The collection of flash fiction or short-form writing was inspired by, and paired with 35mm black-and-white photographs. No longer than 1000 words each, these highly compressed narratives take their cue from the short story, but contain language charged with the lyric intensity of a poem. As hybrid forms, these pocket-sized stories open up new vistas to foreign periods and places in Singapore. The other more traditional short stories in the thesis project feature characters struggling to understand themselves in relation to country and family.