childhood memories

In this memory, I am four years old. One day, I hear about a Sailor Moon movie coming to the theatres in my hometown. I do not know what a movie is, but I want to go because it is about my favourite anime series Sailor Moon. I cannot miss it. My father agrees to […]

It was when I was in grade 5. One afternoon, my class was discussing the plan for the upcoming end-of-the-term party. We listed all the games we wanted to play, decided who would facilitate the party, and the order in which we would do each activity. As was customary, “the teacher’s concluding remark” was added

In this memory, I am four years old. In October, my little brother goes through another heart surgery. Since my parents’ full attention needs to go to my brother, I am sent to my maternal grandmother’s house in the countryside for a few weeks. My father and I travel there together by a bullet train,

In this memory, I am four years old. A few weekends a month, my family drive to a large shopping mall in the suburb to buy things that we cannot find in our neighbourhood shops. Once there, my mother handles the shopping with my baby bother on a shopping cart while my father takes the

In this memory, I am five years old. April turns into May. As the pink cherry blossom flowers rain on the ground and the baby green leaves start appearing on the tree branches, new excitement arrives in our community of tiny half-dilapidated apartments – swallows. Just outside of our community’s premise, among the many neighbourhood

In this memory, it is summer, and I am four years old. Somewhere, my mother gets the information that the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians is held in our town this year. We are no aspiring musicians, but since the competition is so famous and it is such a rare opportunity to listen to

In this memory, I am four years old. It is shortly after the successful completion of my little brother’s second heart operation. I hear that one of my elder cousins is getting married and that I will be going to their wedding with my father. My whole family have been invited, but since my brother

In this memory, I am five years old. Once every week, I attend a group lesson at the local YAMAHA music school with my two best friends. We travel there with our mothers and our little siblings in a single five-seater car. After leaving the car at the nearby parking lot, we walk over to

When I was about eight, my mother introduced me to something called new potatoes. My grandmother had recently sent us a box full of vegetables that she harvested from her vegetable garden, and among them were new potatoes. “I’m going to make you a delicious snack with these,” said my mother, her voice dancing with

In this memory, I am five and my little brother is two. These days, my brother follows me around and likes to mimic whatever I do. When my mother calls us for a photoshoot, if I wince, my brother also winces. If I place my hand in front of my forehead with two fingers stretched