Member-only story
A Family’s Curse
Remembering my uncle, a kind soul who never had the love he deserved
The curse
Since I was a kid, I’ve been convinced that my family is cursed.
I remember two things about my maternal grandmother: how much she liked to beat her kids black and blue, and the nightmares, or visions, that tormented her. When I was about 8 I heard her wailing in the early morning; it wasn’t loud, but was terrifying like a zombie’s screech. She was dreaming of ghosts that were trying to kill her. Mom told me that my grandfather, who passed away before I was born, once tried to wake her up; when he touched her hand he felt something like an electrical shock. A few days later, he died of a stroke. The ghosts killed grandpa; we’re all cursed, I thought.
Grandma screamed at her 5 kids with a rod, hitting their bodies pretty much every day. And for some reason, my mother and Uncle Jia-Xiang got the most scornful eye treatment from everyone. As a kid, he was shy and easily frightened. When he was about 9, my mom gave him 5 cents and asked him to buy some candy for her. After a long while, she noticed him pacing at the front door crying. The shop owner only gave him 2 cents worthy of candy, he was afraid she’d blame him. Mom smiled and gave him half of her candy. Once my grandma asked him to buy some bread. He left…
