Love Separated by Time
At the age of twenty, she met him.
At that time, he was a man who liked photography, poor and down on his luck, working in a small factory. She, on the other hand, was a dancer in a large song and dance troupe, a solo performer, stunningly beautiful.
Many men pursued her, and she received countless love letters, but his was undoubtedly the best.
Every day, he rode a shabby bicycle to see her, tall and lanky, balancing on one leg while the other leg dangled, holding a broken camera pointed at her.
She was moved. She didn’t accept rides in the cars of wealthy men, but instead, gently hopped onto his bicycle. They went to see the street lined with cherry blossoms. On that street, she laughed freely while he captured her youthful beauty on film—so beautiful, so captivating. He said, “Be with me forever, let’s never part.”
“Okay,” she said, “I will be with you forever.”
Soon, he was accepted into the Film Academy to study photography, but he had no money.
By that time, she had gained a bit of fame and used all her earnings to support him, but it was still not enough because photography is an expensive pursuit, especially since he aspired to be the best photographer in China. To cover his high tuition fees, she decided to invest in a TV series. She went around seeking money, enduring the advances of businessmen who took advantage of her beauty, smiling through her tears for the sake of money.
She invested 100,000 yuan in a TV series, but it didn’t do well, and she lost the money.
To repay the debt, she danced tirelessly. Her 1.68-meter frame dwindled to less than 90 pounds. She hoped he would finish his studies quickly so they could marry and have children, even if they lived in the smallest house. If in the beginning he had pursued her madly, wanting to possess her, now she longed to be with him, no matter how old or unattractive they became, as long as they could be together.
However, in his graduation year, he told her he wanted to break up.
He had become famous and had more beautiful and talented women to match him. She was just an actress and could no longer dance as well.
She cried and begged, but he didn’t look back.
By then, she could no longer dance.
But she still had debts and didn’t want to owe anyone anything. So, when a wealthy man proposed, she married him.
By that time, he had achieved great success, with many news articles about him, both positive and negative. Hearing his name still made her heart ache.
Without him, she turned to cigarettes.
Cigarettes became her companion in loneliness and a private solace. One evening, a photographer saw her smoking on a deserted street and captured her image.
By then, she was just skin and bones, no longer the vibrant young woman she once was. She had divorced and opened a small bookstore. Her once long hair was now short. After an illness, she had taken many steroids and gradually gained weight until she was unrecognizable to those who once knew her.
The photographer published the photo, and he, still in the photography circle, saw it too.
He felt heartbroken. This woman in the twilight, smoking with her hair blowing in the wind, had a loneliness and emptiness in her eyes that none of his other women possessed.
He decided to go back and find her.
He didn’t know she had gained weight and changed, and she didn’t know he was coming back to find her.
They met at a familiar crossroads.
One was a famous photographer, the other a plump middle-aged woman carrying a shopping basket filled with various groceries.
They stood there quietly. Their love, separated by time, had turned yellowed, corrupted, and emitted a stench of decay. Former lovers meeting should have happened on a rainy day while they were still young. Such a meeting now only served to kill all memories.
They fled in panic, each going their own way. She ran so fast she didn’t realize she was crying, and he ran as if trying to escape something.
Now, she wasn’t a dried-up, faded flower plucked from a tree but rather a tattered silk flower on an old brocade, surrounded by ruins and her heart green with unfulfilled dreams.
She had once hated him, but now she didn’t.
If you truly love someone, there’s no need to hate. All those sacrifices were not for him but for the love and time of youth. Thinking this, she felt at peace. To have loved was already a great thing.
He no longer dreamed of rekindling old love. The past was the past. Often, love is like a car, moving forward, always changing the scenery.
Love separated by time can only be placed in each other’s albums and displayed in a showcase, suitable for one person’s occasional nostalgia.
That’s all.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
