For woman is yin, the darkness within, where untempered passions lie. And man is yang, bright truth lighting our minds. - Amy Tan

I had always assumed we had an unspoken understanding about these things: that she didn't really mean I was a failure, and I really meant I would try to respect her opinions more. But listening to Auntie Lin tonight reminds me once agian: My mother and I never really understood one another. We translated each other's meanings and I seemed to hear less than what was said, while my mother heard more. No doubt she told Auntie Lin I was going back to school to get a doctorate.

Even though I did not understand her entire story, I understood her grief.

I discovered that maybe it was fate all along, that faith was just an illusion that somehow you're in control.