Lace Serpent

This theme came from a late-April night walk. I got lost on the mountain behind an abandoned Mazu temple in southern Fujian, phone dead, only moonlight filtering through banyan canopy to illuminate cold green moss in stone-step crevices, and a small snake crossing slowly—it stopped, met my gaze, serpent eyes in darkness like two wet emeralds. No fear in that moment, only a reciprocal being-seen. Later I read earlier versions of the Medusa myth, realizing 'monster' is often a product of narrative power. What this set seeks to preserve is dignity after transformation: serpent scales not threat but new skin; moonlight not salvation but condition of coexistence. The oxidized quality of old silver is deliberate—too-new silver seems eager for admiration, while time-softened bluntness comes closer to my memory-temperature of that night.