A Cup of Salt Tears

by Isabel Yap

Makino's mother taught her caution, showed her how to carve her name into cucumbers, and insisted that she never let a kappa touch her. But when she grows up and her husband Tetsuya falls deathly ill, a kappa that claims to know her comes calling with a barbed promise. "A Cup of Salt Tears" is a dark fantasy leaning towards horror that asks how much someone should sacrifice for the one she loves.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Horror, Mythology, Fiction, Romance, Japan

32 pages, ebook

First published August 27, 2014

About the author

Isabel Yap writes fiction and poetry, works in the tech industry, and drinks lots of tea. She grew up in the Philippines, and has lived in San Francisco, the Bay Area, Boston, and London.

In 2013 she received her degree in Marketing from Santa Clara University, and also attended the Clarion Writers Workshop. In 2020 she obtained her MBA from Harvard Business School. She likes reading manga, playing videogames, taking photos of her smash-faced dog, and eating excellent ramen.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone once told Makino that women in grief are more beautiful. So I must be the most beautiful woman in the world right now

after reading Midway Relics and Dying Breeds and In the Sight of Akresa back-to-back, it would have been too much to ask to read another perfect free tor short right away. this one is perfectly fine, but doesn't have the density-of-story as midway or the "i will kill your heart" shock of akresa.

it's definitely still a sorrowful tale, which i love, but it's a more measured, meditative grief-study than the sudden gut-punch of akresa. it is about a japanese woman named makino, who was a beautiful young model when she married the older tetsuyato, with whom she had many happy years. now, she is becoming older, watching the new generation of young lovelies begin their journeys of love's pleasures, while tetsuyato lies in a hospital, dangerously ill.

The man she loves is dying, snowfall is filling her ears, and she is going to come apart unless somebody saves him.

makino has always loved fairy tales and fantasy, and has felt a connection to the yōkai; supernatural beings in japanese folklore. one day, while bathing in the hot springs, she is approached by one of the yōkai, but not one of the good ones, as you can see from this picture:



this is the kappa, whose rap sheet includes killing children, raping women, eating people, and trying to get at people's shirikodama, which you can read about in all its squeamish hilarity here.

but if monsterporn has taught me one thing, it is that even the most fearsome devils have a soft side. and this one has been in love with makino ever since he saved her from drowning when she was a little girl.

Your hips are pale like the moon, yet move like the curves of ink on parchment. Your eyes are broken and delicate and your hands are empty.” It drifts closer. “Your hair is hair I’ve kissed before; I do not forget the hair of women I love.

hard to resist a smooth talker…

memories are revisited, bargains are struck, consequences ensue.

it's a lovely and placid story that has a truly haunting quality to it, and if i hadn't just read two of the finest stories ever, i probably would have liked this one more. my own fault for being a free tor short glutton.



read it for yourself here:

http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/08/a-...

come to my blog!

[Simona B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's extremely atmospheric, and I appreciated that; but all in all, I found it rather empty and somehow devoid of any kind of meaning. It left me wondering "All very pretty, but what for?". The writing is delicious, but the dialogues lack bite.

The truly wonderful thing is that you can read it for free here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/08/a-...

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makino's husband is dying. She sits by his bedside and reads fairy tales aloud. But belief in fairy tales can be trouble. They are full of witches and tricksters who don't always keep their promises.

One day, Makino is visited by a kappa, a Japanese river spirit.




“I will tell you a fairytale,” the kappa says, “Because I know you love fairytales. A girl falls into a river—”
“Stop,” she says, “I don’t want to hear it.” She holds out her hands, to keep it from moving closer. “My husband is dying.”

Once she overcomes her fear, she realizes she has met this particular spirit once before. It seems to appear only when Makino is suffering and in a time of need.

This is not a fairytale, Makino knows, and she is no princess, and the moon hanging in the sky is only a moon, not a jewel hanging on a queen’s neck, not the spun silk on a weaver’s loom. The man she loves is dying, snowfall is filling her ears, and she is going to come apart unless somebody saves him.

Though happy endings are not guaranteed, fairy tales can indeed come true.

This is a beautifully written story, full of gorgeous imagery and lovely sentiments

Yet another Tor freebie available to read here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/08/a-...

[Phoenix2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story with elements of japanese folklore mixed with a contemporary story. The writer did a nice job with her character and she managed to present her in such a short length. I do wish that there was more backround about the Kappa, but overall, it was a nice short read.

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story set in contemporary Japan, about a woman grieving for her dying husband, and being rescued by a kappa. The story was two wins for me - it's emotionally charged, and it taught me some Japanese folklore I was unfamiliar with.

Love and be loved. Beautiful message.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makino's husband is dying. She can only sit next to his bed and watch him stare out the window hoping he won't die.
She remembers how they met.
She remembers her mother's advice not to let water creature touch her. Ever.
She doesn't listen.

The tone of A Cup of Salt Tears is both profoundly sad, chilling and erotic at times. One of the strangest stories I've ever read.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A woman in grief is a beautiful one,” it answers.
This felt something like a Japanese version of Mrs. Caliban. Short and tame but interesting.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A haunting take on Japanese legend, nicely written.

[gauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

a beautiful, short read with yap's simple and intriguing writing handling grief and change

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kappas are interesting creatures. They look like humanoid, bird-beaked turtle monsters with webbed hands and feet. They love cucumbers. And they've also been accused of seducing people, drowning them, sexually assaulting them and stealing organs from their anus. Charming, right?

Makino's mother is very superstitious and she taught her all about warding off the troublesome creatures. Makino knows better than to fall for the supernatural charms of a kappa, but when her husband is stricken with terminal illness and she falls into a deep depression, a kappa that finds sorrowful creatures beautiful is her only hope of getting back on her feet.

This is an interesting modernized take on a famous creature from Japanese folklore. It defies the old myths and reinterprets some of them in bizarre and erotic ways.

***

If you're looking for some dark ambient music for reading horror, dark fantasy and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful short story about a woman in sadness and her choice to save her husband.

[Acqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makino's husband is dying, and she is grieving. One evening she meets a Kappa in the onsen, someone she may have met before.
This one made me want to read more by Isabel Yap - the writing was beautiful, with an attention to details that I love in short fiction. The ending was the best possible ending, and also sad. I love pain and I love stories about monsters, so of course this was perfect for me.
Also, I love the cover.

[Karlyflower *The Vampire Ninja, Luminescent Monster & Wendigo Nerd Goddess of Canada (according to The Hulk)* · Rating 3 out of 5]

That cover..... it reminds me of this really cheesy movie:


(Which I do not expect anyone else to have seen because cheesy)

That being said I know not a thing about Japanese mythology so the term Kappa meant nothing to me..... I was thinking like a Kelpie with a bowl balanced on it's head (?!) and a beak.... this may explain why I didn't like this more than I did.

This is a Kappa:


(According to google....)

As I said I know nothing about Japanese Mythology.... so, basically I found this story interesting without knowing what exactly was going on.

It has some dark, reflective themes and reads intriguingly similar to a Grimm fairytale.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars *may change

you know what? good for her

[Jassmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Four girls," it says. "Four girls drowned in three villages, before they fixed the broken parts in the bridges over the river. My river." It extends its hand and touches the space between her breasts, exerting the barest hint of pressure. Her body tenses, but she keeps silent, immobile. "You were the fifth. You were the only one who accepted my hand when I stretched it out. You," it says, "were the only one who let me lay my hands upon you."

This is a slippery story and I'm not really sure how to talk about it other than saying that it's beautifully written. There is just so many questions and possibilities that I don't particularly want to try and describe it.

This is a story steeped in Japanese folklore, especially in stories concerning kappa (a water yokai known for drowning people by grabbing them by their ass). I have been really fortunate in my timing, because earlier this month I finished Queer as Folklore and kappas were among the creatures discussed there, which gave me more context than I would usually have and made me understand some of the allusions (mostly the ass thing).


Anyway, I'm kind of brain-dead, so I suspect this review doesn't make much sense... I'm glad I finally read this, it was good! Would recommend to anyone who enjoys Japanese folklore with their fiction (kind of reminded me of Where the Wild Ladies Are and now I'm craving more of that) and to the fans of The Shape of Water (stole this one from my friend's review but she is SO right).

Read for free here: https://reactormag.com/a-cup-of-salt-...

[lauraღ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A woman in grief is a beautiful one.”

Super interesting story about grief, melded with fantasy and folklore. It has a lovely, eerie feel, and I loved everything about the monster: how it was described, the way it spoke to Makino. This felt perverse in a really gentle way. Idk how else to describe it. Really lovely writing.

[warisha ‧₊˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

very very cool

[Terence Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE WITHOUT MONSTERS

I am a little perplexed at what to make of the story, and it seems to be able to be read in two ways. The heroine Makino has been transformed by the end of the story but in a seemingly negative way. Makino, grieving at the potentially fatal illness of her husband, is courted by a kappa, a demon or dark trickster figure, who claims to have saved her from drowning when she was a little girl and to have fallen in with love her, but may in fact be after her soul. At the end, the kappa seems to have won in some way. However, if we read the story more symbolically, the reverse can be said to be true: Makino has triumphed over the kappa and its effects on her life and has gained a new perspective based on greater self-knowledge.

Full review here: https://xenoswarm.wordpress.com/2017/...

[Ranforingus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short tale, but very much worth reading.

There are stories that leave you with more questions than answers, and this is one of them.
I loved the melancholic tone of the story, yet couldn't help but feel that there was something missing.

Against all odds, despite being wary of (okay creeped out) by the Kappa at first, I kinda felt like he'd been cheated by Makino at the end.
Maybe I understood the story wrong, but I had more 'feels' for the Kappa than our main character.

Nevertheless, this is something you should read when you want melancholy and a deep, lonely longing in your heart. You may not understand the story fully (hell, I certainly didn't), but it's so beautifully written that you won't mind at all.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

...That being said, A Cup of Salt Tears is a beautifully written tale. It is worth reading for the mythological content alone. Yap leaves the complex tangle of relationships and emotions a tangle though. While this story proved to be not quite as satisfying a read as I'd hoped for, I do think Yap is an author to keep an eye on.

Full Random Comments review

[Alia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure if I got this one. Makino becomes hollow for her husband, she saved him, but sacrificed herself, I see the honor and tragedy in her choice, but she never puts a cucumber with her own name, even in the end as there is no more to her but her love, it is horrible. Why is it beautiful? I dont quite get this :S

[Sara Saif · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was nice. But I don't get it.

[Maja]

Vredi utrošiti sat nad ovom novelom samo zbog prelepe atmosfere japanskih parnih kupatila dočaranih u njoj.

[Maja · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ Tor.com short fiction ]

Very atmospheric and quietly sad. I adored it.

[Maritina Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5/5

Makino is wife to a dying husband.
She spends her days by him, reading to him out loud in order to help him stay connected to the world of the living.

But one day, when she is taking a bath, she is visited by a kappa, a Japanese river spirit.
At first she is afraid, because she has heard that the kappas feed on the living. But the spirit keeps visiting her, until Makino realises that she has met the kappa once before as a girl, when she almost fell to her death.

Finally understanding that she can trust the kappa, she asks for a favour. But she will have to pay something in exchange for it to come true.

My thoughts.

This gave me The Shape of Water vibes but I will admit that it was very atmospheric.
It was also nice to be reading something that was inspired by Japanese folklore, it made me want to read more stories inspired by that culture.

But at the same time, it also left some things to be desired, especially plot-wise. Because even now, I cannot really make sense of the ending.
Although I will admit that this may have been intentional on the author's side.

Anyway, this had potential. I'd be glad to read something else by the author if I ever get the chance again.

If you made it this far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :) :)

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very short, very vivid tale.
The narration was so smoothly elegant that it made everything seem incredibly real. I totally submerged myself inside this story, which felt suspended between the real world and an unnatural existence. I was almost dreading to finish it, but at the same time when I saw the last line I wished there was more of this hauntingly poetic story.

[CW ✨]

A Cup of Salt Tears is a haunting, slightly melancholic, and unnervingly sensual story about the unusual connection between a kappa and a human girl.

Thank you Aentee for sharing this short story with me!

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting, but contrived piece. Well-written but not much to commend the story itself.

It was okay.

[Tosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this short on Tor's website. It was slightly strange, but well written and beautifully sad. And bonus for me - I learned a bit of folklore.

[Sabtael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written, and very atmospheric. I loved the vivid descriptions.