The Weight of Our Sky

Uncle Chong plans to dig a tunnel away from the house, and Frankie suggests going to the Chinese gangs for help. Uncle Chong objects to how the gangs are killing indiscriminately in the riots. Mel wakes up with tear gas in the house, but an announcement states that the curfew is lifted for two hours. Uncle Chong tells Mel to stay while he and Frankie leave to get supplies, and they are added to Mel’s visions of death, which currently include her mother and Saf. Auntie Bee tells Mel that she and Uncle Chong lived in the same town as Mel, noting how their Malay neighbors were nice but made occasional racist comments to them. They paid more money than their neighbors to Alang, the local gang leader, and they were forced to leave when Frankie began fighting back against his tormentors.

When Uncle Chong and Frankie return with supplies, Uncle Chong reports that the violence is ongoing, noting a woman he found killed in the street. He says it is not yet safe for Mel to go home. Later, they notice Frankie is missing, and Auntie Bee stays up to wait for him. When Frankie returns, he has two radios and two chickens, which he says he killed and stole from neighbors’ abandoned houses.