Unforgettable Years
A Memorable Era
Author: Wind
On a summer night, two young girls were whispering beneath a grapevine arbor. The arbor cast half of the courtyard, and strings of green grapes hung down, within reach for a touch. The scent of the unripe grapes lingered in their mouths. In this tranquil night, one of the girls harbored admiration and reverence for a hero, writing a letter of consolation to a frontline soldier. That night, the girl and the soldier communicated for nearly a year, with over a dozen letters exchanged.
A year later, the girl was about to graduate and leave school, and the soldier was about to return from the Old Mountain Frontline. In the graduation photo, the girl's red and black complexion, large eyes, and dimples looked forward with anticipation and confusion. The girl wore a light green jacket, inside a purple-red shirt, with two hanging ribbons tied at the collar. In this youthful period, there were unspoken feelings, bitter and beautiful. After taking her graduation photo, she participated in the college entrance examination, and the girl left school, marking the end of her student career.
The soldier's last letter arrived at the girl's village. The loudspeaker in the village spread throughout the entire village. The address on the envelope attracted the attention of the villagers. The girl went to a neighboring village to visit her classmate's home, where her mother retrieved the letter. That day, her mother's face was grim, and she handed the letter to the girl, glaring at her fiercely and saying, 'Do you know what the villagers are saying? Is it your cousin's letter? Who is this person?' The girl took the letter, retreated into her room, and her mother's words, she couldn't answer. The villagers' curiosity and gossip, she didn't want to pay attention to it. The girl eagerly opened the letter, reading it quickly. The letter was short, but her loss of heart was long. Whenever she received a reply, she always compared the number of characters. More meant joy and happiness; fewer meant loss and anxiety, which would unconsciously generate many bad thoughts until she received the next letter, confirming the soldier's safety, she would feel reassured.
The soldier told her that he was about to return from the frontline, and they were neighbors from the same village. Despite the difference between them, they were still separated by an insurmountable distance. She was a simple rural girl, and failing the college entrance examination meant that her life would repeat the fate of women in rural villages. However, the soldier would have a bright future on the frontline, and the girl felt inferior and ashamed. After experiencing the painful inner struggle, she didn't write to the soldier.
In her heart, she couldn't distinguish whether this emotion was admiration for a hero or a vague affection. When communicating with the soldier, she deliberately hid this emotion. She longed to give the soldier a gift to express her admiration. She didn't have money to buy a gift, and after thinking about it, she didn't have anything to offer. Finally, she mailed the badge he had pinned to her chest in a letter. The soldier received the letter and badge and told her that when he returned from the frontline, he would bring her a gift.
The soldier returned from the frontline, visited his parents, and was also invited to the girl's school. He brought back a gift, a notebook, bullet casings, and a fountain pen, intending to give them to the girl. The girl's handwriting was clumsy, and the soldier had advised her to practice writing. When her handwriting became more legible, she didn't have the courage to write to the soldier again. A teacher in the school gave the girl's graduation photo to the soldier to look at, and talked about it with him. The girl didn't know that the soldier had been to school, and someone told her: 'You've fallen in love with that soldier, and your correspondence is the best proof.' 'You failed to get into college because of your inappropriate thoughts.' The teacher used this as a warning to her students.
The soldier's letters were a strong support for her life and spirit, and they were the purest, most beautiful, and most unforgettable emotional journey in her youth. All this beauty was about to disappear from her life...
The girl kept the soldier's letters written to her in her drawer. When she was alone, she would secretly take them out, page by page, reading them one word at a time. At that time, her heart was calm and happy, and she temporarily forgot the worries of everyday life. Her mother discovered her actions, which was surprising, and she didn't use harsh words to stop the girl's actions. Rural girls reached this age, and it was time to marry. The girl resolutely refused the marriage proposals from relatives. In her heart, no one could replace the soldier, her 'brother,' even though she couldn't clearly express it, that was love or admiration for a hero.
One day, the girl came home from farming and found that her letters were missing. She was startled, and a bad premonition made her nervous. She searched every corner of the drawer, unfolded every piece of clothing, and didn't find the letters. She sat down on the floor, without guessing, and knew that her mother had taken the letters, intending to cut off her thoughts. She felt a surge of anger and wanted to take the letters back from her mother, but she was too timid to do so. She realized that she couldn't do it, and she didn't have the courage.
Time passed again, and there was no news about the soldier, and her heart gradually calmed down. She slowly got up, tidied up her scattered belongings, and quietly closed the drawer. When the drawer closed, she closed her heart at the same time. She accepted her fate and chose to marry a veteran.
'Brother, hello!' This sentence written at the beginning of each letter may be eternally paused at the beginning of the letter. The girl was willing to say this, making it her lifelong thought. She hoped that one day she could see her brother, 'Hello, brother!'
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