ina due to the heat and humidity may also act as a symbol of her taking off her mask an revealing her true identity; her Chinese identity by blood. There is a parallel in the story between the father and daughter. It is not only June May who discovers her Chinese roots but also her father rediscovers his childhood Chinese in him. Both the father and daughter are going to China for the same reason: to see their sisters. Her father is going to meet his older sister, Aiyi, and June May is going to see her half-sisters from her mothers first mirage. Their reaction when they see their sisters is the same; they are both emotionally moved. Their response when June May helps her father take a picture of him and Aiyi is the same as when June May and her sisters eagerly wait for the film to develop. The camera flashes and I hand them the snapshot. Aiyi and my father still stand close together, each of them holding the corner of the picture, watching as their images begin to form. They are almost reverentially quiet. The flash of the Polaroid goes off and my father hands me the snapshot. My sisters and I watch quietly together, eager to see what develops.One of the important elements of the story are the names of the characters. In Chinese all names have a special meaning. June Mays mothers name was Suyuan. In Chinese, it, it meant Long Cherished Wish. Just like her name, Suyuan did have a wish that she spent her lifetime searching for. It was to look for her lost twin daughters from her first mirage that she lost during the Second World War. And the first character of her name means Forever Never Forgotten, also like she never forgot about her daughters even when she died.The lost twin sisters names are Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa, meaning Spring Rain and Spring Flower because they were born in the spring, and of course rain comes before flower, same order these girls are born. Their names, derived from nature, where flower follows rain also indicate ...
