III.
Third day of Chinese New Year. My cousin sister, Maize stands on the couch in the living room of my aunt's Seremban home. She steadies herself as she steps on one fluffy pillow and on another, spreading her arms in the air. I just think vegetables taste disgusting, she say about her unfinished dinner. Let me guess, I chided. The rest of the family goes quiet. You have trouble going to the toilet.
I want her to fall from her cushion pedestal and onto my sleeping uncle. I want her gasp to mix with the calm snores of his, making a unique gurgle, matching that to the sound of the boiling steamboat pot. You like them because you are just an adult, she says, shaking her head as her feet rests on the third pillow. A truth I care not to deny. She doesn't fall and I don't say anything. Back then, I wish I had been comfortable accepting the fact that she is growing up.
Small steps,
Vonnie S.
Third day of Chinese New Year. My cousin sister, Maize stands on the couch in the living room of my aunt's Seremban home. She steadies herself as she steps on one fluffy pillow and on another, spreading her arms in the air. I just think vegetables taste disgusting, she say about her unfinished dinner. Let me guess, I chided. The rest of the family goes quiet. You have trouble going to the toilet.
I want her to fall from her cushion pedestal and onto my sleeping uncle. I want her gasp to mix with the calm snores of his, making a unique gurgle, matching that to the sound of the boiling steamboat pot. You like them because you are just an adult, she says, shaking her head as her feet rests on the third pillow. A truth I care not to deny. She doesn't fall and I don't say anything. Back then, I wish I had been comfortable accepting the fact that she is growing up.
Small steps,
Vonnie S.
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