Spend Time with You

When the locust flowers in Wutong Lane covered the bluestone slabs, six-year-old Lin Xiaoman was tiptoeing to stuff glass marbles into the tin box. The spring sunshine passed through the branches of the old locust trees and cast tiny spots of light on her lotus-colored skirt. Xiaoman! Mother came out of the house carrying an enamel basin. Didn't she say she was going to send locust cakes to the new neighbors? The little girl hurriedly closed the tin box and rubbed her muddy fingers on the corner of her skirt. The iron gate creaked, and she saw a little boy in a white shirt standing in the yard next door. He held a heavy brief history of time in his arms, with a faded red rope tied around his wrist. He looked like he had just stepped out of a black and white silent film. This novel and its characters are purely fictitious. Any similarity is purely coincidental and should not be imitated.