Winter

The sky became clear, finally, after two days of blizzard unloading its gelid bulk of seasonal goods; the world suddenly became silver under moonlight. Strangely, I am compelled to compare these glistering flakes to the memory of those summer promenades under the cotton trees (right outside of Gong-Guan subway station) with a special kind of tropical, sluggish air suffused with traffic dust (contributed mostly by the numerous snake-like scooters crawling around the city at all hours) and yet saturated with the mellow sweetness of Sassafras randaiense. Somehow the image of shredding cotton, flying dust and grumbling traffics, provides hot-chocolate-like comfort amidst the chilly darkness. Fortunately, looking forwardly, I am returning to that Far East city next month for a brief stay.