They Burned My Name From the Family: Now I'm Untouchable

At the family's memorial gathering, four tall stacks of blessing offerings sat piled beside the fire basin.

One for my father, one for my mother, one for my brother, one for my brother's girlfriend.

None for me.

I kept telling myself the old coastal customs had a lot of rules, and maybe they were still getting mine ready.

The very first day my brother brought his girlfriend home, my mother treated her like one of us and bought her the most expensive gold-leaf paper there was.

I sent eight thousand dollars home on schedule every single month,