This collection by longtime fantasy and science fiction writer William F. Wu includes triple-award finalist âWongâs Lost and Found Emporium,â which was adapted into a Twilight Zone episode in 1985, and eight more stories of magical places, events, and spirits. Many of the stories involve issues regarding Americans of Chinese descent, and all involve universal concerns.
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âWhatâs wrong with you?â she demanded. âI want to know! Why are you so callous?â She snatched up the metal container from the floor in front of me and held it wrapped in her shawl. âTell me now!â she screamed, right in front of me.
I leaned forward and spoke, glaring into her eyes. âI came in here looking for my compassion. I lost it years ago, bit by bit. I lost it when I was eight, and other kids chased me around the playground for no visible reasonâand they werenât playing. When I started junior high and got beat up in gym class because the rest of the school was white, like my grade school. When I ran for student congress and had my posters covered with swastikas and KKK symbols. And that was before I got out into the world on my own. You want to hear about my adult life?â
I paused to catch my breath. She backed away from me.
âIâve lost more of my compassion every year of my life for every year I can remember, until I donât have any more. Well, itâs here, but I canât find it.â
She stood speechless in front of me. Letting her have it all at once accomplished that much, at least.t figured.