The Tales
The First 16 Tales: Seoul, Honolulu, Denver – 2006-2007
Jessica Yun: “Roots” – Seoul, South Korea
….For five years, he was missing. If he truly loved our family, he’d have came back to us. Why is he not returning? I’ve been waiting for five years, Dad! Gazing at a faded Polaroid photo of him, memories started to come alive. You would like to picture him as a perfect TV father, smiling and embracing his dear family–but, he was none of the sort. So, who was this father of mine? I don’t know his name, and when I ask, my mother doesn’t say…. Read the whole story Listen to Jessica’s podcast
Mallory: “The Perfect Shot” – Littleton, Colorado, USA
….I am between half a dozen huge boulders, surrounding me and closing off the sunlight like a room. I passed through this area on the way up, but it was not the same then. In one section, the sun shines through a gap and illuminates a ladybug resting upon on a single leaf. I think it is an amazing sight. My friends pass by as I move a bit to the left to obtain the perfect angle. I take out my camera and capture the beauty in its unrefined state…. Read the whole story Listen to Mallory’s podcast
Blaine: “Picking Away at Your Troubles” – Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
….“Ho, Kenny, it’s 5 o’clock, you done for da day. Wat you like eat?” Kenny’s body is in so much pain. Kea didn’t tell him to wear a hat. He really didn’t know the sun was going to be that hot. He’s burnt to a crisp. Kenny is so red, that if you put him on a dinner plate with a bowl of butter, he looks like a lobster dinner fit for a king. But Kenny’s not only in pain because of the sunburn, but today was probably the hardest he has worked in his whole life. Kenny didn’t realize how hard being a plantation worker really is until he had to do it…. Read the whole story
Lynn Hong: “The Broken” – Seoul, South Korea
Hailey feels her face with her fingers. Eyes swollen, lips turned down. It definitely isn’t a happy face.
“Idiot, of course you aren’t smiling.”
Hailey’s eyes grow wide.
“Why are you so surprised? I’m just part of you, after all.”
‘You’re not supposed to speak,’ Hailey thinks furiously, ‘You’re a mere reflection. Like a shadow on a window.’
“AM I? Really? I don’t think I’m much of a “mere” reflection.”
‘Then what are you?’
“You, of course. I’m part of you, like I said before.”
Read the whole story Listen to Lynn’s podcast
Herena: “I’ll Get Around to Changing” – Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
If you haven’t figured it out, I’m going to camp. No, not camp, I’m going to a Korean Christian Youth Retreat to “spiritually bond” with about 50 bible thumper spawn ranging from ages 9-17 from my church. The cherry that topped off this ruined week would be that most, if not all the kids there spoke Korean as did the chaperones and pastors while I couldn’t say “hello” (ahn yung ha sa yo) without someone thinking I had said “my sister did it” (un ni [ga] ha suh yo). Read the whole story
Brian: “Shred” – Denver, Colorado, USA
….“Pika,” his usually favorite run is closed today because of the hazoudous conditions. As he edges up to it he reads the sign, “Don’t attempt, passes will be taken if you do so.” However, Brad decides to do it anyway knowing that he won’t be caught. Today, the powder is waist deep and Brad is very carefully planning his plan of attack. He eyes the 30-foot cliffs, and then the glades that are off in the distance, these are just two obstacles you will have to maneuver about to make it down safely. He starts forward and leans back on his ski…. Read the whole story
Pola Shim: “The Fairy and the Woodcutter” – Seoul, South Korea
….“Yes, I have. I called you because I have a question for you. Did you have a conversation that is totally prohibited with Iry last night?” the Fairy King asked, looking straight into my eyes.
“Conversation? Prohibited? What do you mean my king?”
“Have you not said that you were in love with Iry!” He shouted in such a loud voice that I became dizzy and unconscious.
“How dare you do and say such thing! Do you not know that it is prohibited, something that low, should not happen in my kingdom. This is your second time that you have done a largely prohibited thing and now I cannot close my eyes and just say it did not happen. You have had a child with a human! I suppose you are not in the right place to live.” The king said…. Read the whole story Listen to Pola’s podcast (part 1) (part 2)
Terry: “A Boyhood Among Juveniles” – Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
….Aquiring a healthy stock of bottle rockets and other fun fireworks, we made our way to a park that is often empty. Being that it was July 1st, it was a little early for the people of Honolulu to hear the graceful shriek of an airial being shot off 100 feet from their home, and our celebration was cut short by the infamous sound of sirens in the distance. Our happy moment of shooting bottle rockets and anything that caught our fancy was short lived indeed, and the running began in every direction. We split up, heading towards every escape point possible…. Read the whole story
Sharon Choi: “Swing High, Swing Low” – Seoul, South Korea
….Mr. Park got a call from his son’s kindergarten teacher who told him that his son had not come to school that day. Mr. Park immediately grabbed his jacket and ran out of the building to look for his son. He wondered what was going on; his son loved kindergarten so much that he never wanted to miss it. After several hours of hunting all around the neighborhood, stopping strangers to ask if they had seen his son, he finally found his son at the playground, sitting on the swing. Unable to control his temper, he found himself hitting his son again. Like the last time, the boy didn’t cry or say a word. All he said was, “Sorry, appa*.”…. Read the whole story Listen to Sharon’s podcast
Jenna: “My Natural High” – Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
….As a rule, I absolutely did not move when people asked me to go on amusement park rides with them. I was like a solid rock set into the earth, something no man could budge. But somehow, man had figured out how to use machines to move the rock, making the solid rock unstable…. Read the whole story
Lindsay Lee: “The Summer of 1950″ – Seoul, South Korea
….On June 9th, 1950, when it was just another day when my siblings and I were playing *dang-da-muk-gi (hop-scotch) and my father was nowhere to be seen, I heard the clinging and clanging of guns and swords afar. I also heard the radio transmitter screeching,
“Jun-jeng! Book-han kun!” War? North Koreans?…. Read the whole story Listen to Lindsay’s podcast
The Next 8 Tales: Honolulu, St. Louis 2008
Noah: “Death Is Such An Unfair Process” -St. Louis, Missouri, USA
…“Death is such an unfair process. Why is it that I, a future student at Harvard—someone who has worth—die at age eighteen when rapists live to eighty in jail? It’s completely ridiculous. You would think that God would have some common sense, but apparently—“
“Shut up, Tin Man.”
“How ‘bout you shut up, Barbie.”
“Calm down, kids! Now please, Troy, try to be optimistic. At least you’re not dead yet.”
“C’mon, Dad. You really think we’re going to survive? Open your eyes! Open your mind! Do you not see what I see? Is your mind so shut to anything unfortunate or adverse that you do not realize where we are? We’re in hell, father! Hell!”… Read the whole story
Taylor: “Catching The Stars” -St. Louis, Missouri, USA
…As I stepped along gracefully to the rhythmic patterns of the waves crashing, I gazed into the horizon of water and sky taking in every bit of sunlight that I could. I was surprised, even though I spend every day here; I am always amazed to see the ocean. It sparkles and gleams gently, but crashes thunderously at the same time. How can anything that soft be so violent at the same time? …Read the whole story
Jake: “Under The Influence” -St. Louis, Missouri, USA
…The plane slashed through the snowy clouds that slowly sailed across the endless blue sky. The aircraft radiated feelings of sorrow and anger as it glided in the air swiftly. At the center of the mourning was a boy with dark storm clouds circulating his backward cap.
The boy was tall and slim, but his most astounding character was that he was an Asian. However, he happened to not be your stereotypical Asian. In fact, if his appearance was different, you could even call him white. He wasn’t brilliant and he didn’t use big words and he even played tennis, white man’s sport. He despised his cultural background and would have thrown it away if he had the chance. How might I know this kid so well? Well, that poor child being sent off to Korea happened to be me…Read the whole story
Raina: “The Promise” -Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
...Pomaika’i was born and raised in La’iku, a menehune community nested in the trees of Kalihi Valley. The menehune of La’iku, recognized for their skilled craftsmanship in building heiaus and canoes, were swift, never seen by the eyes of any human. When the menehune first started giving the humans gifts of canoes or heiaus, the humans did not know who gave them these mysterious gifts…Read the whole story
Bria: “Shiloh” -Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
…Shadows spattered like ink under the red and gold of the autumn trees. Busily pursuing a nut, a squirrel slid up an almost leafless bough and retrieved an acorn. It scampered back down the trunk, headed for its stash of nuts, and practically landed on the dog that was sitting patiently below.
It was a huge German shepherd, black and tawny gold, tail curled precisely around its four paws and its ears tipped forward, focused on the squirrel. Tipping its black and gold head to one side, it said, “When was the last time you saw the Lawsens’ little boy?”
The squirrel looked toward the white Victorian – style house, just visible through the trees...Read the whole story
Mari: “A Fighting Chance” -Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
…Plane rides. I hate them. You sit there for hours, fidgeting next to random strangers who always take up too much space and snore, and all you get is a pack of peanuts to eat. And the seats! Do no even get me started about the seats; they’re terrible. I’ve never understood why they are so uncomfortable. Its like the manufacturers go out of their way to make it impossible to get comfy. As if flying high above the ground at neck-breaking speeds doesn’t make you uncomfortable enough...Read the whole story
