“What do you want for your birthday?” When my 15th birthday was approaching, mom asked me. I couldn’t think of anything. I’ve always been like that—my mind full of wants until the moment I’m asked, and then suddenly, everything feels unnecessary. Also, I didn’t want to bother my mother. She was a single parent who …
"How old are you?", the waiter asked. I was at a hotel restaurant in Oahu with my parents. I knew how to count the number from one to ten in English, but I had to count up from number one to get to my age -- a long journey to number nine. Feeling fretted, I …
Walking My Neighborhood On a sunny autumn afternoon, I walked around the town where I grew up. I started off from a train station. I used to run to the platform to catch a train to my senior high school. I passed a railway crossing, and walked to my elementary school. For six years, the …
“Go by yourself”, mom said to me. “Nooo!” I resisted. “I want to go swimming, but not by myself!” It was a beautiful hot summer day in 1993. It seemed to be the best day to be in the water. It was right in the middle of summer vacation, and there were still a couple …
The garden was alive with butterflies, ants, ladybugs and pill bugs. Spiders made huge webs sparkled with dewdrops. Occasionally, praying mantes and cicadas visited the garden as well. After the rain, I often found frogs and slugs, sometimes snails. Warblers and sparrows would sing on the branches of the pine tree. Next to the pine …
"The place I like best in this world is the kitchen." Banana Yoshimoto wrote in her novel Kitchen. In my case, the place I feel most attached to is the garden of my old house. The house which I used to live when I was a kid stood in the middle of a foothill. The …
What is your first memory? My sister says she remembers things from the age of 2. I, on the other hand, don’t remember anything earlier than kindergarten. I think my earliest memory would be from when I was around 5 years old. I was standing at the bottom of the staircase in my house, looking …
When I was a kid, there was a small supermarket in my neighbourhood. Though it was called "supermarket", the shop was more of a grocery store. It was a very ordinary store. It had nothing special. On the first floor, they had fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and such. I would be stuck in the …
A Thousand Years 