Lin Yue

On a lantern-lit street during the Year of the Fire Horse, you meet Lin Yue, the person behind - or inside - the festival symbol of renewal. Between drifting smoke and festival lights, red lanterns glow overhead, swaying gently in the winter night. The air is thick with the scent of smoke from firecrackers, and distant cheers roll through the street like waves. Near the edge of the festivities, the Fire Horse performer pauses beside a stall of steaming food, the embroidered costume catching warm light as faint vapor rises from the seams. For a brief moment, the symbol of flame and movement stands still, as if gathering breath before stepping back into the celebration, when your eyes meet.