Distant Love
It was a tiny city, so small that it quietly hid in a corner of the map of China. If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t find it.
She hadn’t known about that little city until she met him online. It was then she learned about the city near the Yellow Sea, where the wind blew from the east, carrying a slightly salty tang. Once, she asked him online, “Aren’t you afraid of the cold?” He replied, “No, because I have you in my heart.”
Hearing that, she felt a warm sensation in her heart. She had never seen the sea, so she asked, “Can you see the sea from your office window?” He answered, “Yes, I can see the sea. Look, the tide is coming in.” She laughed, knowing he was teasing her.
That little city was several kilometers from the sea, so how could he see it? However, he added, “I have good eyesight. I can not only see the sea, but I can also see you—silly and cute.”
On the other end of the phone was a city somewhere in the northwest, 2,000 kilometers away.
That was where she lived. Tall toon trees and French sycamores, buildings with distinctive regional characteristics, crowded traffic and people, and bright sunshine. In the photo she sent him, she stood by the street, smiling brightly, holding an ice cream in her hand. It was midsummer then, but now it was winter. She said, “I really want to eat ice cream right now.”
One day, he went downtown and suddenly noticed a newly opened Western fast-food restaurant selling ice cream. Two cheerful teenage girls were eating big bites of it. He suddenly felt a pang and quickly called her, “Come over here quickly. There’s ice cream for sale. I’ll buy it for you.”
She laughed happily on the phone, saying, “Have you become silly too?” After laughing for a while, she added, “Why don’t you buy it and send it to me?”
He truly wanted to go to that city 2,000 kilometers away. However, it was just a thought. Such a dream, knowing it couldn’t come true, had a unique beauty because it could be cherished often.
In the early summer of the following year, he finally had a chance to travel to the northwest on a business trip. Although his destination wasn’t her city, he still went there.
However, when he got off the train and breathed in the distinctive air of the inland city, he suddenly hesitated. He didn’t know what it would be like if they actually met. It was then he realized he wasn’t ready to meet her, and perhaps she wasn’t either.
That afternoon, she was working in her office when a store delivered a box of beautifully packaged ice cream. She was surprised to receive it. There was a note that read: “I brought you the ice cream you like.”
She was stunned and called his mobile phone, asking, “Where are you?” He answered, “I’m on the train.” She listened closely and indeed heard the sound of wheels gliding over the tracks.
“Thank you,” she said after a long pause. Despite the noise on the phone, she heard him clearly say, “Please allow me to love you from that seaside town.”
She opened the map and saw that quiet city again. The Yellow Sea embracing it must be exactly as she imagined—warm and mysterious.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
