Summer Crossing: Days Beneath the Old Locust Tree

Golden Cicada's Summer: Days Beneath the Old Locust Tree Character Introduction Synopsis The story follows a golden cicada through “one summer” in an old locust tree. It begins after the cicada sheds its skin in early summer. As it gets used to its new shell, it gradually learns Chen the Old Man's daily routine: it remembers what time he gathers firewood each day and can tell from his footsteps whether he's brought any new tools. When the cicadas sing, it slowly begins to make out the “language” of its own kind. As midsummer arrives, the new saplings at the village entrance, the medicinal herbs the old man lays out to dry, and the children who pass by now and then: all these seemingly minor changes quietly affect the cicada's living environment. There are no breathtaking adventures, but the story is full of little connections between nature and human life. Like the roots of the old locust tree slowly spreading through the soil, each day brings a quiet but steady kind of growth.