Markham Creates

Escape to the Azores - Thiviyaa Sehasothy

Artist Name: Thiviyaa Sehasothy Title: Escape to the Azores Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: Celebrating life and the beautiful world around us by capturing it on my canvas, is my mode of expression. As a Markham abstract & landscape artist, I am inspired by the travel and the issues close to my heart. I hope to inspire others through colour.

Submission 2 - Marie Russell

Artist Name: Marie Russell Title: Submission 2 Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: You must always embrace your talents. Life got in the way and I did not pick up a paint brush for 25 years - restarting in 2011. My mission is to encourage busy working women not to take a break as it is essential to our satisfaction with life.

Sambura - Joy Fenske

Artist Name: Joy Fenske Title: Sambura Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: I try to paint pictures of Africa to remind my grandchildren of their roots.

Submission 1 - Kristianne Cheong

Artist Name: Kristianne Cheong Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: I have a great passion for designing pieces that I believe represent significant concerns in the environment. My artwork addresses different types of pollution within nature and the negative affects on wildlife (water & forestry pollution, global warming)

Unlimited Space and Time - Suki Zhang

Artist Name: Suki Zhang Title: Unlimited Space and Time Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: My name is Suki Zhang, I am a Toronto-based artist and have chosen art as my career since 2014. The art works I create mainly focus on the relationship between human and universe, and provoke discussion about roles each individual can play in the world.

Emma Zheng

This is my 4 year old daughter Emma drew her pet Teemo. Her idea was that inside Teemo’s body were things Teemo loves. Teemo loves watching others playing basketball outside. He loves his toys and collars and etc. Outside Teemo’s body are things that he doesn’t like. Teemo doesn’t like to take a bath. He doesn’t want to brush his teeth or go to training pad to pee and others. Markham is a pet friendly community and we often see people walking their dogs all around the parks and trails.

Chloe Lee

Frances Yoong

There are 89 flowers here. Since the emergency order started on March 17 in Ontario, I crochet a flower for each day we stay home until now. I feel like we have to do something to remember this difficult time in 2020.

Joy Fenske - Collection of Bells

The collection of about 500 bells was started in 1993. (Reduced from about 800) The oldest dates back to 1902 commemorates the Coronation of King Edward VII

Frances Yoong

Markham: An Acrostic Exploration - Austina Yu

Markham: An Acrostic Exploration Note: Each of these seven stories starts with one of the letters in Markham. More time had passed than I thought. The streets and houses were empty, and it was not at all what I expected. It felt like I was looking at nothing, but at one time, this had been everything. A passer-by called in my direction, “Whatever you’re looking for, it isn’t here.” At least, not anymore. I walked until I saw what I needed to see: a child walking on the icy ground, holding onto a world that wanted to slip away. I was lost, but I was not afraid. This wasn’t my place anymore. August was coming. A time of change and stagnation. Lia was turning thirteen, but she still felt twelve. Or eleven. What does it mean to get older, anyway? When she moved to Markham, it had been August for thirty days, which meant Lia had been eight years old for the same amount of time. She and August always aged together until, just as suddenly as August had come, it was over. August never knows what happens in September, and maybe that’s for the better. When she was younger, Lia tried to celebrate August 30th, but it felt more like celebrating the death of a friend. This year, she decided to let the tide of August carry her wherever it wanted her to go. “Rabbits have to be careful if we want to survive in this world.” That’s what my mother tells me. “Always keep your eyes and ears open for signs of danger.” I haven’t seen any danger yet, and Mom says I should always be prepared. But I’m more than ready ⁠— it sounds really exciting! We live under a huge piece of wood next to some yummy plants. Sometimes, we have to hide under the wood when we hear booming sounds above. I think they’re the giants, but Mom keeps saying the giants aren’t real. I know they’re real, and they don’t always want rabbits like us around. But we’re staying around. Keeping time is harder than it seems. It slips out of your perfectly good pockets, floats away from your cupped hands. You can’t keep it in a cage or pack it away in a box. How long has it been since I’ve gotten here? When I try to remember, I always go back in time. Remembering one thing makes me remember what happened before, like living my life again in reverse. Things don’t seem real when they’re not happening anymore, so I try to reanimate them. I go back and forth between the events that have happened, while time slips further and further away. I know I need to move forward again. I think it’s time. “Hello, rabbit!” That’s what I say to the rabbit, but I don’t think it hears me. If it could hear me, it might just run away. There are a lot of cute rabbits in Markham, like the one in my backyard and the one in my classroom. The rabbit in my backyard is nibbling on our garden plants. My parents wouldn’t like that, but how could they not like something so adorable? The rabbit in my classroom nibbles on newspaper and carrot tops and sometimes we have to clean up after him. I like my grade four class. I haven’t been able to take home the rabbit yet, but now I have one in my backyard! I hope it likes our plants. August was the longest month. That’s what it felt like to break the pattern of the months, to have 31 days after 31 days of July. Longer still was the time it waited every year for its moment of glory. When it came, people found all kinds of reasons to dislike August: the heat, the end of summer, the way it seemed to drag on forever. August didn’t know about Aurelia, the girl named for the golden rays of the sun. August didn’t know it reminded her of where she had been and where she would go. She had moved to a new city, but August was always the same. The only thing that ever changed was the people in it, year after year. Memories have a way of letting the past bleed into the present. I remember everyone who has been here, lived in my houses, and walked on my streets. Sometimes they come back searching for a lost connection, but there’s nothing I can offer them. A wanderer passes by who cannot see me. You left me when you were a child, like so many of your friends. Do you still know them? I should ask Markham how you’ve been these past ten years. But for now, you should leave and return home, to the place where you can see clearly. Artist’s statement: As a Journalism and Humanities student, I have written more articles and essays than fiction. I try to bring authenticity and originality to everything I write, and these stories are my way of finding truth in fiction. In this piece, I wanted to tell a story about my life from unexpected perspectives, showing that the way I imagine others is really a reflection of myself. In general, I write because I want to think about something in a new way, and I hope my work helps others to do the same.

Time Doesn’t Change — Spoken Poem

My name is Ananiya Narmathan and I enjoy writing poems to convey my thoughts and emotions. During this COVID-19 pandemic, I have felt a mix of emotions. I have wrote this spoken poem to open the jar of emotions Inside of me regarding the lockdown and how I feel living in Markham during the lock down. I hope you enjoy the poem and perhaps you may even connect to it. Stay safe everyone! This is the link to my spoken poem on YouTube... https://youtu.be/BPjJwT6q5ls

THE DOMINION OF HERE: WATCHING IN MARKHAM THROUGH FIVE POEMS - Ken Wightman

ARTIST’S STATEMENT I have read and written poetry on and off for many years. At its roots, poetry is about the energy and excitement of being caught up in the music of language, and registering how life and world interact, in a way that gets the truth and zest of it. That is why I write: I want to capture in poetry what I watched and what it felt like and meant, candidly. Each of the five poems in the suite portrays diverse perspectives of my experience of Markham. They touch on this country, this city and especially sides of nature encountered in it. The Dominion of Here We are heading home To our place in Markham Much east of The Falls Past the rough of Buffalo To a country bred of order And moody scattered space Yes, the sad rubber-stamp malls The same fifty percent Off while it inevitably lasts But you have learned That up further, way up Much north of here Are multitudes of forests Tundra you have never seen and Excessive unrelieved ice Where absence is general It is this that shapes the rest, A part of its sense, the geist of it, That, and the smudged Little histories of workers Boats of beaten immigrants Encounters with incumbent Indians All sprinkled over too much space The big bossy south imposes Its dollared pull, but we will remain Up here, the dominion of us and this The dominion of here And so I think Of queens, boats and birds We have staged on coins Of specific streets where I have lived Of friends, of cities Of snow on cleft rock, of fluttery poplars Of brothers and sisters De nos belles provinces Of plains morose as seas This Canada, this Markham Our home, our home Park Near Toogood Pond Walking home in the park I looked up at An array of partly bright and billowed maples Their leaf domes taking in the intermittent wind Auxiliary breezes wafting and working the leaves Bobbing, sighing, fluttering, the eddies circulating Probing into their overlapped masses Seemingly released and then settled back Dazzling in their grand relaxed givenness As though integral to a broader scheme of merit Two women sat near a stump, having a slow smoke Talking, their gray dog sniffing for ground smells And dog-like not really lighting on one for long On the sunward side the trees glowed, on the other They were dark, secondary and almost still As though the disclosure nearby was in excess, and here Admitting only a portion of short-lived gloaming light The several dimensions resolving to a kind of whole: So much of the world was caught up here Over-determined swaying entangled and vast The distance from one opening to another not much Though in the gaps, room for birds and high passages How did one's imagining remake the ranks of trees? And how did the air of a June evening take up one Ascension-like to an amber-green cathedral of sense That expanded and ran out in sorties to an elevated kind Of knowing? Fall Sky Over Unionville on a Very Cold September Day in the Chinese Shih Style For Du Fu and Li Bai both part of an 8th century Tang Dynasty group of scholars called the “Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup” ****** Autumn sky in the coral morning Brilliance before etched November Spider-veined leaves play and flutter From trees in mourning, now departing ****** Plump geese on the reddened sky Ascend overhead in their squawking Fattened fields of corn still half-picked Snow moon is waiting for its entrance ****** Just before the midnight of this day Earth smells enter the snap of air The potion works, I am left sleepy Oaks softly rustle, leaves are raised ****** Through the woods past the field Apricot lights of houses flicker And I on this side under the sky Peering out on night descended Wetlands near Seven The flurry of starlings wheels in Banks left, dissolves to a fading plane In unity over the mass of marsh, snaps back Returns, blistering, brash and quick Swivels into a jaunty angle, explodes Breaks, then descends like burnt black Cinders, slowing up, settling, wings up Sifting, feathering down, melding Into their base and sanctuary The green-drenched reeds beckon and wave Until the birds dissolve themselves into The waiting palette below March Ice Come skate, says my son The ice is frozen good This may be the last game Of the season On the farmer's flooded field Over by Highway Seven Plankton and weeds are Sealed into the ice Bubbles of air are caught In mid-motion, close Up to the sharpened air, suspended In immobile chains of silver We shinny for a while In the harsh March wind This is the last for sure Snow is blowing in Men and boys leave We head around the ice Do a few snazzy passes Mix it up in the corners We're the only players left The sun is setting down The shadows assume a Sombre blue before the night The brief northern days Are miserly with the light Get this long one, son, get Ahead of it, move with it Keep your head up Remember what I told you His skates inscribe Interim lines on the surface His mother wants us home For dinner; we're late Play hard, guy, this Will all soon be gone

Dhara Bharanitharan - Marina

Marina - Written by Dhara It is a sunny morning and clock was ticking 6.00am. Lot of people going walking on road, lot of car, ambulance, police, fire trucks sounds, lot of kids playing sounds in the parks and all tall buildings. In one of the tallest building , on the 30th floor, there lived a girl named Marina. Marina lives in a tall apartment home located near Sheppard and Yonge intersection. She is 6 years old , studying in Grade 1 with her favourite colour as light pink. She is short, not tall and brings always smile in others face because she always keeps her mouth as smiling mouth. Marina is kind girl and loves her family very much. Her dad is fun and playful all the time. Her mommy is helpful and kindful but most of all she likes the hugs and kisses they both would give. Marina also has a baby brother and he is always naughty, fun to play with him. Marina loves to go school everyday without fail since she feels school is place to have learning with fun. Her teacher name is Ms.Lavender. Marina did her daily schedule at school itself. It is mentioned to have some reading. Marina lovers to read all types of genres but most liked ones are comics and funny stories. Her teacher told to read a non fiction book but sadly she did not know what a non-fiction book. so she asked her teacher and her teacher explained Marina about non fiction. On and On days passed by until on day there was an assembly, Marinas day and mommy were there. When the teacher announced the name of the people who are getting awards. Marinaʼs name was called out. Marina was happy and she had such a big smiling face. When Marina was holding the award, her mommy and daddy were happy and taking pictures. After which Marina was walking with her mommy and Daddy. Her mommy told that they have a surprise for her when they reach home. When they got home, Marinaʼs father told her that We are moving to new place. Marina was shocked, surprised, big smile and was so happy to see the new place but Marina would have to say but to her friends and teachers. Marina still wanted to know about new place so that she can tell her friends and Mommy told here that they are moving to Markham. So before the moving day, Marina made sweet cards and nice presents for her classmates and to her teacher. She still needed to ask her dad something else. Yes it is the same question in your mind. Why do we have to move ? Her daddy told that we have to move because then we will need more space as family is bigger now, study room for Marina, play area for baby brother. Ohh yea said Marina and she was thinking that when she moves then she needs to go to a new school. Marina moved to new place and she was excited about each & every thing. Markham because her exploring place since it had very close park, school, shops, good place to ride cycle, long walk near the lake, small running near the rail track. Marina enjoyed herself by exploring nature a lot in Markham. When Marina joined new school, she is now in Grade 2 and no friends. Marina entered the doors of her new school with the hope of making new friends and see what Markham school bring her with fun. She did not have any friends and slowly got use of it. Her teacher Ms.Posie showed her the school around a bit but suddenly a girl said “Hi..” I am Mia and asked me Whats your name ? Marina introduced her and that moment changed everything for her. Both of them are best friends till now. They played together, talked lot of things together, lot of teamwork fun plays were done with her. Marina was so happy since Markham showed her nature beauty , new experience and made new friends and her best friend Mia. Everything was happy until Mia told that she is moving to a new place. Marina felt very sad because Mia is her best friend but Marina understood that she is going to new place and will be happy there too. Marina Mommy explained about changes that will happen to everyone and we need to adapt quickly and easily. Marina made a friendship card and gave to Mia with big hug. She made new friends and they are also nice to Marina. But then came CoVid-19 virus and it made to be in home and only home. Marina did not go to school or to play outside in parks. Marina followed the rules to stay away from crowd but we wanted something to keep us busy so we started taking photos. We took so much photos and some of them were nature photos, some of them were crafty photos, some of them were insect photos and some of them were animal ones. The animal photos took forever because you can never get a great shot but we did. It was fun having a hobby. It was a great experience doing all these fun stuff and going out for tiny walks with my family. While she was walking then she saw a board and her mommy said about the competition on story writing. Marina shared all her stories from old place to new place, old friends to new friends, from new classroom to now new google classroom. Marina thought life is full of changes and lets make fun stuff with new new things. She completed the Marina book story and was waiting what this story book is going to bring change to Marina. ******************************* THE END********************************* Dhara - Grade 3, Markham Hi I am dhara and 8 years old an in grade three.I wanted to write this story because I really like writing stories and it was a very great topic . I also had a great time writing this story because I am like telling about what happened before day and I really liked thinking about what happened before this day .It reminds me of my friends and other stuff.

Once Upon a Victoria Day - Adam Keung

Every Victoria Day, without fail, my dad goes out to buy a houseplant. I wondered about that this year. He woke up earlier in the morning than usual—almost like he was going out for a secret mission. “Don’t forget your mask!” Mom shouted, loud enough to pull me away from the depths of my slumber. “I won’t,” Dad replied faithfully, which was not always the case. Now that I was awake, I considered accompanying my dad to the farmer’s market. The pandemic lockdown had dragged on for months now and I could use some fresh air and change of scenery. I was supposed to attend classes online while school was closed, but I was too busy “saving the world” with Fortnite. But could you blame me? I’m pretty sure Mr. Walkerford was ahead of me in the game even before the lockdown. What else do teachers do while on strike? Torn between doing something healthier and more meaningful on Victoria Day and the promises of Fortnite, my computer was on and my game running before I let myself struggle too much over the question. Before my game finished loading, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Alex, asking if I wanted to take my bike out today. I hesitated. I knew I would get an earful if I asked my mom. I could already hear her lecturing me in my head—it’s too dangerous to bike on the road, it isn’t safe to go out right now, and are you going to wear a mask? Alex likely sensed my hesitation when I didn’t reply right away. My phone vibrated a second time: Megan will be there too. Well, I didn’t need any further convincing. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when my mom readily agreed. She had been locked down with dad and me for too long and wanted a few hours to herself in the house. She probably also thought that video games would kill me faster than anything else. “I’ll bring back some takeout for lunch when I come back.” My mom looked visibly pleased. She had been cooking three meals a day since the lockdown started and was running out of ideas and energy. “Get some wanton soup noodles from that place on Highway 7. And the shrimp dumplings.” “Actually, I was thinking of picking up some spaghetti from Main Street.” “Your dad likes noodles. There will be tons of people out on Main Street today. It won’t be safe.” I rolled my eyes. “Noodles and spaghetti are pretty much the same anyway.” The actual reason was that Megan lived closer to Main Street and I wanted to spend more time with her. My mom raised an eyebrow. “Do we really want to have this discussion again, Pete? If your dad was here, we might have to go back a couple of thousand years before we can eat.” “Alright, alright. But I’m just going to grab spaghetti on the way, okay? Don’t mention anything to Dad.” “I’m not a picky eater like you and dad,” she shrugged. “As long as I don’t have to cook.” On my way out the door, my mom added, “Oh, skip the cheese on the spaghetti.” “Mom, they always put cheese on spaghetti,” I said while pulling on my shoes. I didn’t want to belabour this point further as it was getting late and I didn’t want Alex to be alone with Megan before me. “No cheese!” I love cheese myself, so I just nodded noncommittally as I left and went to grab my bike from the garage. I understood her insistence but wasn’t convinced it was a big deal. I didn’t like tofu, but she put it in almost every dish she made. I biked out to Main Street, passing by more pedestrians and other bikers than I had seen over the last few months. There were fewer people than the number that holidays typically attracted to Main Street and Toogood Pond, but it was far from empty. Looking at the people standing in line for ice cream or walking their dogs. They all wore lovely smiles, just that none of them were protected by masks. You wouldn’t believe that the world was in the middle of pandemic and on the brink of a recession. I noticed a family of geese walking across the street without a care in the world, minding their ducklings, taking no notice of people or vehicles. I was supposed to meet Alex and Megan at the Quarry, which was a small public art display area at Toogood Pond. I waved to Alex I approached. His hair had grown out and it looked entirely disproportionate with his angular features and small face. He said he didn’t want his mother to touch his hair after what had happened with his father’s hair. I met his mother a couple of times. She was a “tiger mother” and I was sure Alex’s day would come soon. I looked forward to seeing what new hairstyle he would be sporting in a few weeks. I had lucked out—my dad did my hair and I did his. The result was always better when equality was in place. The display area had seating made of stone arranged artistically. The story there was about three dogs watching a squirrel intensively. The plaque read, “A quiet tension exists between predator and prey, the force of nature and the form of culture.” “Here comes your squirrel,” Alex said as Megan’s bike approached. I barely heard him as I shaded my eyes against the sun so that I could see her more clearly. It had been two months since I last saw her in class. Megan pulled her bike next to us. “Megan, what happened?” I let Alex make the mistake. “What do you mean?” Megan frowned. I was sure Megan knew what he was asking. Megan looked different. Her sharp, pretty features had softened and were more rounded around the edges. It seems like nobody could escape from “quarantine 15”. “Megan, you look better with long hair,” I lied. Thankfully, my lie worked and Megan cheerfully complimented my hair in return. “Let’s ride,” I said, after handing a mask over to Megan. “This is cute!” Megan exclaimed. The mask had an image of Mulan on it. With the mask on, it hid any trace of additional weight gain and highlighted her beautiful brown eyes and long lashes. I was suddenly grateful to my mom for all the hours she asked me to help her with the handmade masks she made for the local senior homes. “What about me?” Alex complained. “I only have one extra. Looks like you’ll have to stay further behind us.” I led the way with Megan, without giving Alex a chance to protest. My mask had an image of Batman on it and I idly wondered if Mulan, a girl who impersonated a male soldier on behalf of her father, could love a guy like Batman, who also had a secret identity he was hiding. While my mom made the masks, she took special requests from dad and me. She made a Pikachu mask for herself, as she was still addicted to Pokemon Go. Dad picked Bruce Lee and I chose Batman. There were a few eyebrows raised when I asked for a Mulan mask and I doubt they believed my story about the “friend at school”, but the temporary embarrassment was worth the look on Megan’s face. The mask suited her. I lifted my face to the warm spring sunshine. The sky was a warm cerulean blue with white scudded clouds. It had been months since I had felt the sun on my skin or the wind blowing through my hair. It surprised me how much I missed these little things. We rode out from the Varley Art Gallery, which I noticed was still closed, and passed by Unionville Library. The library was closed too. They weren’t places that I usually went to, but at that moment, I felt a communal sense of loss. We rode east along Carlton Road towards a neighbourhood where many of our friends lived. Megan remarked that this area used to be farmlands and it was a shame that the area had turned into subdivisions for houses. I nodded in agreement but wasn’t sure if I actually agreed that this was a shame. We passed Kennedy Road. On the North side of the road was a Baptist church where Alex’s family went on Sundays. We stopped in front of the church in the middle of the empty lot. No one had been here in months. At that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of disconnect from the world around me, as if everything had narrowed down to just the three of us and nobody, nothing, could reach us. In the last few weeks and months, the world seemed to have folded within itself, as people retreated into their homes and businesses were forced to shut down. It was like watching the lights around me turn off, one by one. But right here, right now, there was a sense of presence that I couldn’t quite explain. Perhaps Megan and Alex felt the same way too. We stayed there for much longer than we realized. At the intersection where we stopped, there used to be an Italian grocery store. It had moved to 16th Avenue, where there was more space. As we passed by, I thought of Saturday afternoons when I was young, where my parents and I would make a mission out of trying out new foods and new places. We would shop at the Italian grocery store for their baked pastries and smoked meat--but ignoring the cheese selection, of course. Other weekends we would go to New Kennedy Square for tofu, Sherwood Plaza for samosas, Centre Street for bagels, First Markham Place for kimchi, Downtown Markham for falafel, and J Town for sushi. What I wouldn’t give for one hour at any of those places right now! We passed by the York Police Station by McCowan Road. From some distance away, I spotted a police officer that was scrutinizing us as we passed by. Instinctively, I looked down to check I was wearing a seat belt, before realizing I was on my bike. His scrutiny turned into a smile and he waved as we passed by. It must have been my Batman mask. Carlton Road became Raymerville Drive after McCowan Road. We biked past cars and pedestrians—less traffic than usual, I noticed—as the road became Bullock Drive and Parkway Avenue. We came to the other Main Street at Markham Road. All the shops were closed, but we could still ride past the historic buildings. Without focusing so much on the stores and restaurants, like I normally would, I took a closer look at the historical buildings. I never noticed that each building was shaped differently, like they all had their own personalities. Some were quaint, picturesque, and inviting. Others were more gothic, with conical spires and exaggerated arches. Each building seemed full of secret histories and hidden treasures. Like the book store tucked by the end of the street, that one looked like it could house a treasure map to a gold mine, or an astronomy map to all the stars since the dawn of time. This was further from where we lived so we didn’t come here often. I used to beg my mom to bring me with her when she came to visit her dermatologist here. There was a pastry and chocolate shop next to the clinic and she would usually indulge me with a sweet treat if I was successful in making her bring me along. We parked our bikes in a side lot and spent some time walking down the street. I spotted my pastry and chocolate shop. We window shopped, talking and laughing, feeling exhilaration from the very act of being outside and being alive. There was an LCBO store on Main Street as well, but it was closed for Victoria Day. Alex remarked that he wouldn’t believe LCBO was considered an “essential service”, as if it were the same as police stations and hospitals. Megan laughed and said many people would probably consider LCBO more essential than a police station and it would likely be the last business standing, even if the government shut down every other business. We stopped to let a fire truck pull out from the Main Street Fire Station. Instinctively, I made a sign of the cross and said a quick prayer. It was what my parents did whenever they heard a siren in the distance. Megan noticed the gesture and respectfully clasped her hands together. I wasn’t sure what her religious affiliations were, but I appreciated the gesture. The fireman paid us no heed as he sped down the street. I noticed Megan staring a little too long at the fireman, and wished that she would look at me like that one day too. There were no cars parked at the GO train station. I wondered how many people were still taking the GO downtown for work, or whether the trains were still running at all. Having lived my entire life in Markham, I couldn’t remember the last time I rode the GO train. Probably never. There were a number of parks and trails on our way, but we mostly stayed on the streets, except for cutting through Cedar Valley. Alex insisted on this route, as he wanted to see as many faces and evidence of social interaction as possible before being subjected to lockdown again. Megan and I could hardly object to that. We went all the way to Markham Stouffville Hospital. “My aunt works here,” Megan said. Her eyes had grown sad. “Is she alright?” I asked. “Oh, she’s fine.” Megan cleared her voice. “It’s just that whenever she goes home, she has to quarantine herself in the basement. She can’t even hug her daughter and Queenie is only seven. The best I can do is go to their house and read books to her.” We watched as an ambulance pulled into the emergency wing. “I want to be a doctor,” Megan said suddenly. “Even now?” Alex asked. Megan didn’t reply. “Me too,” I said quietly, although I wasn’t sure if Megan heard. “When you see so many people not wearing masks, it’s not hard to believe that more people will get sick. We’ll need more doctors,” I said. “By the time C-19 is over, we’ll need to be ready for a C-29 or a C-39.” My parents debated these issues every day—who started the virus, who caused it to spread, who failed to stop it in time, who helped and failed to help, who was suffering, who should be treated, who would be the first to develop the vaccine. Without any audience but me to disapprove of them, they talked like they knew the answers to everything. Sometimes, they would pause in the middle of their discussion and look to me for an opinion. The only one I offered was, “Do you expect me to pretend to have an answer like the world leaders do?” But at that moment, watching Megan’s thoughtful gaze at the hospital, I was convinced that I wanted to become a doctor. I checked my watch. Much as I didn’t want to break Megan’s train of thought or to leave her, I knew my mom would be waiting for me. “It’s getting late, I need to be home for lunch.” I needed to go back to Main Street to grab spaghetti takeout too. I was thinking about my grades at school and how it might be a bit of a stretch right now if I wanted to become a doctor. Maybe Megan was thinking of the same. Even though there was no school after June, I was determined to use the summer productively and to stay ahead in my courses. If I cut down on the video games, I would have time to hit the books. I would propose studying with Megan too. I was good at math and she was good at English and biology. By the time I got home, it was around one in the afternoon. Dad had bought a pot of garden herbs from the Farm Market on 19th Avenue. The table was prepared for lunch and my mom had bought tea on the table as well. They were waiting for my takeout. I took out the wanton soup noodles, with shrimp dumplings on the side. My mom opened the takeout box that dad had brought back. A steaming heap of spaghetti, with a lot of cheese. Once Upon a Victoria Day - Artist's Statement For people that don't know Markham, it is perhaps one of the most interesting cities in the world. The people, the scenery, and, most importantly, the cultural diversity are all elements of a wonderful story that I would like to write about and share with others, especially during this unprecedented time. I am very glad there is an opportunity to share the joys I have from living and working in Markham. Thank you! Adam Keung