M emories

∷于心越

W hen you read, every touch of emotion f loats dow n from the sky as grains of sand1. grain of sand: 沙粒。onto an island in the sea of thought.

When you close the book, breeze dances by, swiftly and softly, taking some of the lighter sand with every step.

Memories have weight. Looking closer at the remaining sand, crystals of memories shine in the warm sun, snuggled2. snuggle:（讓人看起來舒服地）位于，坐落在。comfortably in their shells.

Time passes by. The sand gets lighter and lighter as the memories erode3. erode: 被侵蝕，受到破壞。. Slow ly, answ ering to the call of the dancing breeze, it comes up to the surface, jumping, f loating, and f lying tow ards the horizon. But in the heart of the island, some of the sand forever bears weight, never to drift aw ay along w ith its companions, forever lingering, telling its story.

It lingers—but only lingers. When you age and death comes near, the breeze turns into strong wind, slashing4. slash: 猛削，猛砍。and laughing; fog slowly thickens, blurring and covering. With the sunrays unable to reach the sand, the cold temperature urges the storm on, tearing the island into pieces. Some of the sand gets lost in the void5. void: 空處，空間。, while the left is to be taken away with the soul on its next journey.

Every night, running along the soft beach, I scoop up6. scoop up: 挖出，舀出。handfuls of sand, watching the grains drifting down back to the silvery coastline, and waiting for the island's f irst ray of sunshine.

Oh, the bright light of the sun! As the sunrays glow in the east, I turn my head, my thought still lingering on the shooting stars7. shooting star: 流星雨。under the moonlight. I sit dow n—

“Oh, shooting stars—where has all the sand drifted to?”

“Maybe to the moon.” I think, smiling.

The sun rises steadily, casting hues around as it moves. The w aves on the horizon dance, ref lecting rays of light on the coastline. Watching this, I lie dow n, and close my eyes.

The warm breeze blows softly, bringing sleepiness back to the beach, calling to the grains of sand of my memories, blowing them onto my body, and weaving them into dreams.

The sun rises up to the sky, greeting the island and the wind, and bringing warmth into the world.

It is the happiest moment of my life.