I have a recurrent dream in which my mother refuses to feed me. A long table displaying an array of delectable foods stands before me. This is food that my mother has prepared, and though other family members are eating, I understand that this food is forbidden to me. Off to the side, as if on a different plane from the one I reside on, my mother appears, faded, like a copy from a printer running out of ink. Her words are muffled and sound as if they are coming from some faraway location. “Why can’t I eat?” I ask, but she can offer no explanation.