Love Ends, and the Past Drifts Away on the Han River

Heartbroken by the Han River, the past fades like the wind Now past fifty, Lin Jing spends her days surrounded by her grandchild’s laughter. When an evening breeze brushes past, she sometimes remembers the old days by the Han River: she and the boy stood side by side on the embankment, watching the water flow east, believing that one glance would last a lifetime. Later, betrayal shattered her marriage, and a single divorce paper severed seventeen years of ties. She left her hometown and struggled to make a living on the streets of Xi’an. Steam from the dry cleaner clung to her weary skin, while her hands gripped the steering wheel of a rideshare car with stubborn resolve. Time wore the storms of life into her shoulders. Now her son has married and had a child, and at last she has laid down the burden of endless toil to spend her days with her grandchild. When she thinks again of the Han River and the man who once made her heart stir, she feels no more ripples within. The river still flows east, and the past has long since dissolved like mist. Looking back from the crossing of her life, she feels only that the wind has left no trace, and the long road ahead is bathed in sunshine.