""That’s different!" the boy strode forward with nimble steps, hurriedly chasing after the spirit of the clouds and flowers.
"Hmm, why is it different?" The girl slightly furrowed her brow. She stopped her light-footed pace, tilting her head innocently as she looked at the boy.
"Because... because... because he can only be with you at the beginning, but I can be with you until the very end." The boy stammered, trying to explain, but at last managed to squeeze out those words. He then stood tall, placing his hand over his heart as if making a vow, his gaze firm as he looked towards the girl.
"The end?" The girl blinked, somewhat puzzled and lost. "What is the end of the world?"
"It’s when everyone leaves, heading to the Divine Kingdom." The boy chose his words carefully, afraid of hurting the person in front of him.
"I don’t want that! I don’t want Father to go to the Divine Kingdom! I want Mother to come back!" The girl pursed her lips, her nose wrinkling in distress, as tears slowly welled up in her eyes.
Seeing the saddened bloom, the boy’s heart shattered instantly. He reached out, gripping the girl’s hand tightly, wanting to transfer his strength to her. Her palm was so delicate and soft, however, that he dared not squeeze any harder; instead, he layered his other hand atop hers, gently cradling that tenderness.
"Don’t cry. That’s a long, long way off. And you have me." The boy leaned in closer to the girl, trying to kiss away the tears in her eyes.
But the girl turned aside to dodge him. She wiped away her tears with the back of her slender hand and then looked at the boy earnestly.
"I will go to the Divine Kingdom. Will you go to the Divine Kingdom too?"
The boy was momentarily stunned, then he nodded earnestly. "I will go. I will be with you, all the way to the very end!" He vowed silently, "If there is a Divine Kingdom, I will surely go there as well."
Only then did the girl reveal a toothy smile. Her eyes curved beautifully, like the crescent moon, which also fell into the boy’s heart.
Soon, she crinkled her adorable nose again and shook her head. "Hmm, you’re scaring people, a bad brother!"
"Well, let me sing instead!" The girl exerted a little force, and her small, smooth hand slipped out from the boy’s, then, like a butterfly in the wind, suddenly fluttered away.
"I want to be a flower, capturing the beauty of starlight, imparting the scent to butterflies.
I want to be a butterfly, entwined with the gentle fragrance, leaving my dance in the breeze.
I want to be a gust of wind, blowing on the butterfly’s wings, painting patterns on the clouds.
I want to be a cloud, wrapping the tender breeze, covering the eyes of the stars.
I want to be a star, lying among the clouds, gently illuminating the flowers.
Once again, I become a flower... la la la la la~~~
"
The girl’s song was like a lark at the edge of the sky, gentle and melodious, and like a mountain spring, tinkling clearly. Then, she spread her arms, imitating a butterfly’s wings, dancing freely like the breeze, with the softness of clouds. At last, she turned around, pulling back her long hair over her shoulder, revealing a face of innocence, giving the boy a pure smile.
The bright moon rose in the East, while the sunset fell in the West. With the moonrise and sunset, the stars opened their eyes, twinkling towards the blossom, also lighting upon the figure among the flowers.
That was Alisa, with a flower’s beauty, a bird’s song, a spirit’s dance, and the kindness and softness of a cloud.
Xiulote watched quietly the girl among the flowers, the crescent moon, stars, flower, butterfly, breeze, and cloud all settled in his heart, imprinted with his essence, breathing together, from now on inseparable. As he listened to her song like spring water, it washed away all the dust in his heart.
At this moment, there was only Si Wuxie.
"You once said to me,
meeting is a song,
eyes are the sea of spring,
youth is a river green..."
The boy sang softly, smiling, warming, tenderly looking at this lifetime’s girl.
"Meeting is a song,
lives intertwine like a river.
When you flow through my heart,
suddenly it’s full of blooming beauty...
How many wishes do we hold in life?
How much hesitance does the future hold?
Looking back, you’re by my side.
The world’s splendor traded for a traveler’s smile,
eyes filled with spring recall the ancient vast changes.
In the wilderness of the soul,
when will a shooting star burst forth?
That which has passed will never return to me,
will the present you stay with me till old age?
Your strand of black hair,
has tied the lonely me.
Thus, I smile,
no longer adrift from now on...
"
The night moon and the river of stars, the flower and the cloud. Amid intertwining songs, within passionate souls, this was their first encounter. Si Wuxie.