Next – A Vignette

Based on the format of the chapter Next in the novel Sold by Patricia McCormick.

NEXT

As I walk into an alley with rundown houses, moldy walls and the smell of sewage and feces,

Looking at the puddles, cow dung and god-know-what-else on the ground to avoid dirtying my sneakers, next to

A group of people sitting on the back of a decorated truck, craning their necks to get a better look of us, next to

A little boy and a little girl jumping back and forth over a black puddle, the boy slipped and got his left foot wet, next to

An empty yellow rickshaw, next to

A cow leisurely lying in the shade of a tin roof, next to

Everything I Need to Know

Emulation of the chapter Everything I Need to Know in the novel Sold by Patricia McCormick.

Everything I Need to Know

Before today, mommy says, you could wear basketball shorts, run around and get as tan as a piece of burnt wood,

Now, mother says, you must wear dresses, be neat and act elegantly,

Never get your knees scraped up,

Never climb trees because you will rip your dress,

Never be too bold around boys and get too touchy-freely with them,

And never act differently around girls,

Otherwise people will think you are not normal.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.

Audio-visual passage video by Gawa, Chau and Alejandro.

Artwork and narration by Chau Pham.