A white world

2023.12.17.

Travelling for just two hours by plane from Shanghai to Japan, I am in a different world now. The soft, white flakes fly in the wind and gently land on branches, roads, bridges, roofs, transforming Sadu into a white world.

I excitedly free my hands from the heavy, clumsy gloves. I reach out my hand into the crispy air, waiting for some snowflakes to land on my hand. Finally it comes! Yet, as soon as it touches my skin, the small ball of snow melts into a droplet of water. So brief, transient.

With some clanks that breaks the silence, a bus arrives at the station. Its bright red roof and strong yellow lights suddenly add an air of liveliness to the station. Strangely, it makes me think of the Catbus in Spirited Away, perhaps due to the touch of romance of the knowledge that there is still a bus waiting for you even in this snowy winter.