Lidan Xu, Tama Art University, Japan

It's a Girl Again

It's not often that I go back to my mother's hometown with her, as I have spent many years studying overseas. However, on this occasion my niece’s birthday was happening just before I was due to go away again, and I had never met her before. 

Walking in, everything seemed to have remained the same for decades, including people’s attitudes. When I saw my niece for the very first time, her father was still complaining ‘how come it's a girl again’, while her mother turned her head away and continued to prepare food. No one questioned this conversation, they  only laughed. Except for my niece, who could barely speak and was looking at me frowning.