Preface

This story happened in the summer holidays 2013, when I had just graduated from middle school. I did not perform well enough in the high school entrance exam, so I decided to travel in Tibet for a change of the environment. Unfortunately, my parents didn’t have enough time to go with me. Some days later, my mom told me that some of her ex-classmates, who had studied with her in high school in Lanzhou, were planning to tour Tibet. She asked me whether I’d like to team up with them. Not familiar with them, I was not sure about it. But it seemed that I would have no alternative. So my dad drove me to Xi’an, from where I travelled to Lanzhou alone by train.

Part 1

Seeing her at first sight, I knew the tour of Tibet wouldn’t be boring.

When all the members of the group came together at Lanzhou Railway Station, we were ready to board. Phoebe and her mother were lugging two big bags and one suitcase. Naturally, I had to offer them a hand. Phoebe greeted me warmly.

On the train, we gradually became friends. Photography was my hobby, so Phoebe borrowed my camera a lot, which brought us even closer.

Hours on the train passed fast. I shared wonderful scenery, deep feelings, and many stories with her.

Part 2

We spent a good time in Lhasa, and the next day we set off for Linzhi. At nearly 5 o’clock, we got on the bus. It was still dark, and Phoebe fell asleep again on the bus. I happened to be seated beside her. The bus zigzagging on the highway, her head swayed with it.

I was able to feel her breath, her heartbeat, and her body warmth. Naturally, I undertook the weight of her head. The world became quiet. How I wished it could be lasting forever. Everyone was asleep except me. Everything in the world seemed beautiful. The sweet moment has been etched in my mind.

Part 3

Having had fun in Linzhi for several days, we got to the next destination Rikaze. We ascended to the highest mountaintop there, which is about 5,000 metres in altitude. Up there the air was thin, the temperature nearly minus 10℃, and the wind so strong that we could hardly breathe.

There was not a single sign of life on the barren summit. Nothing could survive this forbidding environment. It was already July, and the mountains were still covered with a thick blanket of snow.

I got a hug there, from Phoebe. Maybe it was an accident, but it warmed me up. The lifeless landscape seemed beautiful just because of her.

The intimacy made me believe that she loved me, and that we were to marry someday. Everything felt as wonderful as a fairy tale.

However, it was like every beautiful love story. It had to come to an end.

End

After we finished the trip in Tibet, the party returned to Lanzhou. I had thought it was over, but Phoebe gave me something unforgettable deliberately during my stay in Lanzhou.

On the way to the railway station, Phoebe said that she would see me off in person. I agreed. Thus, she went with me to the station. In the taxi, she took out the phone and keyed some words on it. Some seconds later, she showed the text to me, which read: If possible, let’s continue it in Shanghai. I pecked her on the face.

That night, I left Lanzhou behind by train, with her rosy promise reverberating in my ears.

Postscript

I stayed in Lanzhou after we returned from Tibet. Her mother invited me to go out with them several times, and hence we enjoyed the last few days. It was a precious time, and I believed that we could be close like that forever.

After I returned to my city, we still chatted on QQ for about one month. That year, Phoebe was studying in Senior 2, and I in Senior 1. After her new term began, we had little time to catch up. A month later I couldn’t get in touch with her. Then our contact ceased completely. Meanwhile I tried to write to her, tried to know which class she was in, tried to measure the geographical distance between her and me on a map, and tried to leave messages in her QQ Zone. I thought I was obsessed at that time. I was desperate to resume the link between us, only to realise that distance and time had erased everything. Everything.

Now Phoebe is in Grade 3. I really hope that she will achieve her dream this summer, even though that will have nothing to do with me anymore. I might have been no more than a passer-by on her life journey, and vice versa. A beautiful memory is enough anyway.