I only realize, after I am at Hogwarts that I left my scarf at home. Ma will be angry, writing me letters about how l'll die without that scarf, how I'll catch pneumonia, just like that girl she read about in the newspaper.
Sure enough, I get her letter the next week. I don't open it at breakfast, but wait until that night to read it in the common room. I don't want any of my friends knowing that I have a pyscho for a mother.
Cho-ah,
How are you? I had a little head cold, nothing serious. Meinlul doctor said I was imagining...hnnh, I don't imagine things. Gave me little white pills to take, said called Tynel. I flushed them down the toilet--I only trust Chinese medicine, went to herb seller next day and wah--look, my head cold went, now it's someone else's bad luck.
I wrote LuLing other day. She says her daughter is going to special wizard school in San Francisco, just for Chinese witches: no boys to make your mind wander. Wah, don't say that you don't like. When I was you're age, me and all my friends what you call boy insane. It's true.
You left your scarf during Christmas time. You'll catch cold and there's no herb seller in Scotland that can help you then. You'll sneeze yourself inside out and then that would be bad, people wouldn't know difference between you and a bad ghost. You be careful, right?
I was thinking other day. You said your home has symbol of raven. Not very good luck. All your dreams will fly away. Be careful. Ravenclaw is a very unlucky house. Snake is bad house too, good you aren't in it, because then you can never show face, you'll always be slithering around. Very, very, bad luck. Better to be in the lion or badger house. Lion house has lucky colors: red and gold, imperial colors. But lion house, you say, keeps losing to snake house. To be in a losing house, lots of shame. Your colors, wah, blue and purple. Little boy colors. Better than the badger house, yellow-like a Buddhist monk.
Need to go now, am knitting you new surprise for when you come home for springtime. Found very pretty color yarn, cheap too.
-Your Mother
Really! I had to bite my lip from crying out in rage."Very unlucky house." She sounds like an ancient soothsayer. I take out a quill, feeling annoyance in my stomach.
Ma,
You're being so silly. Why'd you go to a Muggle doctor? Wizard remedies work much better. And it's Tylonel. You're being dumb about the lucky colors too. Would you stop annoying me? I don't care about Luling's stupid daughter, stop comparing me to her. You don't know anything about me. You're still lost in China. Why are you so weird? Why can't you be a normal mother?
Do you want to know something else? That scarf you gave me was ugly!
I give the letter to my owl, Wen, and climb up to my dormitory, falling instantly asleep so I can't let the guilt settle into my bones.
Sure enough, I get her letter the next week. I don't open it at breakfast, but wait until that night to read it in the common room. I don't want any of my friends knowing that I have a pyscho for a mother.
Cho-ah,
How are you? I had a little head cold, nothing serious. Meinlul doctor said I was imagining...hnnh, I don't imagine things. Gave me little white pills to take, said called Tynel. I flushed them down the toilet--I only trust Chinese medicine, went to herb seller next day and wah--look, my head cold went, now it's someone else's bad luck.
I wrote LuLing other day. She says her daughter is going to special wizard school in San Francisco, just for Chinese witches: no boys to make your mind wander. Wah, don't say that you don't like. When I was you're age, me and all my friends what you call boy insane. It's true.
You left your scarf during Christmas time. You'll catch cold and there's no herb seller in Scotland that can help you then. You'll sneeze yourself inside out and then that would be bad, people wouldn't know difference between you and a bad ghost. You be careful, right?
I was thinking other day. You said your home has symbol of raven. Not very good luck. All your dreams will fly away. Be careful. Ravenclaw is a very unlucky house. Snake is bad house too, good you aren't in it, because then you can never show face, you'll always be slithering around. Very, very, bad luck. Better to be in the lion or badger house. Lion house has lucky colors: red and gold, imperial colors. But lion house, you say, keeps losing to snake house. To be in a losing house, lots of shame. Your colors, wah, blue and purple. Little boy colors. Better than the badger house, yellow-like a Buddhist monk.
Need to go now, am knitting you new surprise for when you come home for springtime. Found very pretty color yarn, cheap too.
-Your Mother
Really! I had to bite my lip from crying out in rage."Very unlucky house." She sounds like an ancient soothsayer. I take out a quill, feeling annoyance in my stomach.
Ma,
You're being so silly. Why'd you go to a Muggle doctor? Wizard remedies work much better. And it's Tylonel. You're being dumb about the lucky colors too. Would you stop annoying me? I don't care about Luling's stupid daughter, stop comparing me to her. You don't know anything about me. You're still lost in China. Why are you so weird? Why can't you be a normal mother?
Do you want to know something else? That scarf you gave me was ugly!
I give the letter to my owl, Wen, and climb up to my dormitory, falling instantly asleep so I can't let the guilt settle into my bones.