Huiwen lived in the south, while Rong Mu lived in the north. Their buildings stood seven meters apart, with their windows facing one another. When Huiwen woke her husband in the morning, she could see Rong Mu's desk through the window. He was always sitting there, writing.
One day, he placed a potted hibiscus on his desk. Its flowers opened in the morning and fell by evening. Huiwen leaned against the window and watched the flowers fall. Rong Mu looked outside and saw a gauzy curtain over the window opposite, with a woman's silhouette reflected on it. Eventually, they both realized that their relationship was nothing more than a shadow they could never touch, a fleeting flower at most.
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A short story about an extramarital affair in middle age.
2022.10.18.
Theme: Form, shadow, and spirit
