Back home's walk: A heartfelt memory
The way the road led me back to my故乡, it seemed to me like something I should have thought about more. The trees were still there; the sun was still so bright, and the flowers had fallen away. But time had moved on, and in a few years' time, even these things would have been forgotten.
Back on that path, the same thoughts came to my mind: we walked down it every day, and each day felt like an age passing. It wasn't until I saw the light in my eyes at night, when the sun had set low, that those feelings began to fade.
A young traveler's reflection
The journey back home had been long, but what once seemed like a vast stretch of memory now felt like just another piece in a puzzle. The trees seemed smaller than they were yesterday; their leaves had become milder, and even the soft shadows of branches had grown sparser.
There was no time for me to dwell on all that I had lost—no time to think about what would come after. But when I did stop by the grocer's shop, I caught myself looking in my mirror.
The world around me seemed a little different from before. It was as though something had moved, and I couldn't look away without turning back to the road that we used so often. The trees that surrounded us seemed smaller than they were before; their roots dug deeper, and the soil beneath them felt warmer with each passing day.
From childhood to a moment of remembrance
By the time the summer sun had been gone for months, I saw signs of change. Old paths that once led me back along the same road now seemed short by comparison. The tree bark began to look more pale than it used to; its surface had been smooth all day, but with each passing hour, it had grown rougher.
The small boy sitting on my shoulders seemed older than he had ever been—twenty-two years old. The soft skin of his arms was pale compared to that of the man sitting across from him. But I wasn't looking at them; instead, I was looking back.
I couldn't look away without wondering what would come next. Were we still on this road? Would it feel completely different? Were these trees no longer able to produce their usual fruit? Or was there a chance that the land around us might change in some way?
The path had felt as though it hadn't been changed at all, but I knew that something had changed. The air was heavier than it used to be; the scent of earth and roots was stronger than any I could recall.
A memory of love
As I drove back along this road, my mind began to wander. Was it possible that we were no longer on this path? Were there any signs of change that I hadn't noticed yet? The trees seemed smaller than they had once been; their roots dug deeper into the earth than they ever would.
The sound of distant car horns echoed through the house in front of me—like something from a time when I was a child. The soft rustling of leaves on the ground and the soft rustling of branches on the tree seemed to carry stories, stories that had been lost with time.
As the car wheels rolled by, my eyes began to close. But before I did, I remembered some things—sights that I had missed before. A woman walking through the woods; a child playing with her toy soldiers; and finally, the man sitting at the grocer's shop.
These were no more than moments in a larger tapestry of memories. But they made me remember something... something important.
Closing the loop
As I drove back along this road, it seemed as though nothing had changed—until I saw the light in my eyes again. The same colors on the sun—green, yellow, orange—all around me. The same soft shadows of leaves and branches that had once been there now felt so much like they were still there.
But the world around me seemed a little different from before. The trees seemed smaller, the sky blue instead of gray; the sound of distant car horns was gone, but the promise of more changed in my mind.
As I stepped out onto this road, it wasn't any time ago that I had stopped to think about what would come after. But for now, all these memories and thoughts hung on a thread in my mind—a thread that had been torn at the ends, but still loomed down upon me with a sense of sadness.
A moment of remembrance
The tree had moved. The roots had dug deeper. And I couldn't look away without wondering what would come next. But time had also made other changes—changes that seemed to have nothing to do with the world around me, but rather with the people who lived in it.
These were no more than moments in a larger tapestry of memories. But they made me remember something... something important.
