The humidity smothered Henry like an overbearing mother. 

It hit him as soon as he walked out the airport doors, jumping down his throat and refusing to let go. In the wake of a small sea of humans, Henry found himself at a loss of how to breathe. 

Unfortunately, that hardly deterred the people behind him. 

Almost immediately someone's suitcase bumped into him, knocking him to the right. His overstuffed backpack carried the momentum into another pedestrian who irritatedly shoved him aside. Henry let out a yelp, letting go of his duffle bag and promptly tripping over his own feet. His palms hit the marble floor.

The people circled around his fallen figure, hardly in the mood for the kid who'd forgotten how to walk.

"Thank you for your help," Henry gasped. 

Tired and cranky, the canadian native  pulled himself off the ground. He quickly brushed himself off (the floor felt even grosser than it looked) while the wave of passengers trailed around him. Slipping  his bag back over his shoulder, Henry stood himself up.

It was eleven at night, and the faces of the airport exit reflected as much. Skinny males with black hair stood listless in the pick-up area. They lined up to the edge of the parking lot in a massive crowd just waiting for right face to pass those doors.

Henry scanned the faces, as many as there were,hoping to catch a glimmer of familiarity. But no. Well, maybe his cousin could recognize him.

Tugging at the strap on his shoulder, Henry started into the crowd. Most of the passengers from his plane had already dispersed into the crowd. He supposed he would have to count on the scrawled out name signs that a couple chauffeurs were holding, though he doubted he'd be getting a private limousine. Keeping his eyes trained on the little white signs, he hoped rather desperately for one with his name on it. He'd be screwed if it was in Mandarin.

Soon, Henry felt himself beginning to sweat under the stadium-worthy lights. The humidity wasn't helping and he could feel his nausea returning.  Twelve hours were not meant to be spent on a plane. Henry continued through the open path feeling like a gerbil in its tube. The names on the signs ranged from Mandarin to Arabic but none of them had his. Until the one at the end.

A man with a huge nose and dopey smile stood in the front row, holding a sign with the name 'Henry' stylized in blue cursive. Though the latter was standing practically right in front of him, the man kept turning his head left and right, searching for a familiar face.  

Henry sighed. Of course.

Warily approaching the man, Henry watched as the stranger grew taller and taller. 

"Um, hi," he uttered in English. 

The tall man looked down at him curiously, now towering over the shorter. Scrambling for the name, Henry swallowed, suddenly feeling stupid. In broken Mandarin, he mumbled, "Are you...Mimi...Gege?"

The taller's face immediately lit up and he threw his hands up in the air. "Henry!" he announced to the entire airport, "You've finally come back to China!"

Henry missed home already.

I am officially back from China! Putting aside smoggy skies and unbearable mosquitoes, it was a fun trip. 

Though I go back nearly every year this was probably the first year I took more notice of the differences in the country beyond "These bathrooms are tiny and they ." And I noticed a lot. As an ABC (American Born Chinese) I thought it would be interesting to explore those 'second home' dynamics that come from blending two separate cultures as well as some of the differences between China and the U.S.

So yeah, multiple storylines, set in Fuzhou, mostly the Chinese members of SMTown.

(Note: This mainly reflects the tendencies of Southern China)