We were at the mall in Palo Alto, the nicer one, looking at the Prada bag display, and that was when you told me about the new book you read, The Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, a method of decluttering your home to lessen the burden on your loved ones after you’ve passed, and that was when I realized you were never really thinking about shopping at all, and you were never really going to buy the Prada purse, and you were never really here for girls’ night, for the both of us, just for me.
When Ah Gong was sick, you flew over to Taiwan and sat by his hospital bed, and when he passed away, you called me and told me to stay healthy, and when I handed the phone to Dad, you asked if he was cooking the vegetables, and when you came back, I saw you reading that stupid book, and now, I want to know what you were thinking when your wooden slippers clicked on Ah Gong’s office floor and your fingers grazed his leather notebook and your eyes staggered through the photos, to know how in the world you must’ve felt about your dad for you to believe that, when you die, I’d be grateful you didn’t buy the Prada purse.
When Ah Gong was sick, you flew over to Taiwan and sat by his hospital bed, and when he passed away, you called me and told me to stay healthy, and when I handed the phone to Dad, you asked if he was cooking the vegetables, and when you came back, I saw you reading that stupid book, and now, I want to know what you were thinking when your wooden slippers clicked on Ah Gong’s office floor and your fingers grazed his leather notebook and your eyes staggered through the photos, to know how in the world you must’ve felt about your dad for you to believe that, when you die, I’d be grateful you didn’t buy the Prada purse.
Buy all the nice bags in the world; the clutch, the tote, the duffel. Don’t think of cleaning, don’t think of limiting, don’t start your death early and slow. Think of the spring collection, think of girls’ night, think of fingers laced. Think of holding onto me.
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Naomi Hsu is a writer from the Bay Area who has been published in Apprentice Writer, Eunoia Review, and Blue Marble Review. She is a 2024 YoungArts winner and Iowa Young Writers’ Studio alumna.
Naomi Hsu is a writer from the Bay Area who has been published in Apprentice Writer, Eunoia Review, and Blue Marble Review. She is a 2024 YoungArts winner and Iowa Young Writers’ Studio alumna.