My Gentle Cousin

In the years of country life, A Kuan's childhood always revolved around the gentleness of his cousin, Wanxin. She tucked in his blankets on cold nights, slipped him candy on the way home from school, gave his shoulder a soft pat when he was feeling down, and was always there whenever he turned around. Her kindness was quiet, like the stream by the village entrance, flowing through all the years of A Kuan's life and becoming the most peaceful time he would ever know.