Yellowface

And yet it’s this story that brings me down.

I have a few theories on who the account is. Adele Sparks-Sato, maybe. Lily Wu and Kimberly Deng are contenders.

I’m not obsessed with stealing Asian culture—I mean, before The Last Front, I had no interest in modern Chinese history whatsoever.

Athena never personally experienced suffering. She just got rich from it. She wrote an award-winning short story based on what she saw at that exhibit, titled “Whispers along the Yalu.” And she wasn’t even Korean.

“And without us, these stories wouldn’t get told.”

I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. THIEF. PLAGIARIZER. AND PERHAPS, because all bad things must be racially motivated, Racist.

The truth is fluid. There is always another way to spin the story, another wrench to throw into the narrative.

Without Athena, who am I?

Give me your bruises and hurts, she told us, and I will return to you a diamond.

Blocking out the negativity, because when you’re a writer, all that matters is the story within.