Echoes Deep in the Pear Garden

The dark green pond next to the pear orchard in front of my home is the shadow of my childhood. A young boy, Tie Zhu, fell into the water and disappeared. The search and rescue failed and strange things happened frequently. Many years later, during a severe drought, the pond was dredged and two corpses were unearthed: Tie Zhu and Li Xiulan, an educated youth who disappeared that year. Holding the piece of faded blue cloth, my grandfather broke down and confessed: He had an affair with Li Xiulan, which was broken up by his best friend Wang Jianguo. During the dispute, Li Xiulan fell into the water, and Wang Jianguo drowned while rescuing others. He had concealed the truth for decades. In the end, my grandfather passed away peacefully, and the old pond site that was filled in was still barren of grass.