The Talon Fall 2022

Page 34

May Big Brown Box and

the

nonfiction by Ben Zhou

“She must’ve missed me,” I thought as she lay in the big brown box. Before we moved from Beijing to Canada, my parents and I visited May almost every holiday. She greeted us in front of her house with her brightest smile––the kind that made me feel safe and loved. We hugged before she rushed us to the table, and then May brought out the best homemade dumplings in all of Beijing. There was always laughter at May’s place. Everyone loved her, even my sister, who didn’t understand a single word of her accent. In the summer of 2010, May was not there to greet us. She was not there to invite us in and give us hugs. Mom clung to Dad’s arm. 34

The Talon 2022

Something felt off, but as a simple-minded kid, shooting elastic bands seemed more worthwhile than figuring out the complications of adulthood. Then we were in the car, and I fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of our wheels bumping against the road. I am not sure how long I slept, but when I woke up, we were no longer in the city. Dad hurried me out of the car. A large group of people quietly entered a dimly lit tunnel. We followed the crowd closely behind. It was beautiful. Small, white candles stood uniformly along the walls, and between them were paintings of May in black and

white. “There!” I shouted, pointing at a picture of us with her. Mom shushed me. Her eyes brimmed with tears. We entered a spacious, round room with a glass roof. In the center lay a big brown box. Flowers were neatly placed around it one by one. I jumped up to see inside; it was May. Her eyes were shut. She looked peaceful with a soft smile. I wanted to get a better look, but the adults were bigger, and they pushed me aside. Two big men placed their hands on my shoulders as the funeral procession began. A man be-


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Fluidity.................................... Asa McManamy

2min
pages 124-128

Face ........................................... Brooks McCall

1min
pages 117-119

Stoned Ape Teory .......................... Isaac James

0
pages 122-123

Octagonal Madness ..............................Nic Ball

1min
pages 115-116

Still Life........................................... Isaac James

0
page 107

Of the Banks .................................. Isaac James

0
page 112

Chicken Joe............................... Samuel Crosby

1min
page 108

Avenue............................................Stanley Kim

1min
pages 102-105

Study of Matisse’s Blue Nude...........Lucas Dinh

1min
page 101

Distant Speckles.......................... Robbie Brown

1min
page 95

City on an Island...........................Aiden Moon

1min
pages 96-97

Te Chaos Within ......... Julian Beaujeu-Dufour

1min
pages 84-86

Snow Day...............................William Andrews

4min
pages 87-88

Gam Cheon Village .......................Aiden Moon

0
page 90

Shaving.............................................Tomas Li

0
page 79

Sandman ................................... Brooks McCall

1min
page 100

Pedestal Vase Porcelain....................Shari Jacobs

0
pages 74-75

L’angoisse du rêve ............................Will Hastie

0
page 73

From the Free Trow Line ......... Curtis Johnson

0
page 69

Forest...........................................Jimmy Kweon

2min
pages 57-58

Red Barn ................................... James Erickson

0
page 71

Reclining Nude..............................John Murray

0
page 65

Sleepy Cheetah ..............................Owen Bissell

1min
page 60

Forbidden Love..............................Aiden Moon

2min
page 56

Curious Glance........................... Robbie Brown

1min
page 43

Feathered Scout .......................... Robbie Brown

1min
page 42

Graveyard ......................................Pen Oldham

1min
page 21

Cartoons.........................................Hugh Wiley

2min
pages 14-15

May and the Big Brown Box.................... Ben Zhou

1min
page 32

Umbrella Walk.................................Lucas Dinh

3min
pages 34-35

Octopus....................................Conwell Morris

1min
page 13

Eclipse ....................................... Brooks McCall

3min
page 25

Te Meeting ...................................Stanley Kim

2min
pages 22-24

Te Ballad of a Cephalopod............. Turner Vaughn

6min
pages 8-12
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