Introduction#
How many times can one laugh in a lifetime? When meeting over drinks, one must get drunk.
Visit from Close Friends#
Last week, my girlfriend's childhood friends came to Chengdu to visit her. One is currently studying and doing research in Germany, and after many years, she finally has the opportunity to return to China for a period of time. The other friend works at a power company and had to undergo surgery in Shanghai due to an injury sustained while working away from home. During the waiting period for the doctor, she made a special trip to Chengdu to meet with us.
We talked about our respective lives, and after years of not seeing each other, they stayed up all night, sharing their experiences from these years and reminiscing about past happy memories. We cried together, we laughed together, as if time had not left any traces, and we were back in the days when we were together.
When it comes to the future, their eyes are filled with hope. Their futures are not uncertain because they have struggled in their own lives, and they firmly believe that their future lives will shine brightly.
Interestingly, my childhood friend is someone I have known since elementary school. Although we each have our own careers and are working hard in different cities, the joy of seeing each other is still the same. It feels like we haven't had enough drinks or finished telling stories. It's just a pity that the time we spent together was too short, and there were so many things we wanted to share with each other.
Bad News#
While I was out having dinner with my girlfriend's childhood friend, I received news that my own grandfather had passed away. I called my childhood friend and could hear him choking up as he said, "Everything happened so suddenly. Just last May Day holiday, I brought my girlfriend home to see him, and he was fine at that time. And then suddenly..." I didn't know how to comfort him, so I could only tell him to go home and comfort his own parents and take care of them. After hanging up the phone, I told my parents about this, and my mom called to ask about the situation and said that she and my dad would go to his house together in the evening.
Subtracting from Life#
Life can be cruel at times. Our growth process from childhood to adulthood is a continuous process of absorption. However, when we reach a certain point, life will begin to take away what we have, whether it is material or non-material. However, life is also generous. It takes away some things but always leaves us with something, and it is these things that remain in our lives that are truly precious.