My mother had a balcony of aloe, cape jasmines, and Chinese asparagus. I killed all of them except the aloe but with good intentions. I wanted to nurture the plants.

I mixed up pineapple pieces, bread with jam for carbs, salted fish for protein, yoghurt for calcium, potassium and zinc, and I drizzled this nutritious goo on the balcony plants. They died from the salt and sugar. Only a few aloes were able to resist my lethal kindness.

THOSE PEOPLE! BY WEIYU DU 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 86

My mother had a balcony of aloe, cape jasmines, and Chinese asparagus. I killed all of them except the aloe but with good intentions. I wanted to nurture the plants.

Mom nurtured me by forcing me to eat two chopsticks of nauseatingly sweet carrots. “Vitamins are important,” she said. So I mixed up pineapple pieces, bread with jam for carbs, salted fish for protein, yoghurt for calcium, potassium and zinc, and I drizzled this nutritious goo on the balcony plants. They died from the salt and sugar. Only a few aloes were able to resist my lethal kindness.

One of my childhood memories was watching mom changing the plant’s pots. They had outgrown their pots, she said, …