Autumn fairy tale

Author: Lans Luo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: There are some people you enjoy being with, but you wouldn’t feel that way about marrying them. Profound and romantic, the struggle and contradiction only highlight the fate of love. The leaves next to each other on the maple tree—whether they can fall and remain adjacent is unknown; after falling, whether new leaves will grow, perhaps. The distance of a two-sided emotion is something no one can measure or grasp. Such modern love returns to a fairy-tale realm. Even today, when Korean dramas are on the rise and Taiwanese local dramas often run for hundreds of episodes, I still have a special fondness for Japanese dramas. Not to mention that the male and female protagonists are mostly handsome and sweet, but the well-paced and lingeringly satisfying plot arrangements are the main reason why I eagerly tune in every day once I start watching. In truth, the charm of Japanese dramas lies in their constant "one steps out, the other steps in" arrangements. The loneliness extended by a near-miss encounter makes the audience, along with the characters, feel a sense of longing and loss, passively waiting for a turn of events. Thus, I began to think that emotional misfortunes are merely a matter of timing. Following the path forward, whether it’s sorrow or joy, is always a bittersweet experience. Upon reflection, real life doesn’t have as many coincidences as we imagine. Whether it’s you or me, there are always scenes of parting and reunion unfolding around us. Only a few are due to unavoidable misfortunes, while most of the staying together and parting are ultimately governed by human nature.
Like Wang Lanfen, the author of The Children of the Library, Autumn in My Heart was initially titled The Rascal Tycoon when it was released in Taiwan, and it is my favorite film. Over the past decade, I grew from a naive teenager to a stumbling adult, and gradually, this initially hazy story became clear in my mind. After browsing it on cable TV channels multiple times and even ordering a laser disc online to satisfy my curiosity, I realized what my desire was all about. It was simply to leave a record of my current understanding, and naming the story after the film title also carried a deeper sense of emotion. Even after completing Autumn in My Heart and transforming my past realizations into a story, and even while returning to National Cheng Kung University to pursue my graduate studies, I still had the urge to write. Because I am still growing, learning to navigate emotions in the ordinary, real world. Now, it is a great honor to accompany you on this journey as you read.
Lans Luo