在一辆公交车上，是8路，

On the number eight bus.

Tearing edges, of the numbers, white bleeding into black

秋叶金黄，铺满地，

The golden leaves, cover the ground.

Smokey lines, blurring at a distance in which people burn into the background

车从疾驰到缓行，再到急停，

The bus speeds up before slowing to a stop.

Watch reads 11:00, then 9:30, then 12:15, then 4:25, then….

“噗”的一声，

“Chissssssssss”

Echoing through the hill of my ears

章礼兵、黎花琴上了车；

I see Zhang Libing and Li Huaqin get on the bus.

Sight dim and blurred. Focus on the faces.

庄严肃穆地谈话，

Talking seriously,

Tongue heavy with wood

我，到他们在的地方，

I come over to them.

Draggin through grit and dust

轻轻地问了声好，

“How are you guys doing?” I breathe.

Fire in droplets on my lips

他们向我投以异样的目光，

They look at me weirdly

Eyes darting about, mist in my veins

像是见到了不愿相遇的学生：

It seems that they don’t want to see me;

Scratching, itching, binding, matching…

“呀，是你呀！你怎么会在这里呢？”

“Ha, it’s you! Why did you come here?”

Brushing, wings of feathered damp

这是去凤凰山庄的路。

This is the road to Phoenix Valley.

Tendrils crawling but not biting now.

我准备去……

I am going to…

Single drop in a lake filled cavern.

我不知道，

I don’t know,

Mollymauk Tealeaf. Molly. MT. Empty.

我不知道去哪里。

I don’t know where to go.

Wet dirt climbing up and out.

“你妈妈呢？”

“How is your mother?”

Light, so small, barely there

“妈妈还好吧？”

“Is your mother doing alright?”

It blinks out for a moment.

妈妈？

Mom?

Struggling, gnawing, thrashing, gnashing

我的妈妈……

My mother…

A small dot of heat, filling my lungs

去年，依旧是黄叶漫地；

Last year, the yellow leaves still littered the ground;

Smooth but sharpened edges. Tearing.

依旧是在北海花园到凤凰山庄之间，

Still between Phoenix Valley and Northern Sea Garden.

A silver dragon beneath the surface, water raises and crashes.

在一栋古老而又威严的欧式建筑包围的花园里， 妈妈跟我说，

Inside a garden, guarded by old imperial European style buildings, my mom said to me,

Closer, inching, crawling, spitting, looming

“花无重开日，人无再少年。”

“Flowers cannot blossom again, people cannot become young again.”

“妈妈，好久没见了呢。”

“It has been a long time since I last saw you Mother.”

Open wide, alone. Grass swaying in the wind.

“张老师可辛苦了呢！全校的人都知道。”

“My mother, Teacher Zhang, works very hard! Everybody at the school knows it.”

A moonlight, casts a shadow of brilliance.

“可不是么，我们都知道，她的儿子在美国，这段时间呀，可不容易了!”

“It’s true. We all know that her son is in the U.S. It has become so tough for her lately; Her working so hard.”

A film along the edges, ungrasping handle within.

“能省则省，自己都不舍得买漂亮的衣服了呢，”

“She tried to save as much money as she could. She did not even want to buy new clothing.”

车停了，到站了。

The bus pulls to a halt. We have arrived…

Hand in mouth, reaching…reaching…

是教育局，

…at the Education Bureau,

a touch of something hard in the film

老师们都忙着去批阅卷子呢。

All the teachers grade exams together, and they are busy.

Grasping…but unable to draw out.

我下了车，走进了那个花园，

I get off the bus, then walked into that same garden,

Release, the shadow turns to glass

看到满地黄叶，

I see the yellow leaves covering the ground

An empty tongue, spews forth light.

 

仿佛，

It seems that,

Glass figurines dancing around me

看到了去年，

I saw, last year,

Just out of reach

妈妈的身影，

My mother’s face,

Rising but falling, they move farther away

听到了，

I heard,

Darkness gives more. Covered in sweat.

我临走的时候，妈妈对我的那句嘱托：

Before I left home, my mom reminds me of our motto:

Hands in my face, I cry for her again.

花无重开日，人无再少年。

“As flowers cannot blossom again, neither can we regain our youth.”