Under the bright sun of the Aegean Sea

Author: Weisuan Mei Ren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: I traded time for money and bought a cheap flight from Taiwan to Greece, passing through Bangkok and Amsterdam. It took nearly 30 hours to reach Athens. I repeatedly wrote Kafka's quote "To leave here is my goal" in various ways and languages in my notebook until the words became unfamiliar, as if they no longer resembled their original form. The action seemed boring, but I enjoyed it, after all, it was my own toy and game. To leave here, to leave the place of sorrow. Goodbye, Taiwan, goodbye, my love. In fact, the excitement and novelty of traveling and adventuring in a foreign country had already successfully distracted my attention, making me less sad and heartbroken, but I still had to fulfill my promise to myself. Heartbreak should not exceed a week, or it would make me seem too heartless. So I told myself to immerse myself in extreme sorrow for 30 hours. I couldn’t try to talk to anyone, striving to make pure loneliness the greatest joy of this flight. Additionally, I did my best to plunge myself into a low mood of self-pity, crying uncontrollably multiple times. This is self-torture. Love for the sea is endless, turning back is the shore. Let go of love, and become a Buddha on the spot.
In Amsterdam’s vast Schiphol Airport, while transiting for two hours, I found it just like other advanced countries’ international airports—clean air filled the entire building, with neatly arranged stores and SnackBars scattered around. Occasionally, a couple of travelers hurriedly rushed to catch their flights, while the rest were leisurely wandering, waiting to transfer. I was one of them. I even ended up in the airport’s small casino, trying to figure out how to play the slot machines. With my limited travel budget quickly losing a thousand yuan without winning anything, I realized this trip was not a good match for slot machines.
On the small plane to Athens, the flight attendant brought a pile of lettuce, cured meat, ham, and bread, which almost made me speechless. Glancing at the girl next to me, I started imitating her, neatly arranging all the ingredients on the bread, pairing it with milk and tea, and quickly finishing it with a gulp.