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Frozen Delight

a comic by Dabin Han

Dabin Han
Feb 14, 2024
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NARRATOR: “My boyfriend and I are doing long distance right now. He’s in China finishing his last year of grad school and I’m in Seattle, pursing my dreams as an artist.” In the panel, Dabin sits at a desk in front of a computer. A calendar on the wall says November. A cell phone next to Dabin shows a notification reading “Reminder: Call Chris in 30 mins.” NARRATOR: “We have scheduled phone calls to prevent missed calls and unnecessary yearning. It’s a little rigid, but it works for us.“
NARRATOR: “A few weeks ago, though, our schedules got busy and we rain checked our meetings, day after day. “ Empty message bubbles pass between Chris and Dabin. One connects them both and says “I miss you.” NARRATOR: “With no call to end each night, the grey Seattle days began bleeding into each other.“
NARRATOR: I found myself slipping into a mild depression. Dabin is in bed looking at her phone, the screen reads “Hey, something came up again. Call tomorrow?” NARRATOR: The feeling is similar to drinking coffee with too much cream. It coats everything in a thick, impenetrable layer, dulling the way everything feels. Dabin looks at her phone as she adds creamer to her coffee. The notifications read “Me- Hmm, I’m seeing a movie tmrw eve… Chris- What about my Sunday morning?”
NARRATOR: “The depression wasn’t so oppressive that it disrupted my day to day, but it was strong enough to make cooking feel like an unreasonable chore.” Dabin stands alone in her kitchen, looking distressed. NARRATOR: “Cooking has never been my favorite task, but this time it felt especially pointed because cooking has always been Chris’ creative domain.” Dabin looks through a pantry shelf. A though bubble reads “Where is that boyfriend of mine…” NARRATOR: “My inability only emphasized his absence.”
NARRATOR: “One night, after I had successfully negotiated myself into making dinner (buttered toast), I went to get bread from my freezer. As I went to grab it, my fingers brushed against a forgotten Tupperware of Bolognese.” Dabin looks at the Tupperware in delight.
NARRATOR: “Chris had made a big batch of bolognese from the vegetables from his mom’s garden this part summer. We had eaten our fill and frozen the rest. This was one of the last of the leftovers.“ In the foreground, pieces of onion, a peeler, and a carrot end sit before six containers of bolognese. In the background, Dabin and Chris sit together with bowls of food, looking at each other.
NARRATOR: “I was reminded that the tomatoes, carrots, and onions I was eating now were the same ones that we had shared just a few months ago. My beautiful, simple dinner, also a time capsule of our summer together.” An empty dish sits in the kitchen sink.
NARRATOR: “Now, even though the sun never seems to fully rise and a winter chill permeates the air, I am warmed by the thought that there is more bolognese left to share.” On a phone screen, Dabin and Chris FaceTime each other. “Hey, you, good to see you again!,” Chris says.

Dabin Han is an illustrator and comic artist based in Seattle.

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A guest post by
Dabin Han
Illustrator and cartoonist trying my best to take what’s inside and coaxing it onto paper :)
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Discussion about this post

Nicole Kim
Feb 15

That is just so sweet. I, too, hate cooking

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Carolyn Yoo
Feb 14

What a beautiful meditation on food and love, and the wonders of nostalgia found in the freezer. Another great comic from Dabin! ❣️

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