Shengliver’s Note: This entry is a Chinese teenage girl’s tribute to her grandad.

If I could travel through time,

I would go back to the hour when he was being borne,

to find out whether someone was expectantly awaiting

his advent in this world.

If I could travel through time,

I would go play with the boy.

We would climb trees and weave grass sandals.

We would find out what life was like,

without phones, tablets or PCs.

If I could travel through time,

I would arise at dawn with him to prepare pig feed.

We would eat thin porridge for breakfast in the morning

and enjoy a silent night

with no artificial light

but stars in the sky.

If I could travel through time,

I would take my snacks to him.

I would keep him away from hunger.

I would make sure

bark and belt boiled in water was not his staple

when famine struck.

If I could travel through time,

I would attend his wedding.

I would admire radiant Bride and handsome Groom.

If I could travel through time,

I would go see how he was toiling away

in a nail factory

and how his wife was making clothes for the family

on a sewing machine at home.

If I could travel through time,

I would stay by his side

and commiserate with him on the loss of his job

when he got sacked by the factory

because of his third girl.

The girl’s birth had violated

the national family planning policy.

If I could travel through time,

I would go witness the opening of his shop

after his income from the factory was axed.

I would see how he was building his new bungalow

brick by brick

and how he managed to hold up the big household

upon his broad shoulders.

If I could travel through time,

I would help him go and purchase heavy goods wholesale

on a tricycle,

pedalling 40 kilometres to and from town.

If I could travel through time,

I would buy him a suit and tie

that he was too thrifty to spend on.

And I would pluck the cigarette off his lips,

resolutely.

If I could travel through time,

I would go see how excited he was

when his granddaughter was born.

If I could, I would …

If I could travel through time,

I would return to March 8, 2013.

I would tell the teary-eyed girl

that her grandad was no more.