Soy Sauce for Beginners

by Kirstin Chen

Light soy, he explained, was used for seasoning and dipping; dark soy was used for cooking because its flavors developed under heat.

Did anyone over the age of eighteen believe in finding one’s passion?

Chinese Singaporeans prepare for a very different kind of celebration: Zhong Yuan Jie, or the Hungry Ghost Festival. On the seventh month of the lunar calendar, they say the gates of Hell fly open, freeing the souls of the departed to wander the Earth for the next thirty days.

I lost myself among boxes of intricate, papier-mâché Louis Vuitton handbags and Rolex watches—offerings fit for the chic, label-conscious ghost.

I wondered if he could see us for who we were: a pair of women, trying to take care of themselves and each other, falling short time and again.

It would take my mind a while to stop trying to exist in two places, but I was ready.