Women are weak, but mothers are strong.

Mostly though, they waited. For the mail. For the news. For the bells. For breakfast and lunch and dinner. For one day to be over and the next day to begin.

We lost weight and grew thin. We stopped bleeding. We stopped dreaming. We stopped wanting.

And if anyone asks, you're Chinese. The boy had nodded. Chinese, he whispered. I'm Chinese. And I, said the girl, am the Queen of Spain. In your dreams, said the boy. In my dreams, said the girl, I'm the King.

We forgot about Buddha. We forgot about God. We developed a coldness inside us that still has not thawed. I fear my soul has died. We stopped writing home to our mothers. We lost weight and grew thin. We stopped bleeding. We stopped dreaming. We stopped wanting.?