Becoming, the BEST of friends here! Translated…
In the heat of the summers, every two to three weeks, I’d gotten a postcard from France, you’d told me it was a hard-to-come-by trip, that you will, send a ton of postcards. To this day, it’d only been two short months, and I’d already received five postcards, other than feeling sorry of the postage you’d spent on me, I’m also very happy, I got to, share your joys with you.
We have very different likes and dislikes, I’d known it in high school, you were into American and European cultures, with an assortment of foreign songs, saved on her cell phone, very orderly, and, you’d always placed the laundry that were cleaned into the baskets, then, placed it into the machines, to spin dry; comparing, I’d always, thrown everything in together into the dryers.
The academia was heavy in high school, we’d always needed to review over a dozen subjects at the sectional exams, and I’d lacked the patience for it, switching to and from the subjects constantly, and, it’d taken me a long time, to finally grind through the texts. But not you, you’d started with the academic subjects of English, Chinese, math, after the text, the reviews, then, the exam papers, like a graceful cat, always knowing what pace fitted you best.
I’d met you back in our first year of high school, after a conversation, I’d learned that you’re, actually, quite active, you’d talked about how you’d forgotten to bring the fruits from home, and will be going to the shopping marts to get some this weekend, I’d told you, that I had some extra oranges, that I’m willing, to give you want if you wanted one.
After the conversations, we’d, retired to our separate quarters, continued working on the assignments and studying for the exams. At around nine in the evening, I’d felt, a bit, unsettled, but I’d still worked up my courage, with the oranges, gotten to your door, and I saw how you’d looked, so surprised and happy, I felt more than glad, that I’d, broken through my own obstacles of being timid and not connecting with other people.
Afterwards, you’d often called on me at my room, every time, you’d brought something good—the study guides for the math course. We’d spent half an hour, trying to figure out the problems we’re, stumped on.
Finally when we were able to solve it, you’d had that look of “oh, I understand it now” on your face, said I was amazing. But you didn’t know, that doing these problems alone, I usually couldn’t figure them out, because we thought of the ways to solve together, that was how we were, successful. Fighting the battles with you, it’d helped me through, this period of my life, being jailed up.
Because we were both students, we didn’t have the extra money, so every year around your birthday, I could only afford a drink, and you’d bought me a couple of box of chocolates, with a rose pie. Back then, the presents we’d given one another was very light, but the warmth those presents carried, it’d, warmed me up inside.
After college, we were, separated by the distances, you’d worked hard in the French department for four years, and now, you’d, flown to France, chasing your dreams, and I stayed at home, in Miaoli, ready to take my examinations, I hope all is right with you.
So, these two young women were, battlemates, they’d fought together in school, studied together, helped one another understand the problems that they couldn’t solve on their own, and, their strong connection will hopefully, not get severed, as they part ways after school.