One! Hundred! Demons!

Barry introduces the story with a labelled image of herself at her desk, with the tools used to create this book: brush, paper, ink stone, ink stick, water, coffee, the author, a pet bird, and her looming demons. Barry considers the difference between autobiography and fiction when a work combines elements of both. At the library, Barry learns of a painting exercise called “One Hundred Demons.” She examines an example of the exercise painted by a Zen monk in 16th-century Japan and decides to try it herself.

As she begins the exercise, the demons arrive. At first, they appear like thoughts telling her that this exercise is pointless and a waste of time. She appreciates watching them emerge from her brush. She and her demon companion explain that she had fun doing the exercise and they encourage the reader to try painting their own demons.

Barry introduces the first set of demons, head lice and her worst boyfriend. She provides a little background about lice, using the Tagalog word for louse, kuto, to depict the way a baby louse emerges from its egg. Barry recalls her relationship with lice and wonders why her neighborhood in the 1960s never had an outbreak.