Chapter 9 Prose: On a Moonlit Night - Xi Murong

I was walking alone on the mountain road. The casuarinas on both sides grow very tall, and when the wind blows, it will make a sound that makes people feel trance, strong and weak at one time, a bit like the tide of the sea. The sea is just below the mountain, and I can walk to the southernmost beach in Taiwan after walking this section of the mountain road.It was very late at night, and there was no one on the road, but I was not afraid because of the moon. Because the moon is very bright, it illuminates everything clearly and brightly. The mountain road is like a winding ribbon, passing through the forest. I really want to keep walking like this.

How great it would be if I could just go on like this! But of course, I can't do that.I should go back to my hotel room.Because, this day, I have been painting at the seaside for a day. Tomorrow morning, I will go to the mountain to sketch with some other friends. The most important thing I need to do now is to go back to the room to take a shower and sleep, so as to get ready for tomorrow. However, I really don't want to go back. Such a moonlit night cannot be spent easily.On such a moonlit night, many unforgettable moments will come back. Such a round of full moon keeps appearing in my life. In every unforgettable moment, it is there, high up from the clear sky He looked down at me, looked at me, and accompanied me.

Memories during the day are often forgotten by me, but things under the moon are always deeply engraved in my heart, even some irrelevant people and things will not be forgotten. It's like one year in Switzerland, I participated in a French summer camp and lived in an old monastery in the mountains for ten days. The students were both Eastern and Western, and they got to know each other after a few days.One night a dozen or so people went for a walk in the woods behind the church.The moon was very bright that night, but we in the woods didn't think so at first. When we came out of the woods and faced a large open grassland, we found that the moon had already illuminated the entire mountain and the entire grassland. as day.Brighter than the daytime is a transparent water-green halo, flowing everywhere in the grass in the mountains, very bright but soft, like water and a bit like wine.

We all calmed down, and at that time, a dozen young hearts all realized a little bit of the mysterious beauty unique to moonlit nights.No one was willing to speak, and everyone looked around with bated breath, as if they all hoped to remember this moment as much as possible and keep it in their hearts. Then, a boy from Ireland suddenly exclaimed excitedly: "Run! Let's see who gets into the woods over there first!" yes!run!In this moonlight, on this vast grassy slope, let us run madly, with all our strength, until we run into the opposite woods, into the shadows opposite! Everyone screamed and rushed forward. I moved slowly and fell behind them, but I still ran along happily.At this time, a boy in the crowd in front turned his head and smiled at me and shouted:

"Hurry up! Xi Murong, we are waiting for you!" I froze for a moment, wondering how he would know my name.I only know that he is a Chinese classmate studying engineering at the University of Zurich. During the daytime class, he always stands in the corner and never speaks to me. At that time, I didn't even know his last name, but the moment he turned around and called me, I suddenly felt a feeling of déjà vu.In the moonlight, his smiling face is very clear, such handsome eyebrows cannot be seen in the daytime.I said why, but, that night, when he looked back and called me under the moon, I always felt like I had seen the same thing before: the same moon, the same mountain, the same boy who turned his head and smiled .

Of course, it was only a momentary feeling, and then I waved and scrambled to catch up with them, across the grasslands, and ran into the dark woods that were waiting. I can’t remember anything after that night, I think, probably it’s just that the wind is getting stronger, the sky is getting colder, and the night is getting darker; then, some more rational people will suggest that it’s time to go back, probably Is that so?Doesn't every beautiful night in the world end like this? I have never met that boy again, but sometimes, on moonlit nights, I often think of some similar moonlit nights, and I often think of him.Many years have passed like this.

After returning to China, a middle-aged couple walked over to congratulate me at a painting exhibition in a history museum. After talking, I found out that the man had studied with me in a summer camp in Switzerland. Suddenly, I thought When I woke up, he was the boy who turned his head and called out to me under the moonlight that night. Between his brows and eyes, he still vaguely retained the appearance of that year.I suddenly became excited and asked him loudly: "Do you remember? One night we raced under the moon?" He thought for a moment, then said regretfully: "I'm sorry, I can't remember it at all. I remember that our Chinese classmates sang jasmine and lost their tune at the graduation ceremony, and you were angry and laughing."

He doesn't remember the things I remember, but I have long forgotten the things he remembers. What a boring meeting!His wife patiently listened to our conversation and showed an interested smile, but, can I say something?Can I describe how I felt that night in front of this gorgeously dressed and elegant couple?If I say so, what kind of misunderstanding will it cause? Of course, I didn't say anything, I just said goodbye to them after a few words of greetings. I heard from the man that they might go abroad again, and I don't know what year it will be when we meet again.At that time, after they left, I just felt that it was a pity. If I could let him know that in the years that flowed like water, there was a person who once so clearly remembered his voice and smile at a certain moment when he was young. And feel happier?

The moon rose very high, and I was almost at the beach. The casuarina was gone, replaced by clumps of hemp, silently tangle among the rocks.Many of them were in bloom, with long, straight stalks of a strange shape, and the moon looked particularly round above them. The sea breeze was so strong that it blew my clothes tightly against my body. I'm afraid I should go back. After all, I am no longer the same person I was when I was young. I felt a little funny in my heart. It turned out that no matter how I planned and how I persisted, the beautiful night still had to end here, and it still had to end with going back to the room and going to bed to do it.Over the years, how many times have I met the moonlight that is as clear as the night, how many times have I wanted to keep going, always looking forward to someone who has the same feeling as me, in the moonlight that is like water and wine, On the mountain road full of luxuriant grass, accompany me to keep walking, keep walking, let everything never change, and there will never be a moment of end.

And never once.There will always be someone who persuades me sensibly and gently, and turns back halfway through the journey.There are always people telling me what I should do.There are always people who laugh at me and say what stupid ideas I have! And tonight, with no one by my side, I could have walked on forever.However, I still could only stop with a smile, and stopped before the beach and the sea water close at hand.The waves gently hit the sandy shore, making a hissing sound like a sigh, and I was powerless to do anything, the only thing I could do was still turn around and walk back and forth.

However, tonight, I am more mature after all, I think, in fact, I don't have to feel sorry for some things that I failed to say or fail to do.I think, in my own years that flowed like water, there must be some voices and smiles left in the hearts of some irrelevant people.The days are by no means passing in vain, there must be some memories that are worth cherishing and collecting.As long as I can stay, I will stay, whether it is only once or only for a moment, and it doesn't matter whether it is in the hearts of people I know or people I don't know. That's how things should be. The moon is looking at me quietly, watching me smiling and walking back and forth alone.