I decided to tell a story in San Gabriel Vally since I have always had a special feeling for this place and its residence. Those who left China a long time ago built this true Chinatown of LA. While denying their past identities, they slowly accepted and became the sub-culture of this society. Walking around SGV always sends me to my memories of China in the 80s, underneath the signature California sunlight. Just like how mountain San Antonio blocks SGV from the rest of the world, there is a tall wall in the heart of the people in this community. This distance feeling to me is exactly what Supin feels in herself, leaving her habitual life, wondering in a world she doesn't belong to, losing her balance in her marriage, seeing a new self at the end of her 30s.
​
A woman I used to love told me that we are meant to be alone due to the fact that we are eternally individuals. I still think about this till today.
I never fully agreed with the concept of marriage. Not that I don't believe in life-long love, but I find the value of such a contract rather ridiculous. In many places, people don't realize what love is until they experience different kinds of love. And sadly, many people don't get to experience enough different kinds of love so that they can understand themselves. We all know about married couples that didn't get married for love. For them, marriage was just a stop in their life journey, with a person who happened to be around at the "right" time.
Not all love feels like a burning flame. Some love feels like a cup of morning tea, a late-night cup of coffee; something that doesn't give you crazy lust or desire but does bring you a consistent and continuous source of comfort. After all, life is just three meals a day. No matter how exciting something was, after a long time it will start to taste as plain as water.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with tasting like water.
​
​
​
Jiayu Liu
​