Cally Nguyen

When a visit from the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services interrupts the humble, kindred lifestyle of a Vietnam War immigrant and the grandson in his custody, the two spend their last days together braving what will soon become the broken pieces on which they built their lives.

Thematically, this story was inspired by my mom's death in 2022. I wanted to explore the worst point of grieving- Stagnation. When you have mourned someone or something with everything in you and all that's left of the pain is a healed wound, but for some reason you cannot stop picking at it. To me, it is a deliberate and brave choice to allow oneself to simply experience life again without guilt.