Beneath a pear tree, a woman leaned against the trunk, as if asleep.
That year, the pear blossoms bloomed in abundance. When the wind blew, pure white petals fluttered down like countless white butterflies dancing through the air. They fell on the woman, speckling her pale green clothes with white, and looked lovely.
Not far away, a man in warm yellow robes smiled and shook his head helplessly. He had only gone out to buy her favorite pear blossom cakes, but in the brief time he was gone, she had fallen asleep again.
The man approached, his yellow robes fluttering softly in the breeze. The bells on his wrist jingled as he walked. He had already tried to tread lightly, but there was no helping it!
"Oh, did I fall asleep again?" The woman opened her bleary eyes and asked, a little irritably.
"It's all right. You only dozed for a little while. It doesn't matter," the man said with a smile. Then he lifted her into his arms, letting her rest against him.
"All right, all right." The woman leaned into his arms and continued to lie there without a care. "Hee-hee."
She laughed with an innocent air, her eyes narrowing into crescents. Her laughter brought a touch of warmth and life to her usually cool demeanor.
The man smiled too.
From then on, through Heaven and Earth and across countless rivers and mountains,
he went with her to see the world, and she stayed by his side.
Until day and night ceased to alternate,
until neither of them remained in this world.
