Go

by Kazuki Kaneshiro

The cold freezes people’s souls . . . their ideological beliefs, even,”

🤣

Though I may have been a misfit, I was also a romantic.

All kidding aside, if Kim Il Sung could walk on water like that other charismatic religious leader guy, I could see myself being so taken with that incredibly tall tale that I might pledge my loyalty to him.

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But to me, all the stories about the legendary Kim Il Sung were lacking. There was nothing appealing about them. Or exciting. And that’s how I came to this realization that day in third grade: Our stories are better.

“We’ve never belonged to a country we could sell out.”

Jeong-il would say something cryptic like, “A lone person devoted to reading novels has the power equal to a hundred people gathered at a meeting.” Then he’d continue, saying, “The world would be a better place with more people like that,” and smile good-naturedly.

your life has already veered off the rails. I wish you’d keep on veering and see where it takes you.

“Nationality isn’t much more than a lease to an apartment,” I said. “If you don’t like the apartment anymore, you break the lease and get out.”

‘Any man in his youth should apply himself to amusement to his heart’s content. Too long a time in a forest of words will leave him trapped and unable to escape.’”

This excavation work was incredibly fun. Our method was simple: walk into a bookstore or CD shop or video rental store together and go with our gut instinct. That was it. We looked at the book cover or CD jacket or video cover art and chose whatever “spoke” to us.

I’d become convinced that as long as there are immigrants and refugees in this world, the Godfather movies will live on.

Sakurai grabbed my hand as we ran. I squeezed her hand firmly in mine. We ran with all our might.

God, I wish I were a bat. I could fly away anywhere,

Silence. Silence. Silence. Silence.

I thought I heard birds chirping in the distance. Morning wasn’t too far off.

Sometimes I wish my skin was green or something. That way, the good people will come closer and the haters will keep their distance. That would make things so much easier.”

What was prohibiting me from going to North Korea? The deep ocean? The tall mountains? The big sky? It was humans. The sons of bitches that put themselves there and roped off the territory as their own were the ones keeping me from seeing my uncle. Can you believe it? Everyone’s always talking about how the technology boom has brought the world closer, but I still can’t go to a place that’s only hours away. I will never forgive the arrogant sons of bitches in North Korea. Ever.

That’s when I swore to myself: someday I’m going to kill this son of a bitch with my own hands.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

“I’ll erase these national borders someday.”

I’m tired of living feeling like I’m a part of some big system. And that includes your little group.”

Running away was fun.

I’ll go anywhere to find whatever thing will let me forget who I am.