Xiwangmu
la Reine Mère de l'Ouest
aetherXiwangmu garde le verger où les pêches d'immortalité mûrissent une fois tous les trois mille ans ; rêver d'elle, c'est ressentir le temps à une échelle qui rend l'urgence futile, et se voir offrir le fruit que seule la patience mérite.
In the oldest carvings she has a leopard's tail and a tiger's teeth, and only later became the serene queen; even goddesses mellow over the ages.
She keeps also the plagues and the long punishments, for the hand that times the fruit times everything else besides.
Her peaches ripen once in three thousand years and the banquet lasts a single night; heaven's whole calendar is built around her orchard.
The monkey stole her entire harvest once, biting each peach and tossing it aside; the gods still speak of the losses in lowered voices.