Jakin - Jiang Jiqun - #0504010071

It's almost dark, raining, blowing, and lightening. I was walking and pushing a motorcycle whose engine was dead on a country road. "Where am I?" - I was lost!

At about 4:30, on the 17th day of July 2004, my older sister was told she was going to give birth to a baby. As it was an important event for our family, I was sent to my sister's family in - law to give them the news. I didn't want to because of the unfavorable weather, but I had to.

Getting on the motorcycle, I started my journey on a country road, which snaked through the mountains between my home and my sister's house and it lead me across the mountains. All the way the weather was ok, it just blew a little. 30 minutes later, I arrived.

I gave the news to my sister's mother-in-law who was cooking in her kitchen. After a short talk, she took the baby’s clothes already prepared and went with me. When we were about to leave, it started to rain, heavily and crazily! Trees bent with the wind, their was lightening that lit up the whole sky and then the thunder roared. My god!

Due to the terrible weather, the lady couldn't come with me, so I needed to return home alone. A short while after I left, the rain grew harder and harder, I couldn’t even open my eyes, vaguely, I knew that the condition of the muddy road would be very bad, so I changed my return - route, going on a new cement road. A motorcycle, a cement road, I thought I could get home before dark.

It was a new road, although it was raining heavily, it felt good to ride in the rain! I rode very fast so I might get home earlier. After several turns, I reached a crossroad, and I didn’t know which one to choose. Turn right or left? There was nobody to turn to for help. Just when I was wondering, my engine died . M aybe because of the cold it couldn’t be started again, but it frightened me. I suddenly realized that I was the only person there, no cars passing by, no houses nearby…I wiped my face and took a closer look at the direction. Through the light of the lightening, I saw many graves! Oh, my god! Graves!!! “Where am I?” My heart beat rapidly, and I felt horribly that I was in danger, “Am I going to be hit by the lightening and die?” “I don’t know! I don’t know...how can I get home? Where is my home? I don’t even know what’s ahead of me…should I turn right or left, or go back?” after considering this for a few seconds, in such an urgent moment, I decided that I had no other choice but to walk back!

On my way back, I walked, pushing my heavy motorcycle, the rains were still crazily pouring down, the dazzling lightening and the deafening thunder made this world rather strange for me, I had never encountered such a terrible storm before, I had no mood to enjoy the feeling of riding in the rain, and I was walking slowly in the rain, which made my feeling rather strange. I felt quiet one moment and concerned the next; cold one moment and hot the next, as if I had been thrown into a new world where everything was new and strange!

Nobody was beside me but my motorcycle while I was walking. It seemed to be a close friend of mine, and I even opened my mouth to talk to him, while he just listened but never answered. I just told him what I experienced today would be a lovely story tomorrow………

A flash of light appeared while I was thinking, bringing me back to the real world; surprisingly, I enjoyed some relaxation in my heart. When I raised my head again, I saw the village, which made it clear that I was already back, and I saw the candle light in the warm house. At that moment, I swear, there was no other time in my life that made me more homesick!

I found my sister’s house, went in and stayed there for another day to return home!