefully they read this page first.