Answers Lie at the Intersections
By Melanie C.
Across (time, 2016-2023)
1: The moment the day creeps into view, like awakening from a long dream. My family all have their phones in hand, taking endless photos and videos of one another laughing and of the burning sky ahead. It’s been too long since we’ve had a moment like this.
2: The movie of the summer (sorry Oppenheimer fans). The movie that sent me bawling to my mother. The movie that reminded me about one of my first short stories. It was centered around the life my sister and I had created for our ____ dolls and our Mimi dolls we had bought during our trip to Korea. Even though this doll-centered movie has been praised for its recent promotion of diversity, the dolls still share a sameness that captures a bit of Ruth Handler’s vision—a sameness that my Mimi dolls can never fully embody no matter how hard they try.
3: The high school photos I immediately tore down upon returning to my childhood bedroom. It felt weird to have my 18-year-old self peering into my 15-year-old life like a two-way mirror, intruding and observing from the outside with no way to encourage her towards her dreams or protect her from her failures.
4: An iconic make and model of car. Whenever I pick up my sister from school, I park near one of these cars so that she can easily find my nondescript grey CR-V by its boxy, adventurous neighbor. Even though I only graduated a year ago, my skin still crawls at the sight of the breeding ground for my worst nightmares and my favorite memories.
5: To some, this is a childhood game, but to me, this is the book I’ve been dying to talk about with someone since I read it last summer. After my mom finally finishes reading this Min Jin Lee novel this summer, she comes to me to discuss, only for me to realize that I have forgotten most of it since last year. A year ago, I was brimming with excitement to embark on a new chapter of adulthood, but where is my excitement now?
6: How my old life feels — like a formerly favorite sweater that now chokes my torso too tight or 2016 skinny jeans that now fit like capris.
Down (the road, US 29 to be exact)
1: What I seem to be chasing in my new life. I’ve been living off the excitement, marveling at what I cannot catch, but once I finally trap one lightning bug of independence in my two hands, I realize how much I missed the chase, the youthfully spirited pursuit to grow up as quickly as I could.
2: The best way to spruce up a new place — posters on my walls, paper lanterns on my ceiling, and fake vines all around. My favorite part of my dorm last year was my Jeremiah 29:11 stone, flanked by pride flags on each side. I decorated my room for the young girl who had to choose one symbol over the other, to hide one behind the other. People tell me this part of my room is confusing, but why does it have to be? Why do these symbols of my values seem impossible to contain in one soul?
3: The digital camera brand that houses some of my more recent adventures. I’ll buy some more of that classic white-bordered film so I can cover the walls of my second home in photos that remind me of my first.
4: One of the things I would bring if I were shipwrecked on a deserted island, along with my hairbrush and a pack of gum. In 2019, this was a status symbol, a determinant to fitting in with my internet-crazed peers, but now, my favorite brand of water bottle is a trustworthy sidekick, a constant that I bring everywhere with me.
5: Among the many foods my parents have been excited to pack me the minute I signed the lease on my apartment. I’ve never really favored Korean food over other cuisines, but all I wanted to eat after months of pizza at school was rice with banchan.
6: The best time for a hike with my friends. As the sun sinks, the earth chills so my friends and I sit on the previously scorching rocks. We chat about every point in time we can think of—college adventures, grade school memories, and the future that lies ahead (because the moment the day wanes is a promise of more tomorrow).
