Quick Pause Quick Breath

Early in 2023, mainland China and Hong Kong reopened their border. Lin Ling, who had long struggled with alcoholism, was ordered to travel to Hong Kong for a review by the Social Welfare Department to regain custody of her son. Over these two days, however, her unruly son, her overwhelming craving for alcohol, and the awkwardness of her cross-border identity push her to contemplate another possibility…