As the Train Slowly Crosses the Border

At a small station on the Sino-Russian border, Chinese student Zhou Yao and Russian soldier Ivan met in a snowstorm. He read verses from Pasternak, and she responded with the Book of Songs. Two frozen red souls shared hot cocoa under the watchtower, promising to meet again next year when the daylight is the longest. Zhou Yao waits at the platform every day, only to receive a blood-stained letter: "The world is a mistake tonight, but you are my star that never sets." The train roars past, taking away the last winter we spent together.