Chapter 1 Part 2 - Day of Takeoff (2)
"Who can get to the other side by stepping on the driftwood?"
One day, kids were making bets besides the pond.
They were raring to try, but no one dared to jump first.
"Xiaoxiang, try it! You're the skinniest and lightest!" There were kids pushing him.
But Xiaoxiang only shook his head, retreating as he stared at the water as if that pond was an abyss.
Xiaodan was somewhat angry, she didn't like seeing Xiaoxiang being so timid.
"I'll try!" She walked up.
"Xiaodan, you can't," Xiang said in response.
"Humph." She dismissed in return.
But just as soon as she jittered forward a single step, her foot slid and fell into the water.
Laughter resounded from the surroundings.
Everyone helped pull her up, through the moisture, she could see Xiang standing behind the crowd watching her.
The girl held back sobbing, proceeded to run home while crying.
That night, Xiaodan couldn't sleep. The moonlight penetrated the walls, moved according to the clouds, flickering between light and dark.
She heard very very quiet footsteps, footsteps she could not be any more familiar with, footsteps belonging only to one person. But being this discreet, perhaps it's just a hallucination.
Even then she sat up and walked out the door.
There was no one under the moonlight.
The girl did not want to return this simply, she strolled along, suddenly something in the distance fixed her in place.
It wasn't a hallucination. Beside the pond, a tiny shadow glided across the water surface, only leaving behind shaking pieces of wood and a string of ripples.
She walked over in a trance, staring at that shadow.
"Xiaoxiang……"
He turned around to look at her, in his eyes reflected the same bewilderment:
"Often in my dreams, I see myself as a bird……"