JIAXIN TAN
Special to The Leader
“I was the best driver among my friends at that time!” The senior man said proudly. It seemed that he was immersed in his memory river.
“What an unforgettable summer camp it was! At that time we were young and brave, and didn’t know what fear was. We chose a place that no one had ever visited as our destination, singing all our way. We drove about nine hours, and finally arrived at our destination; it was beautiful but dangerous. After that, we parked our cars at a campsite, then took our backpacks and walked to the riverside.”
“The morning dew still hung on the tip of the grass and made our shoes damp, but nobody minded. We just proceeded with our young hearts. The breeze kissed our cheeks, shook the leaves and played a symphony of nature. The air was full of the fragrance of flowers and grass.
We sat by the river, then set up our tent and had a late lunch. After having a short break, we continued going ahead and entered a forest near the river. The farther we walked, the more desolate the path was. But at that time, our brains were filled with excitement and no one noticed that it was a sign of danger.
Time flies. The sun hid behind mountains in the distance, and the sky turned orange, purple, deep blue and finally black. We were tired as well. We tried to turn back, but then we found we lost our way in the dark forest.
Fog floated in the air and made it more difficult to find the right way in the dark. Then we finally realized that nobody brought a compass and the phones had no signals. The temperature difference between day and night in the forest twas greater than we thought.
A biting wind carried the smell of dampness almost penetrated the clothes, and cut through our bodies so hard that we couldn’t help shivering.
The forest lifted its veil of tenderness on such a dark night, revealing its eerie side to reckless visitors.
We had no choice but to keep going.
Unfortunately, as we moved forward, the light of the flashlight became increasingly dim, just like our hope faded. Then we could barely see the areas within range of the flashlight, and the rest of this little world was hidden in the unknown darkness.
The ground was rugged and covered with thick fallen leaves, so we had to hobble on them.
From time to time, there was a sound of something—maybe poisonous insects or snakes—moving at our feet. Other than that, there was only the sound of us stepping on the fallen leaves, and sometimes the startling crunch when someone stepped on dead branches in the dark, silent forest.
The fear of never going back caught everyone’s heart.
After walking for a while in silence and helplessness, the youngest one of us began to sob.
Suddenly, a great idea shocked me.
“Look up guys!” I yelled, and ran to a glade.
My friends followed me and lifted their heads.
Guess what we saw?
“Stars!”
The stars filled all the night sky and winked at us! I swear that it must be the most beautiful scene I have ever seen. Then I found the Big Dipper and figured out the correct direction.
We returned safely to the camp, bathed in starlight.
That’s the whole story.
It happened many years ago.
But for me, it seems that the stars of that night were still shining in my heart.