The Diary of an Enigmatic Girl

First Piece

Nobody knew me.
No lofty morals, no social status, no friends.
From afar, I looked like ruins; up close, like bubbles.

And so I came into being, in an unremarkable village by the coast.
I don’t remember seeing my mother; the earliest memory I have is…
There was a little red basket on the back of a bicycle, wrapped in red-and-white cloth strips. I loved it.
When I returned to my old home years later, my body couldn’t even fit in it. I guess I was under three when I first saw it.

I remember being carried along a dirt road. Glancing over, I sensed a field—I think it was red beans, though I can’t separate memory from imagination. Then we arrived at a house. Behind the toilet, there seemed to be a dog tied up. I went into a room. I was tiny, staring at people on the kang (heated bed) eating kiwi. I wanted some too, but it wasn’t given to me…
I think that must have been my mother’s home. One day, I thought…

Ha. I never said I went back. I just want to paint it.