Winter is coming

Winter in this city does not have cold drizzle. It is not freezing cold. The cold only passes by when the north blows. At night, wandering the streets, you will catch the scent of milk flowers wafting in the wind, passing through each row of houses, as if singing to announce that winter has come. Winter in this city is just like that!

Oh, and I must add that every morning the mist hangs across the sky, making it a bit chilly, giving women a chance to put on scarves when they go out. Yes, winter can be cold too, even though it's hot all day.

My friends often say that this season is the dry season because the north wind blows all day. The sun and wind make the weather hot during the day. The night turns cold. The skin on the hands and feet becomes dry and moldy. The lips crack and bleed. The worst part is the heels, which are cracked and show the red flesh inside. Some people call this season the difficult season because during this season, the elderly and people with arthritis often have pain and have trouble sleeping. I call this season the north dance season.

The wick blew from morning till dusk. Sometimes, when he was so engrossed in his play that he forgot the time, and when it got dark, he still wandered through the streets, making couples huddle together to find warmth. He did not know that. He was as naive as a child who liked to play around without his mother's permission. He had just seen him wandering in the banana grove behind the house, pulling apart some young banana leaves that had just stretched out to breathe the air, and had seen him walking past a Taiwan banyan tree, letting its yellow leaves fall. Then he would swoop down to the fields to tease the rice women carrying their babies, their backs bent, leaning against each other. He laughed heartily, triumphantly, when he saw the rice women huddle together in fear... Just like that, he wandered everywhere, playing all kinds of mischievous tricks, teasing others.

I don't know why I like the wick. When the wick blows, I open the back door to welcome the wick. The wick runs through the house, cool and refreshing. The wick blows my hair into disarray. But I still like it. Strange. Mom scolds me, "You opened the back door, the wind blew dust into the house everywhere." I smile and make excuses to keep it cool, Mom. Mom grumbles, "Okay, then you go sweep the house tonight." I don't mind Mom's grumbling, I'm busy playing with the wick. I welcome the wick with both hands. The wick strokes my hair, strokes my cool skin. I like to watch the wick from afar, swaying the cornflowers, looking so beautiful. I like to watch the wick sway the banana grove beside the house. The banana grove is quiet, but suddenly it rustles as if it's singing. The lively music that the conductor wick directs makes people's hearts captivated. The wick is so lovely, but why is everyone afraid of it?

The streets at night were brightly lit and more sparkling thanks to the colored lights of the shops. People were playing Christmas music. Familiar Christmas melodies. Suddenly my heart felt excited, yes, Christmas was coming. So New Year was coming. Suddenly my heart sank. Time flies so fast, I haven't had time to do anything and the year is over. The end of the year is always the time that makes people think the most. A sadness sneaks into my heart. So my time has shortened a little bit more and so many ambitions are still in my plans that have not been realized. So I was sad all the way home. How strange.

Suddenly, the scent of milk flowers rushed straight into my nose. The milk flower tree at the crossroads was always full of clusters of white and green flowers, the fragrance permeating the whole neighborhood. I laughed when I thought that the owner of the flower tree must have had a crush on a girl who loved milk flowers so he planted it so early, the proof was that the tree trunk was as big as an adult’s arm. That random thought made me smile all the way to the rest of the road. Sometimes people are happy just because of such a small thing.

In the morning, when I took the motorbike out to start the engine, my mother shouted after me: Get a scarf to keep warm, my child. Receiving the scarf from my mother, I felt warm even before I put it on. The warmth followed me from home to work. It turns out that people like the cold winter because they want to feel the warmth from their loved ones. After work, I quickly ran into a clothing store to buy my mother a sweater, thinking that she would be very happy, maybe even cry. Unexpectedly, when I gave the sweater to my mother, my mother scolded me: how much salary do you have to spend so much money, my old shirt is still brand new, I only wear it for a few days at the end of the year, why buy another one? I was stunned. Then I smiled to myself, I was so happy I was pretending, Mom. There, I was cooking rice and singing at the same time, and I was also cooking the fish with tomato sauce that you like...

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