The weather was overcast and raindrops would fall from the sky at any moment. My habit of not carrying an umbrella was tormenting me under this changing climate, not until I went under the canopy at the bus station did I feel a little more relaxed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar figure standing at the station across the road. There was no contact between us for some years, his suit was wrinkled, and the tip of his hair was white. I hadn't seen him for a long time, and I almost didn't recognize him. The bus pulled through the street, cutting off the strands between us, and my eyes looked through its window for his trace.

Anthony wrote at the very beginning of the Little Prince that “All grown-ups were once children, but only a few of them remember it.” I took it for granted that we were growing rapidly over time. We had gained many gifts from this blooming world, but at the same time, we had lost our innocence and softness, and our little dreams hid in our hearts.

I remembered one summer night when the beds were made of silver, we lay on the lawn, surrounded by fireflies. I talked to him about my dream. Unlike the stability that he had grown old, I was still full of enthusiasm for life, and I used my hands to draw the future life I imagined.

I had mentioned more than once that I wanted to go to many places to see different scenery. But because my family’s economic conditions were not very good, until now, the farthest place I had been to was Zhejiang, a province north of Fujian. I suddenly remembered that night when he called me. 

“I still want to travel around the world. I just have no money.” I was silent on the phone for a long time and said.

When we were young, we didn't think about whether we had money or time. I would only remember the beautiful pictures broadcast on television, the endless grasslands, and the seascape with a clear blue sky. The peculiar customs and habits of various countries and the magnificent and colorful pictures enriched our boring life in a mountain city surrounded by hills. Confined to that small space, my heart traveled the entire world.

Growing up, the responsibilities of handling family, school, and work were getting heavier and heavier. He said he had lost his dreams when he was very young, but so did I. 

The bus passed by, and the station on the opposite side was empty. It was raining, and thoughts were swirling in the sky. Expectations and longings were often the most fascinating, while memories were the moonlight that couldn’t be grasped.