A cool summer breeze hung in the air, teasing passersby and allowing them a brief respite from the thick, warm weather. The school year had just ended and families everywhere were eagerly packing and taking a break from their routine lives. The airports, highways, and docks were crowded with people hurrying about. The boy observed all this without interest, and turned to his own family, who he noticed were now calling at him to hurry up as he had fallen behind. “Justin, walk a bit faster! We were supposed been there 10 minutes ago!” his mother hollered at him from several meters ahead while lugging his two siblings and her luggage behind her. Slightly annoyed by the interruption, Justin quickened his pace once more and walked after them.

He had been unenthusiastic at the prospect of leaving home, going back to a birth place he’d never known, and meeting people he didn’t remember, and had pointedly expressed his thoughts to his parents, more so by angry shouting and wild gesturing than the calm demeanor that normally accompanied him. Unfortunately, he’d had no say in the matter, and had packed along with them. “We spent a lot of money preparing for this trip,” they scolded. “Be grateful. Not everyone gets this chance like you are. Anyone else would be grateful but not you.” He’d submitted reluctantly, but privately he smoldered in anger, pointing bitter curses and fury at this forced and meaningless excursion. Now he was at the Washington US Airlines airport with his mother and two brothers, headed for the shuttle that would bring them to the airplane.

“There’s no need for such hurry, Mom. We still have at least 15 minutes to get there,” Justin grumbled to her as he caught up, trying his luck again to delay the inevitable. She glanced at him irritably

“There’s no such thing as being too early.”

She had become aware of his tactics for stalling, as his excuses for slowing down or not getting on the plane became increasingly frequent.

“Last time you wanted to stop at a café to get some food, but you barely ate anything. The time before that you stopped at a souvenir store to browse. I know what you’re doing, and I don’t like it. We’re going on the plane, no matter what. No more excuses from now on.”

He cut back an angry retort and shut up, but glared daggers at her back and silently imitated her voice in a mocking falsetto. He was distracted by their arrival at the shuttle and occupied himself with moving his suitcase onto the seat. As they entered the airplane and found their seats, he saw that his family had chosen the middle aisle seats, and he groaned inwardly. This is going to be a long nine hour ride, he thought. During the flight, his mind drifted into a state of pondering and doubtful questioning. “What am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to get all nice and cuddly with people I’ve never met? What will they think of me? What am I supposed to think of them? These thoughts scrambled repeatedly in his head, making him clutch his head and groan silently. He had left Taiwan, his birthplace, when he was two, and hadn’t been able to talk, much less remember the names of his relatives. “How the heck, am I, of all people, going to take up a relationship that never started?” he murmured inarticulately as his head drooped and finally, welcomed the calming abyss of slumber.
“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. We’re here.” Justin was violently shook awake from a nice dream of being home, surrounded with comfortable and familiar people and things, and grumpily made his way out. As they left the airport and entered a taxi, he became increasingly panicked, and his heart sank at the approaching inevitable. What if they don’t like me, he despaired. I’ll be staying here the entire summer. What a horrible time that would be! Twenty minutes later, they got off in a dark neighborhood in front of a giant metal door.

The doorbell rung loudly through the neighborhood, jerking him out of his brooding. He watched as the hunk of metal swung smoothly on its well-oiled hinges, and saw an old woman with lots of wrinkles, frizzy hair, and a warm smile beaming at them from the entrance. “Oh, hello, hello! We’ve been expecting you for so long now! It’s so good to see you again, Anita!” she exclaimed. His mother grinned at her mother, which Justin thought vaguely was highly bizarre, and urged everyone inside. As Justin walked into the flat in a daze, he noticed dryly the small living conditions and the narrow rooms. His relatives were clustered in a space right in front of the door with couches and a T.V, chatting. “Justin, Michael, William, say hello to your relatives!” his mother called. His brothers complied, bobbing their heads up and down and muttering small hellos. Justin, however, just lifted his hand a bit and pasted a fake smile on his face. His aunts, uncles, and cousins began introductions, but for Justin, the names seemed to fly in one ear and out the other. The rest of the afternoon and evening were an uninteresting blur as he dumped his stuff in the small room he and his brothers were to share and sat quietly to the side as his parents and relatives caught up with each other.
Soon, the sky turned dark, and one by one his relatives left for bed. Before he went to sleep, however, his mother took him aside. “Justin, you’d better watch how you act. Your relatives are all very happy to see you after such a long time. What will they think when you have such a bad attitude to them? They’ll think that I didn’t teach you well and that you’re a spoiled kid with no respect for your elders,” she whispered strictly. Uncowed, Justin glared back at argued,
“They don’t like me, I don’t like them either. It’s obvious. I never even knew them anyway,” he looked away with resentment.
His mother sighed. “Look, Justin, you don’t know that. I know it’s hard to be friendly with people you haven’t met before, especially if they’re your family. But they’re very friendly, and once you spend some time with them, it’ll be okay. You just have to get to know them better, that’s all. And the way to do that is to be nice, have a good attitude, and do a lot of things together. You can’t judge whether or not you like people or if they like you or not until you know them well enough. Tomorrow we’ll be going sightseeing with your grandparents. It will be a good opportunity for you to get familiar with them. Once you show good attitude, and be friendly and not frown all the time, they will start to show their like for you, understand?”
Justin, however, had blanked out after the words “You can’t judge whether or not you like people or if they like you or not until you know them well enough” He pondered the words. What was he supposed to do? He’d distanced himself away from his relatives, but what purpose did that suit? What could he gain from widening the gap between them? Nothing, he decided. Nothing at all. With his inner turmoil calmed, he looked up and saw his mother watching him. With mixed feelings, and a sudden flicker of hope, he nodded and went to sleep with the thoughts “Get to know them better” and “Become more friendly” ringing like bells in his head.

Suddenly, this trip didn’t seem so bad after all, he thought. Maybe there was hope for it to be tolerable, enjoyable, even. Worn out by that day’s excitement, Justin drew the covers closer and fell into a peaceful sleep.