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World Tale: What Are You Most Scared Of? (Japan)
Fear can be a friend or enemy; it can also be a teacher. The tales, Walking Home, New Year’s Eve, and 32 hours explore the many ways fear can influence our experience.
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 An old woman lived far away from town in a little hut nestled against the side of a high mountain. During the day she gathered wood and warmed herself at night by building a fire. One night, a horrible creature called out to her. It sounded like a person so she opened the door. Although the old woman was afraid of the terrifying creature, there was nothing she could say or do to keep it out so she let it in.
 Frankie, a boy who lived in a garden apartment about ten doors up from mine, invited me and a bunch of other kids to watch television. He was the only one in the neighborhood who had a set. Hardly anyone invited me to their house for any reason so I was super excited. I begged my mother to let me go. She asked what the program was. I had no idea. She asked if I was sure I wanted to go. I nodded, never having seen television. I told her I thought it was like going to the movies only with a smaller screen. She agreed to let me go.
 It was New Year’s Eve, 2006. There was more than a foot of snow on the ground but the icy cold weather had given way to a sudden thaw. I didn’t feel like celebrating New Year’s Eve since I was still recovering from two years of active leukemia and chemotherapy. I was happy to be at home, by myself.
 Lira was a feral cat for 2 ½ years. After someone rescued her, she had surgery to remove five kittens, then put in and thrown out of foster care for biting and scratching. When she was transferred to the Shelter, she bit and scratched everyone who tried to pet her. When I walked into her Shelter room, she let me pick her up and licked my nose, then settled herself in the carry case. She decided she was my cat.
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Nancy King is a widely published author and a professor emerita at the University of Delaware, where she has taught theater, drama, playwriting, creative writing, and multidisciplinary studies with an emphasis on world literature. She has published seven previous works of nonfiction and five novels. Her new memoir, Breaking the Silence, explores the power of stories in healing from trauma and abuse. Her career has emphasized the use of her own experience in being silenced to encourage students to find their voices and to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with authenticity, as a way to add meaning to their lives.
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