Pure Love - Yilin

Author: Xiaoping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The steam of coffee coalesces into the shape of flowers. In a daze, looking back, pink little flowers are scattered all over the ground. Long ago, when they didn’t yet know how to say "love," the boy and the girl went to the library together. After PE class, the boy handed the girl a glass of water. In winter, the girl listened to the boy’s phone calls from under the covers. Several cherry blossom trees were planted on campus. They had just sprouted, and it was unknown when they would bloom brilliantly. The boy secretly vowed in his heart to take the girl to see the most beautiful cherry blossoms. The flowers bloomed, but there was now another person by the girl’s side. The boy stood alone under the full tree of cherry blossoms, lost in thought, as if seeing the scenery they had walked together. It was like it had been scattered by the wind, never to return. It turned out that they were really just friends, but the boy knew that he would stand in the same place, no matter how strong the wind. Cherry blossoms only bloom once a year, and even when they fall, they are dazzling. After a spring rain, petals were scattered all over the ground, and the boy knew they would disappear soon. Beautiful things are often beyond one’s control. The boy and the girl remained good friends, but the girl couldn’t understand the boy’s thoughts. She noticed that he had become quiet and reserved. They still went to the library together. At the end of the month, the girl used the boy’s meal card without hesitation. Occasionally, they went to bookstores or cinemas. The boy watched the girl’s focused expression and smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. The college entrance exams passed in the blink of an eye. Youth slipped away bit by bit, leaving behind the unspoken word, the unwatched beauty, and the unpicked flower. When choosing majors, the boy insisted on not applying to the same city as the girl. At the airport, the blue sky and white clouds, the boy was leaving. The girl cried, holding the boy’s suitcase, not knowing when they would see each other again. The boy gently patted the girl’s shoulder, saying nothing. He thought that he had done everything he could. The plane took off, carrying away three years of longing. In the end, the boy didn’t take the girl to see the cherry blossoms. Soon, the girl had to leave too, for another city. Looking at the farewell crowd, something felt missing. The boyfriend gave her a letter, telling her to open it after boarding the plane. As the plane took off, she opened the letter and found it was a letter from the boy to her boyfriend. The boy wrote, "I’m leaving. Three years of thoughts, finally too afraid to say them out loud. You must take good care of her. She’s timid, afraid of cold, and not very strong. The promises I couldn’t keep, you must fulfill for me. I have no attachment to this city or these memories. Next spring, remember to take her to see the cherry blossoms." The girl held the thin letter, realizing how heavy those feelings were. Three years of time, how much had she understood about the boy, and how much had she given him? She had always taken everything for granted, never realizing the boy’s desires. The cherry blossoms bloomed and fell, fell and bloomed, but some people and some things were destined to remain memories, with no chance for a redo. Later, the girl received a letter from her boyfriend. He said he wanted her to make her own choice. When spring arrived and flowers bloomed, the girl returned to her former campus alone. The cherry blossoms were brilliant. She faintly recalled those years of youth, feeling little sadness. The cherry blossoms had bloomed, and that was enough. The emotions of youth were like delicate cherry blossoms—beautiful but rarely ending in perfection. But years later, that pure and steadfast love would remain in her heart, emitting a gentle fragrance. P5-6