The Twin Cascade
- Mengya Wu
- Santa Clara, CA
- CHINA
- 17
The woman on the bed was confused by the doctor who just abruptly left the room. Minutes before she had received her ultrasound after being seven months pregnant. As a pregnant woman in the 1990s in the People’s Republic of China, she knew ultrasounds were given so late to prevent early abortions if the baby was a girl (farmers would rather have a strong boy to work fields and carry the family name).
Minutes before, she had reclined on the offered bed and tenderly rubbed her rounded belly as the doctor placed the cool pad on her stomach. Beep- “Truly wonderful, it’s a girl…head down…very healthy”. Beep- the pad moved sideways, “…Huh? Another head?” The women clutched the bed sheets in horror, the mantra “I have a baby with two heads!” sent her heart spiraling into a sinister abyss. Beep-the pad moved down- “Oh! Another set of arms, a pair of legs…” The women gasped out “Another…I have a 2nd baby!” Right after the revelation she gripped the doctor’s arm into a vice, “Is it a girl or a boy?” she demanded, hoping to get her wishful dream of having a boy and a girl. Beep-“I can’t tell” the doctor sighed, “Just wait one moment…” and the doctor left the room.
Tap…Tap, the footsteps echoed as the doctor ambled to where the husband was waiting anxiously. Upon seeing the doctor, he sprang up, “Is the ba-“ “I’m sorry but you have to pay for another ultrasound” the doctor interrupted and then abruptly strode back to the room. The husband, my father, was left gaping as he fumbled for some extra yen, hurriedly paid, and sprinted down the hall to my mother, who had only 4 thoughts, 1) How will I get the babies out 2) Darn, the subsidy the government gives to parents with single children is out 3) I can only get 1 child into kindergarten, the other I have to pay ridiculous amount of money 4) Shoot, I have to go abroad.Sadly, one month later, my mother discovered that the second twin was in fact a girl, me.
Thus the unexpected occurrence of having twins and the set restrictions against a second child, forced my mom to immigrate to Canada, with my father following along with us 2 years later. Eventually we all moved to Minnesota, US. The stroke of fate that dubbed me a twin, consequentially also led my family to be the first to travel to America, shaped my future. My life in Canada, taught me how to compromise. Short on money since both my father and mother were still getting established, my family suffered through my sister’s and my jealousy rages. Going to a convenience store, my dad decided to buy a 4 piece set of toy doctor tools: a plastic syringe, some blunt scissors, a stethoscope, and a knee hammer. That night, my father deeply regretted his decision. The moment I, only 4 years old, saw the brand new toys I knew that they were mine. To my dismay, another child wanted the same set. For nights we screamed at each other whenever my father attempted to have us share.
Inevitably, with the stern chastisement of my father, I learned to share. Later on, when I was ten I found out that the girl who always was around me was actually my twin. Now at the age of seventeen, I grew up learning, more often being taught through stern reprimands, to compromise, but still retained my competitive nature. My surroundings gradually changed from shanty apartments to towering two story houses. Thrust into an environment teaming with playgrounds, I sprinted into the world of high action frolicking. I ran where I will, I dreamt what I wished, and I reveled in the unadulterated freedom presented to me.
As the years continued slipping through my hands, I waved a farewell to crisp earthy mornings and catching butterflies by their wings as I steadily became involved in academics. Still, the joy of having free reign, made me crave that same freedom in academics. When in 6th grade, I nearly burst with relief as my artistic side emerged when I did my science fair project to my grand dreams. Walking away with an award from the regionals, I yearned to taste that sweet temptation again. It is strange how the beginning of my life, my birth, had drastically affected my future.
By an even stranger stroke of fate, my family, gifted with twins, was pushed to immigrate to the US due to China’s old laws that discouraged more than one child. Near the finale of the series of events, I ended up having a dream, more like a craving, to relive that thrill. My Minnesota childhood, a result of my sister and my birth, bred me to be creative and adventurous, but I found an even greater addiction in the indoor world of academics.
I learned to compromise between the urge to release my imagination and the desire to impress my parents. There was a cascade effect the moment my mother discovered I existed and oddly enough, that effect ended up defining what I wish to be: a success story who excels with the right and left side of her brain (artistic and analytical).