Picture Us in the Light

Protagonist Danny Cheng presents his origin story. His parents met in China and moved to the United States for better job opportunities. His father works in physics and conducted a secret experiment on quantum entanglement to prove that people who are connected in some way will always be connected; atoms that once came into contact will behave as if connected even when separated.

Danny anxiously awaits a letter from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He and his father open the envelope that finally arrives. Danny has been accepted into the school with an excellent scholarship. He texts his friend Harry the good news. Danny draws portraits, but in the aftermath of his acceptance, he can’t create one for Harry. Whenever Danny is in a rut, he pictures Mr. X, a man who told his child self to go back where he came from when he was drawing on the sidewalk with chalk outside his home. He hopes his acceptance to RISD proves he’s not a fraud.

Danny’s father wants to surprise Danny’s mother with the news by taking them all out to dinner. At dinner, Danny’s mother cries of joy.