The sky outside the window gradually turned orange-red as the train began to enter the mountains. The rolling green hills revealed their dark blue outlines in the twilight, and wisps of smoke rose from the villages halfway up the mountains, like ink spilled from a spilled inkwell. Ah Yu saw a mountain villager carrying a bamboo basket walking beside the tracks; the goods in the basket swayed gently with his steps, and the setting sun cast his long shadow, almost touching the train wheels. Just then, the lights in the carriage came on, their warm yellow light reflecting off the windows, blending the twilight outside with the laughter inside.

V. Whispers of Expectation in the Twilight

As the last rays of the setting sun swept past the train window, Uncle Li began to recount stories of his business trips when he was young. "Back then, a train journey took three days and three nights," the old man's voice trembled slightly amidst the hum of the carriage, "but there weren't so many people on the train, so we could lie back and watch the stars." He pointed to the gradually brightening stars outside the window, and Tongtong immediately pressed her little face against it, trying to find the Big Dipper the old man had mentioned. Meanwhile, a college student added a starry background to his drawing board, the tip of his pencil drawing tiny silver dots on the paper.

The young couple began packing their bags. The wife took out their child's coat and shook it out, while the husband pulled out a map to study the route. "Look here," he pointed to the town marker on the map, "when we arrive at the station tomorrow morning, walk five li south and you'll reach the old locust tree at the village entrance." Ah Yu leaned closer to look and noticed small sunflowers drawn along the edge of the map, the same pattern as the brooch on her bag. It turned out that before setting off, she had secretly pinned small markers to everyone's luggage, and now, in the dim light, those tiny yellow petals looked like scattered stars.

The train made a temporary stop at a small station, and a vendor's cry drifted in from outside the window: "Hot tea eggs—" Ah Yu remembered the eggs Uncle Li had given her and quickly took them out of her bag. "Uncle, the eggs you gave me this morning are still warm." As the old man took the eggs, the calluses on his fingertips brushed against the shell, and he suddenly sighed: "My wife used to always boil ten eggs for me to take with me when she went out." His voice was very low, mostly drowned out by the rumble of the restarting train, but Ah Yu saw him quickly wipe his eyes, a hint of tears glistening in the lamplight.

VI. The stars whispered to the sleepers through the night window

At nine o'clock in the evening, most people in the carriage were asleep. Ah Yu leaned against the window, watching the night outside spread out like thick ink, with only a few dim lights shining from the occasional passing village. Uncle Li covered the sleeping Tongtong with his coat, while the old man himself dozed off against the back of his seat, making soft snoring sounds. The young couple looked at photos on their phones, the light from the screen reflecting on their young faces, smiles playing on their lips.

The college student was still busy at his easel, sketching the outline of the train carriage by the light of the corridor lamps. Ah Yu quietly sidled up to him and saw that he had drawn a sleeping elderly person, a couple cuddling together, and Tongtong lying on the table; each person's face carried a peaceful expression. "You draw so well," Ah Yu whispered. The college student looked up and smiled, revealing neat white teeth: "It's your smiles that are beautiful."

The train chugged through the night, the clatter of the sleepers becoming a rhythmic lullaby. Ah Yu pressed her forehead against the cool glass, watching the distant mountains turn into black silhouettes, the stars in the sky growing brighter and brighter, like diamonds scattered on black velvet. She remembered the hesitant expressions on everyone's faces before departure, those brows furrowed by the trivialities of life, now smoothing out in the swaying of the journey.

Suddenly, the train emerged from a tunnel, and a dazzling sea of ​​lights appeared in the night sky ahead. "Where is that?" Ah Yu gently woke Uncle Li. The old man rubbed his eyes and looked out the window: "We're almost at the transfer station, aren't we?" His voice held a hint of grogginess after waking up, quickly replaced by the excitement of impending arrival. Tongtong also woke up, rubbing her eyes and asking, "Mommy, are we almost in town?"

Gradually, activity began to stir in the carriage. Some people got up to organize their luggage, while others went to the washroom to wash their faces. Ah Yu watched the lights outside the window grow closer and closer, feeling her heart gently pounding in her chest. The starry sky, which had been fragmented by skyscrapers in the city, was now fully spread out overhead, and the train, like a ship sailing through a galaxy, carried a cabin full of anticipation and longing, heading towards the idyllic town at dawn.

As the first rays of dawn reddened the train windows, the train slowly pulled into a small station. The station sign on the platform was faintly visible in the morning mist. Ah Yu squinted to make out the words on it when she suddenly heard Uncle Li beside her say softly, "We've arrived, children, we've arrived."

The train doors slammed open, letting in a rush of fresh air, the scent of earth mingling with the earth. Ah Yu was the first to jump off, her feet sinking into the unfamiliar platform, the ground still carrying the chill of the night before. She looked back; in the morning light, her companions emerged one by one from the green carriages, their faces bearing the weariness of the journey, yet bathed in the glow of a new life about to begin. The distant mountains appeared and disappeared in the morning mist, like a newly unfolded ink painting, and they were the ones about to step into that painting.