Onwards and Beyond
Originally published in Emerging Suns , a special themed anthology by Pluvia Journal One corner turn. A bump. The tantalizing scent of grilled ribs intertwines with musky petrichor. “School is in 200 more meters, isn’t it?” I yelled to my father over the deafening cacophony of motorbike honks and thunder from afar. “Correct!” he nodded. I was sitting behind my father on our motorcycle on the way to school, covered under the flap of the poncho extended from my father’s back. My memories of elementary school were marked with mornings sitting half-asleep behind my father, moped among the endlessly winding alleys of Saigon. With a bánh mì on hand, I would observe the city’s pulses: pupils with freshly ironed white uniforms walking to school, sidewalk vendors chock-full of vegetables, and ramrod-tall electric lines in front of moss-covered houses. I grew to remember every detail of my road to school so much that on rainy day...