The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates: The Voice From the Wall

Lena St. Clair
Lena is the daughter of Ying-Ying and she tells the story of her family. She begins by telling that her father, Clifford, saved her mother from bad things in China. Lena served as a translator from her mother to her father because they didn't speak much of the same language; even though, Clifford put words into Ying-Ying's mouth a lot. Clifford got a promotion at work and moved the family into an apartment. After moving in, they announced that Ying-Ying was with child.Ying-Ying constantly moved the furniture saying that things were unbalanced. Not long after, Ying-Ying said, "When something goes against your nature, you are not in balance," (108). The baby later died before being born. After Lena's bed was moved next to her wall, she often heard someone being beaten in the apartment next to them. When she saw the young girl she never saw signs of wounds on her. The story ends with Lena listening the young girl and her mother crying in the other room. This story demonstrates Clifford as a flat character.