“It is time,” her mother repeated, her tears starting again. “Good-bye, my beautiful lotus.” Mei Lien dabbed at her own tears and moved toward the curtain that separated the tiny bedroom from the rest of the house, which amounted to only one other room. She gazed a final time at her mother, seeing the petite woman’s work-worn hands, callused from long days harvesting. The deep circles beneath her eyes, which contrasted with the love and warmth emanating from her. The threadbare dress, which had once been a deep green, now faded white. The bare feet that had walked many miles and would carry
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Mei Lien would have to dig very deep for her strength in the coming months. This scene shows the unbreakable connection she had to a mother she would never see again in her lifetime. Mei Lien may not have had control over what would happen to her physically, but her mother's influence and love gave Mei Lien the strength she needed to endure all things that would come her way.
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