Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Sarah Jun

In the two weeks after 妈 (mā) had passed, I would often forget and then remember that it was just the two of us now—me and my grandmother, my 姥姥 (lǎo lao). Although, in those moments, it often felt like it was just me. 

We begin in darkness, where many things do. The earth clings to an inky silence, still damp with dreams. But as it shivers awake, shedding the velvet cloak of night, shadows surrender to dawn’s gentle flush.

What is a ghost but the body’s way of remembering itself?

Words by Jasmine Wang, Wendy Gao, Shaleah Tolliver, Aeyna Loughran-Pierce, Art by Jasmine Wang

Dear Beloved Reader,

In this sprawling earth, two small seeds were sown.

Words by Jasmine Wang

Dear our lovely Evelyn,

I remember the first time I read your writing—your words felt so alive.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Angeline Phan & Sana F.

She turns on the shower, the faucet squeaks at her judgmentally. She sits on the toilet seat wrapped tightly in a scratchy towel, plucking at all the stray fibers as she waits for her lungs to fill up with steaming fog.

Words by Jasmine Wang & Wendy Gao, Art by Mariam Seshan

Dear Reader,

Many societies have creation or origin stories about the beginnings of this world. Listen—can you hear them?

Words by Jasmine Wang & Wendy Gao, Art by Jenna Clare Trinidad

Dearest reader,

In this first issue of our second volume, Navigation, we’ve strapped on rucksacks heavy with the contradictions of desires and disillusionment, turning our faces toward the sun to set off to futures and destinations unknown.

Words by Jasmine Wang & Wendy Gao, Art by Katie Vuong

Dear beloved reader,

Welcome back to Grounds, and welcome back to {in}Visible Magazine!

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Jessie Mai

Dear Jenny Menny (天天),

Before me, there was you. My Big Sister. My 姐姐 (jiejie).

Jasmine’s Page Designs on front cover, pg 1-3, 5-6, 11-12, 17-18, 22, 29-30, back cover

Find Jasmine’s writing on pg 1, 11-12

Words by Jasmine Wang & Wendy Gao, Art by Mariam Seshan

Dear reader,

Happy Asian Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (ANHPIHM) from {in}Visible Magazine! This May marks the 31st year of celebrating ANHPI communities in the United States.

Words by Jasmine Wang & Wendy Gao, Art by Mariam Seshan

Dear reader,

In the beginning, there were memories. Memories of homelands, families, comfort food, languages, and religions.

Words by Jasmine, Art by Tori Ochave

It’s January 27th today. Lunar New Year’s Eve.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

Dear Beloved Reader,

She feels an unsettling rumbling in her chest before she feels the tremor beneath her feet. She opens her face to the sky, which is now thick with billowing plumes of pearly smoke. She wants to sink to her knees into the hardened mud and uneven rock. Escape feels futile.

Words by Jasmine Wang

I draw a long breath. Newness reverberates against my bones, as I stretch my neck to ease the tension of its twisted sinews. I close my eyes and fumble around my keypad before successfully pressing play.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Kim Salac

Dear Beloved Reader,

I have a confession to make.

It’s a secret that I’ve been quietly harboring since high school graduation.

I was a band kid.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ VIllanueva

Dear Beloved Reader,

In the fifth grade, as leaves cascaded down into a shriveled crisp and as the autumnal air descended, I begged my mother to let me be Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Autumn Jefferson

Dear beloved reader,

Close your eyes.

Inhale. Exhale.

How do you imagine blindness?

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Kim Salac

Dear Beloved Reader

Every year on my birthday, I write a letter addressed to myself a year from now. I click send (god bless the internet and pre-scheduled emails) and the next birthday, in reading all that I wished for myself, I am renewed with hope and visions of futurity—a gift from the past.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Judy Zhao

Dear Beloved Reader,

Even as half of my third year is almost over (oh god), my friends and I never fail to remark how startled each semester flies by. But even as time slips through the cracks of our fingers, I am quick to lick up the sticky memories that cling to my palms, savoring each moment as though it may be the last.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

Dear Iris Reader,

This issue, we are telling the "Story of Iris," which is to say we are telling the story of the writers behind Iris.

Words by Jasmine Wang, art by Autumn Jefferson

Dear Beloved Reader,

Potted jasmines line the office of my father’s windowsill. They always have. I lean in close to get a better whiff of the small ivory florets sprinkled across velvety green. Sharp, sweet, yet with a soft sensuality—its freshness is addicting.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Judy Zhao

Dear Beloved Reader,

I am no stranger to the Unexpected. In fact, we are now old friends, but we weren’t always so friendly.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by Daphenie Joseph

Dear Beloved Reader,

Our issue opens with

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

My mother was born with a green ribbon wrapped

Around her left thumb

Her lucky green thumb,

My grandmother always called it

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

Well let’s just get started then. Can you go ahead and do the quintessential UVA introduction: your name, your year, your pronouns, and how you identify?

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

It’s January 27th today. Lunar New Year’s Eve.

This morning, I shimmied on a beautiful brocade qipao—China’s sexiest dress with its high collar, embroidered silk, and delicate cloth buttons—and stared intently at my reflection for a good long while, glowing with pride.

Words by Jasmine, Art by KJ Villanueva

What does fashion mean to you?

I think of fashion and style as 2 separate things. Fashion is something that’s out there in New York, Paris, or Milan. But the thing that’s surrounding it, the people that go to the shows, the street style photography, and the individual rather than the brands, that’s style.

That’s more of what I’m interested in…

Words by Jasmine, Art by KJ Villanueva

Jack awoke to an empty house and an even emptier stomach. He trudged down the stairs towards the kitchen, grabbed a slice of toast and shuffled towards the back porch to eat—just as he’d done with his mom every morning.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

I hated my mother for a long time.

And right now, I cringe at the sight of those words on a page because I have never uttered them out loud, much less to another person.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

To everyone in a romantic relationship,

Trust me, this letter is the last thing I want to be writing in a place like this with its fluorescent flickering lights, the radioactive colored jello, and this prickly rag of a blanket.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that I am a material girl. Some might call me a shopaholic for thinking that a pair of Maison Margiela tabi ballerina heels—ones that would make my feet look like horse hoofs and allow me to trot around grounds—would bring me the most joy in the world, but it’s just the truth and I cannot lie.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

1. Other Women

Oh, how I love female camaraderie.

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

Monday grips a pen

Neurotic scribbles fill a blank page

Words by Jasmine Wang, Art by KJ Villanueva

Most love stories begin with a hello, ours began with a ransacked lunchbox, a stolen spork, and a touch of pyromania.