Mooncake

Every autumn I see photos of families sharing mooncakes to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, and I feel a pang of nostalgia. Not because I like mooncakes, but because I miss being a daughter and having these occasions to gather several generations around a table to enjoy a meal together. My parents must have sensed my loneliness because they visited me in a dream on the eve of the harvest moon.

“We are quiet around the table. My dad is cutting the omelet and mooncake into four pieces even though there are five of us. The only words I hear are my dad muttering, “I haven’t even served this yet and already more food is arriving.” He is looking over my shoulder, at someone I cannot see approaching the table with more food.”

• Read the full essay at Jellyfish Review. This essay was nominated for Best Small Fictions.