Bonus subtitle: The encounter continues; let's explore the "soulmate" in our lives.
As the grassland wind swirled dandelions past her ankles, Ah Yu bent down to adjust the kite string in her daughter's baby carrier. Nian An's giggles, carried on the wind, rolled like a string of shattered silver beads across Zhong Hua's outstretched palm. She looked up at the windmill kite with the word "Peace" printed on it, soaring higher and higher. Suddenly, a few migrating geese flew across the blue sky, the sound of their wings beating reminding her of that rainy night many years ago.
As the warm yellow light of the convenience store spilled through the glass window, Ah Yu was wiping away the condensation with her sleeve. Zhong Hua pushed open the door, bringing in a gust of cold wind that swirled with raindrops, creating small puddles on the counter. The owner handed over two cups of hot cocoa, water droplets trickling down his fingers from the cups. "The last time you two sheltered from the rain here was five years ago, wasn't it?"
Nian'an wasn't born yet. Zhong Hua had just returned from Paris, and the wheels of his suitcase made a soft scraping sound on the convenience store floor. Ah Yu clutched the cigarette pack, which had been soaked by the rain, and looked at the blurry neon lights outside the glass door when she suddenly heard Zhong Hua say, "Among the gifts I received at the wedding, there's a photo frame that I haven't opened yet."
The photo frame contained a picture of the three of them standing on the church steps. The setting sun cast long shadows that formed a crooked heart shape. Ah Yu would often stare at the photo frame while putting Nian An to sleep, and Zhong Hua would quietly wrap his arms around his waist from behind, gently rubbing his chin against the top of his head. "Wan Qing said the name sounds like a poem."
The candlelight at the first birthday party was so bright it made people dizzy, and the longevity lock that Lin Wanqing had given Nian'an gleamed around her neck. When Ah Yu was teasing the child, she said, "Aunt Wanqing said your name is nice." Zhong Hua paused in his hand as he was cutting the cake, and small stains of cream appeared on the porcelain plate.
The wind on the grassland suddenly shifted, and the kite string tightened abruptly. Nian'an's laughter stopped abruptly, and she pointed to the distant horizon, shouting "Birds!" Ah Yu followed her finger and saw flocks of geese flying into the clouds. In a daze, she felt as if the rhythm of their wings beating overlapped with the clinking of glasses in a Parisian café.
Zhong Hua shoved the kite spool into A Yu's hand and squatted down to help her daughter tidy her wind-blown bangs. A bit of grass stuck in her hair brushed against her wrist, causing a slightly itchy sensation. "Wanqing emailed yesterday saying the school she's building in Africa has been topped out." Sunlight shone on her eyelashes as she looked up. "She said she wants to bring the children to see the grasslands after the rainy season."
Suddenly, the kite broke free of its spool, spinning in circles and drifting into the distance. Ah Yu took a couple of steps and stopped, watching the colorful jewel grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the rolling green waves. Zhong Hua led Nian An over, their shadows nestled together on the grass, like an elongated exclamation mark.
When the warm lights of the convenience store came on again, Ah Yu found herself standing on the banks of the Seine. Lin Wanqing, wearing his trench coat, traced the engravings on the railing with her fingertips. "Look," she said, "the names we carved here seven years ago are still there." The river shimmered, casting a half-light, half-shadow on her profile.
The scent of lilies of the valley wafted from the flower shop on the street corner, exactly the same as the bouquet from Zhong Hua's wedding in her memory. As Lin Wanqing turned around, she knocked over a bicycle. Amid the clanging of metal, Ah Yu suddenly heard her say, "We're going to Kenya next month. The children are waiting for us to teach them how to fly kites."
The phone in his trench coat pocket vibrated, and Zhong Hua's name appeared on the screen. Ah Yu stared at the blinking cursor and suddenly remembered the kite with its broken string on the grassland. The wind swirled fallen leaves past his feet, and Lin Wanqing's scarf wrapped around his ankle like a rope that could never be untied.
When Zhong Hua pushed open the convenience store door, the rain had stopped. The owner was tidying up the shelves, and an old song was playing on the radio. "A woman in a trench coat came by earlier and asked if the young couple who took shelter from the rain five years ago often came here." She looked up and saw the photo frame in Zhong Hua's hand, and suddenly smiled. "The shadows are pieced together so well, like an unfinished story."
The three figures in the photo frame swayed gently under the streetlight. Ah Yu's voice came through the receiver, carrying the unique sound of the grassland wind: "Nian An said she wanted to send a feather to Aunt Wan Qing." Zhong Hua touched the worn edge of the photo frame and heard his own voice mixed with the sound of rain: "Tell her that we will pick her up when the geese return."
The starry sky over the grassland was dazzling. Nian'an lay on her sleeping mat, counting the stars. Ah Yu spread her coat under her, and the hot cocoa Zhong Hua handed her was still steaming. In the distance, amidst the creaking of windmills turning, her daughter suddenly pointed to the Milky Way and said, "Mom, look, the stars are lined up!"
Zhong Hua followed her finger and looked. The shimmering lights seemed to connect into a long line, one end tied to a Parisian café, the other to a convenience store window. Ah Yu's phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a photo sent by Lin Wanqing—African children holding up papers covered with kites, with pink and white flowers falling from the mimosa trees in the background.
“She said she’ll be back next spring.” Ah Yu turned her phone screen towards Zhong Hua, her finger lingering on a child’s smiling face in the photo. Suddenly, the wind lifted the corner of the sleeping mat, and Nian An’s laughter, mixed with the distant thunder, rolled over like a string of silver beads being re-strung.
As the convenience store lights shimmered in the rain, Zhong Hua finally unpacked the photo frame that had been five years overdue. On the back of the glass was a yellowed note in Lin Wanqing's handwriting: "A true beauty is like a kite string in the wind; even if it breaks, she will remember where she flew to."
Ah Yu pushed open the door, bringing with him a chill, clutching a broken kite string in his hand. Zhong Hua handed him a note, watching him trace the words "beauty" over and over with his fingertips. The rain started falling again outside the window, and the shopkeeper turned up the volume of the radio behind the counter. To the melody of an old song, their shadows slowly leaned together on the wall.
Nian'an's first birthday photo was displayed in the most prominent position in the living room, next to a postcard sent by Lin Wanqing from Africa. Ah Yu would wipe the photo frame with a cloth every day, and Zhong Hua always said he was too careful. Until one morning, he noticed a new scratch on the glass, a small heart that Zhong Hua had drawn with his fingernail, perfectly framing the smiling faces of the three people in the photo.
The kite on the grassland eventually landed in front of the herdsmen's tent, and Nian'an insisted on running over to pick it up. Ayu chased after her, watching her daughter cheer as she held up the kite covered in grass. Zhong Hua stood still, pressing the shutter button, when suddenly a few geese flew into the viewfinder, their wings sweeping past the distant windmills, casting the shadows of the words "Peace" onto the grass, like an unfinished promise.
As the subtitles gradually illuminated the darkness, the convenience store lights remained on. The owner counted the day's sales when she suddenly heard a noise behind the shelves. Peeking out, she saw two blurry figures smiling at an old photograph. In the photo, the shadows of three young people formed a complete heart in the sunset.
When the wind sweeps across the grassland, it always carries the scents of different places. Sometimes it's the aroma of coffee beans from a Parisian café, sometimes the pollen of African acacia trees, and sometimes the cloying sweetness of hot cocoa from a convenience store. Ah Yu sat by the campfire, holding Nian An in her arms, listening to Zhong Hua tell stories about choices. Suddenly, she understood that true love is never an option in a multiple-choice question, but rather like a dandelion in the wind—it can bloom wherever it lands.
The windmill in the distance was still turning, spinning the shadow of the words "To be continued" into a circle. Nian'an's fingers drew a heart in Ah Yu's palm, while Zhong Hua added a piece of firewood to the fire, sparks flying like stars falling in the night sky. Their shadows nestled together on the tent, swaying in the wind, yet never separating.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
