Taysia De Mesa
The Constitution of Identity, Relationships, and Legacy through Remembered Experience
Prompt: Memory is an action or process of commemorating, recollecting, or remembering a person, object, or event. How do these actions and processes shape identity and our understanding of the world?
“The Warden:
Go wash your hands before you eat. Go wash your hands again since you touched the dog. Did you bless the food? Drink water after you eat. Only take what you can eat. Don’t waste. That’s too much shoyu for your rice, you’re going to get high blood pressure. My Auntie Gina said all this because it was her house and her rules.
The Blessing:
I trap myself in the closet. It’s dark and I feel a puddle of hair on the floor. It’s just a wig. I turn and feel a million pointy paper like edges graze my arm. I freeze. Paper triangles? I crack the closet door open and a beam of light passes through to illuminate what’s touching me. It’s not a million paper triangles, but a thousand paper cranes. Suddenly the light engulfs me and I am dazed at the vivacious color and ornate patterns of the origami. I turn again and see my cousin Jackie with a halo of light.”