They sit themselves comfortably around the table. Snacks and wine served. Chitchat – rebellious teenagers, housing market, fitness, healthy foods… The lights shine brighter, house warmer, as each tells her story. One jokes that she’s regretful that she’s never experienced the taste of Tan Lian Ai. “Now you have the chance”, others tease her. Another proclaims she’s had the roof changed, kitchen remodeled right before the first snow. Then a soft voice floats in the air: “Since my husband left me, my children went to college; I’ve survived a stomach cancer. Now I have nothing to fear.” The stories draw them closer. Outside, the ice dam is forming thick on the eave. Is the gutter strong enough to hold?
window panes a’frost
a glass of tears and laughter
toast to Joy Luck Club
Women Home Alone
I love the way this peice illustrates all the insignificant things that we worry about and contrasts it beautifully with the womens stomach cancer. It was a really moving peice and tells an awful lot of story in a very small amount of prose...reminds me of a nonotale. I really enjoyed it, very intense and lots of possibilitys.