For a once-in-a-lifetime love embrace

Author: Qi Yang Zhu Jian / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Open that bottle of mineral water and slowly savor the surging thoughts. The bright eyes begin to reveal traces of past years, though they are sometimes weathered and sometimes rigid. Even somewhat cold and lacking much warmth, the girl's heart still sways with a pool of tender waters, churning with sorrowful spring and autumn blossoms.
As a child, she loved stories of western exploration. The vast Tian Shan grasslands, the majestic Kunlun Mountains, and the ten-thousand-foot ice-bound Pamir Plateau left indelible marks on her innocent heart. That year, she gave all her New Year's money to the Education Committee's "One Plus One Hope Project" for helping students. At the time, she didn’t expect that her act of kindness would lead to many romantic stories that would influence her life. She thought the amount of money was insignificant, but what truly captivated her was a dreamlike longing—to receive a letter from the distant west, stamped with a postmark. Whether it was gratitude or just a reply confirming the transfer, the small dream came true. Remembering half a month later, she held in her hands a letter from Loulan in the northwest, heavy and lying flat. She could still recall the joy of opening the envelope. It was a significant letter—five pages of small notes! Of course, only half of it was the main text, while the rest was the neatly completed homework of the boy she was supporting. This foolish western "child" had entrusted all his pure gratitude to that homework, which he must have copied over and over. Thinking of this, Zi Yunfang’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she gently tucked away the letter with the homework.
Now, she held another extraordinary envelope in her hands. Though time had slightly faded its edges, it remained as white and dear as ever. She had treasured it, and the endless speculations about its contents had almost become a part of her life’s. Those vivid imaginations accompanied her through countless days and nights of wind, frost, snow, and rain.
The car rumbled along the bumpy Gobi highway. The fleeting shadows of the speeding vehicle left a flickering pink impression on the dark-red stone base, like an oil painter’s initial sketch of a flowing sky, leaving room for the imagination to fill in the seven-colored stars. The girl lifted her slender fingers and traced a tiny heart shape on the dusty car window, then secretly cleaned it. Bright light and the azure sky instantly brought a sense of joy to her seat. The girl had opened a small window in her heart.
No longer gazing out the window, she turned to the never-fading letter, flipping through it in a montage of memories. P5-6