Life's reward for love

Author: Ma Guofu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features:
A girl falls in love with a window
In the cold winter, the girl takes the bus to and from work every day. Every time she rides the bus, she meets a boy. Strangely, even when there are seats available, the boy never sits. He leans his back tightly against the window opposite the girl and stands quietly. The other passengers, wearing thick cotton coats, are still shivering, while the boy is dressed very lightly. At first, the boy doesn’t attract the girl’s attention, but over time, she begins to notice him—he always stands by the window. The boy’s strange behavior puzzles the girl.
The elegant and beautiful girl is somewhat aloof at work, standing out like a sore thumb. She often comes and goes alone and has many admirers, including highly qualified white-collar professionals who are both talented and good-looking, with cars and houses. Yet, she ignores them all and politely rejects them. One morning, it starts snowing heavily, and after work at noon, the girl meets the boy again on the bus. He still leans his back tightly against the window.
The boy glances at the girl unintentionally, who is deeply engrossed in a fashion magazine. The girl feels his gaze through the corner of her eye. She looks up and smiles faintly, her smile sincere and beautiful. Their eyes meet, and the boy quickly lowers his head, his face flushing slightly. When the girl gets off the bus, the blush on the boy’s face hasn’t faded yet. His shyness seems quite endearing to her.
After work that afternoon, the girl doesn’t see the boy on the bus. The seat where he usually stands is empty. She only then notices that the window he often leaned against has several large holes in it. However, by the afternoon, the driver had already covered the holes with tape. Suddenly, the girl realizes that the boy stood there to block the cold wind coming through the broken window. Her heart warms, and she feels a strong urge to get to know him. She thinks that such a considerate boy must have a kind and understanding heart.
The next day, the boy doesn’t come to take the bus. Sitting on the bus, the girl feels a sense of emptiness. She no longer has the heart to browse through the magazine in her hands. She longs for his presence, for the chance to chat with him casually.
On the third day, the boy comes, but this time, he doesn’t stand. Instead, he finds a seat. The girl walks over and greets him warmly: "Hey, you’re here too." The boy smiles, and the girl smiles back, her smile pure and sincere. The girl falls in love with the window and the gentle heart that leans against it.
Later, people often see the girl and the boy walking together on the bus, holding hands. Eventually, the girl wears the wedding dress the boy gave her. On their wedding day, the girl asks the boy, "Why did you stand when there were seats available on the bus back then?"
"You silly girl," the boy says. "The window had several holes. If you sat facing the window, who would have the heart to let a beautiful girl freeze? Even though I didn’t know you then, the moment I saw you, I felt this urge to protect you and keep you from getting cold."
Eileen Chang once said, "To meet the person you are meant to meet in the vastness of time, in the endless wilderness of millennia, neither too early nor too late—you just happen to arrive at the right moment. There’s nothing more to say except to whisper softly, 'Oh, are you here too?' It’s as if the heavens have revealed the truth."
The girl met the boy on a crowded bus, and through the small window, she understood a silent heart. Wasn’t this the will of heaven?
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