INVISIBLE
The place was gloomy with no signs of livelihood.
Their voices weren’t loud, but they echoed so deep inside me. Sharp. Unwavering. Unforgiving.
We know what'sbest.Youonlyneed to follow .
Staywithintheboundaries , and you willbesafe.
Each syllable
reminded
me that no matter how far I walked, I was still theirs to shape.
But something within me nudged, a whisper — an urge, stirring a courage within me to step beyond the life they had written as they desire.
And so, I chose to move.
As I wandered through the place, I found fragments of myself scattered across the path, left behind by the weight of choices which were never mine to make.
I reached out for them foolishly, as if I could reclaim something that was already erased.
But they remain unreachable, suspended in silence beyond my grasp, just like dreams I was never allowed to call mine.
With a heavy heart, I kept on moving,
each step resounding a quiet cry for freedom.
Untilthepathledme to its edge.
There was laughter on the other side. The kind that didn’t ask for permission.
As I stepped towards a world I was never told I could reach.
I stood there, helpless and frozen. The red string, unyeilding and taunt, binded me to choices that were, yet again, never truly mine.
With my steps to freedom halted, the gazes from across the shore weighed onto me collectively.
Helplessly, there I stood alone, staring down into the rippling surface, where my reflection looked back at me, waiting silently.
The whisper didn’t come from the reflection but somewhere deeper from within. As if I had finally found the answer,
a glimmer of self which I thought was long lost, resounded again from the quiet of my soul.
With the newfound courage, I untied the string and lept across the shore.
As my feet touched the far shore, a hush fell over the forest. The river didn’t resist. The statues’ echoes faded into silence. The string remained where I had left it. Still present but no longer as a restraint.
Ryo Futawatari 1651001743
Before creating this picture book, we spent time researching the experiences of those who grew up under authoritarian parenting.
Through the cover illustrations, I tried to express the quiet struggles, hopes, and fears of taking a step forward. I hope these images offer a sense of understanding and gentle encouragement to those still finding their way forward.
Thiri Shun Myat
This story is created to reflect the hidden struggles of individuals under authoritarian parenting. We hope that this story offers comfort to those who feel trapped by their past.
We had to make this through somehow. It’s challanging as we had to plan the storylines and deciding how we wanted it to turn out. Despite the ups and downs, we managed to finish it on time. Shout out to my teammates!!!
Nguyen Thi Minh Tam
As the coloring artist for this project, I tried to combine monochrome tones with color contrast and also a triadic palette to portray the shift of the character’s development, from uncertainty to willingness to change.
Coloring was not an easy process since we have a lot of pages, but I’m glad I finished everything in time so my teammates can move to the typesetting process swiftly.
Khine Zinn Linn
By researching various academic articles, interviews and journals, we learnt the struggles and distress of people who had to or are growing up under authoritarian households. Not only did they have to live within the mold of expectations, they also never had any autonomy as individuals. Thus, we as artists wanted to contribute to their journey to reclaim one’s self with this storybook.
We hope our story serves as a solace for those taking on this encouraging journey to escape from the restraints.
