Sweeping Past Summary

Three girls have sworn sisterhood to one another in the old fashioned way. Afterwards they go to a photographer and have their picture taken together. The photographer writes a caption on the picture that says something about time sweeping past when you are not looking. Nine years later, two of the girls marry and become pregnant with their first child. Feeling pressured by her friends, the third marries. Ailin recalls this caption on her wedding day as her friends prepare her for the ceremony.

Many years later, Ailin's granddaughter Ying finds the photograph. She asks about the girls in it. Ailin tells her the girls had been best friends. Ying wants to use the photograph as decoration in her father's restaurant in Lisbon. Ailin, although unhappy with her son's decision to relocate to Lisbon, is supportive of his choices and spends...