Walking on Clouds

You flew across the sky and over the earth, flying through my youth.

May 5, 2000

The air after the rain smelled of damp rust. The clack of high heels slowly spread through the narrow alley. The creak of the iron gate made Kong lose focus for a moment. In the bathroom mirror was the reflection of a girl in the bloom of youth. Her face had not changed since she was twenty. For twenty-five years, she had watched the people around her grow old, even die, while Kong's face remained unchanged, as if under a curse. The old ID card clearly stated her date of birth: May 5, 1955, like a charm that would never fade.

Like the Child Grandmother of Tian Shan in the novels, she never aged. At forty-five, the age of maturity, her face was still that of a girl in her prime. She kept changing jobs and moving from place to place, never finding a love or friendship that could last. Was this a blessing or a curse?

The cycle carved into the Three Lives Stone cast a reflection of your face.