Memento Mori - by Sherry Chen - Midnight Musings

Spotify shuffled to Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” during my long drive back from LA last weekend. Half zoned out, my mind flew back to 2002. I was six, munching on snacks in the backseat of a Chery with Qianqian. Celine Dion was looping in the background. The memory has faded with time, like an overexposed polaroid. The Chery belonged to Uncle Hu, a close friend of my dad. It was in this car that my dad learned to drive, and then took Qianqian and me on numerous adventures in suburban Shanghai, flying kites in empty parking lots or eating rotisserie chicken on newly built lawns. Midnight Musings is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a subscriber. Qianqian was Uncle Hu’s first daughter. In 2002, their family just moved to Minhang, a suburban district in Shanghai. My family moved here five years prior. My dad met Uncle Hu at a local home decor market as he shopped for furniture for our new home, and they bonded over shared experiences of leaving

Spotify shuffled to Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” during my long drive back from LA last weekend. Half zoned out, my mind flew back to 2002. I was six, munching on snacks in the backseat of a Chery with Qianqian. Celine Dion was looping in the background. The memory has faded with time, like an overexposed polaroid. The Chery belonged to Uncle Hu, a close friend of my dad. It was in this car that my dad learned to drive, and then took Qianqian and me on numerous adventures in suburban Shanghai, flying kites in empty parking lots or eating rotisserie chicken on newly built lawns. Midnigh