Chapter 12 10 Shooting Star vs. Crowd-hating Jim

From Canada to the U.S. again, I headed south along the Oregon coastline.I was riding my bike procrastinatingly, and before I knew it, it was already November. This season is not only cold but also often rains, am I the only idiot riding a bicycle on the coastline in this wrong season?As soon as I thought about it, I saw a cyclist looking at a map at a road fork. "Hello", I greeted happily and approached him, the expression on the other's face could not tell whether it was indifference or confusion. ——? He was about thirty-five years old, with a bushy black beard, and called himself Jim.We stood and chatted for a while, but we couldn't really talk. He seemed ready to move and wanted to escape a moment earlier.This person may be the type who likes to be alone?Although we planned the same direction, we still said goodbye to each other and parted ways.

Entering California, both sides of the road are flooded by unusually tall fir forests, which is the "Redwood National Park".The tree is one thousand years old, and its actual height is more than one thousand meters. It is a place where giant sequoias grow. Riding here, the rain became heavier and heavier. I fled under the big cedar tree to hide from the rain. The deep mist like thick smoke floated in the forest. This is the so-called style of the deep mountains and valleys.The rain was beating the entire forest. In a blur, I stared at the huge fir trunk in front of me and the deep lines carved on it. Unknowingly, I hugged the trunk almost unconsciously, and put my cheeks and ears against it.

yeah?Unexpectedly, the trunk was warm.I hugged the trunk tightly for a moment. This old tree has lived through the distant and unknown years, and now it breathes quietly, giving me warmth when I am wet and cold?????? I met Jim again in the camping area. Although he had a tent, he still insisted that the rain had stopped, and he laid a mat on the grass and slept. He really was a weirdo.When I climbed out of the tent the next morning, he was nowhere to be seen. Continue to go south, and after leaving the forest area, you can see the vineyards, which are the famous California wine producing areas.Moving from north to south, the climate and plants also changed, which is quite interesting.

Three days later, I met Jim again in front of the supermarket. This time even he smiled in astonishment, and I also smiled meaningfully with the same expression.He sat down on a bench to eat breakfast, and I sat down next to him and brought out bread and honey too.After breakfast, we rode side by side as a matter of course. Although he has traveled to many places, it seems that this is the first time he is partnering with others, so he really loves solitude.No, after getting to know him for a while, I realized that he has a great sense of humor and is quite an interesting person. "Boy!"

He always calls me that.On the first night of riding together, we sat on a park bench overlooking the night view of the city and started preparing dinner. "What are you doing? You really have a lot of things, maybe there is a TV in it?" Jim said with a half smile.Once he gets acquainted with people, a strange smile often appears on the bearded face. "What about you? What's that big, bulky jar?" I retorted not to be outdone. "I'm coffee poisoned!" As Jim said, he opened the pot, put the moderately ground coffee into the aluminum coffee pot with a spoon, and then poured boiling hot water. The white steam curled up in front of Jim's weird smiling face, and a wisp of innocent Comparable aroma of coffee.After a while, Jim poured out two cups of black juice, and one cup was placed in front of me who was chopping vegetables.After taking a sip, a sense of warmth immediately penetrated into the cold body.

"Delicious!" "Haha, this is my original taste." He also has a fresh job as a teacher in a field life classroom.Seeing that he sleeps on the floor without paying attention, and his insistence on the taste of coffee, it is not unreasonable to choose this kind of job. We slept in the vineyard the next day.On this day, I also imitated Jim and did not sleep in the tent. I lay down on the ground with a layer of cushions, and the universe unfolded before my eyes.There were many shooting stars that day, small pale flashes streaking across the sky one after another. "There is a legend in Japan that as long as you say your wish to the shooting star three times in a row, your wish will come true."

"Oh? The same goes for America." "yes?" "We only need to say it once here. It's impossible to say it three times?" "Try it?" "it is good." Meteors flashed by without stopping. "Money, money" "Beauty, beauty, beauty?????? Haha, it really doesn't work!" The laughter of the two was gradually sucked into the night sky, and the aroma of wine wafted around. "It's not bad to partner with others once in a while." Hearing Jim say that, I looked at him a little surprised.In the candlelight, he could only see a strange smile on his face.

I said good-bye to him in San Francisco and said, "I'm going to take a rest in town to get my strength back." But Jim said: "I hate cities, let's go first!" "Okay! Then let's exchange addresses?" Although part of the exchange of addresses with fellow travellers, was out of social etiquette, I really wanted to see Jim again.I willfully guess that the other party feels the same as me, right? Unexpectedly, Jim's face darkened, and he dismissed my request lightly. "Oh, if there is a destiny, we will naturally meet again." I was in a bit of a shock, the two had been cycling together for three days, and I thought I'd gotten to know the crowd-hating guy.It turns out that there is still a high barrier between us!I don't know if Jim understood my mood, but after we shook hands with a smile and said goodbye, he just said "good luck" and left on his bicycle.

With a little loneliness, I watched his back pass through the streets of the city.