People in my hometown often immerse themselves in joy and ecstasy to embrace the arrival of the Chinese lunar New Year, but this year was an exception. The first gift, which the Spring Festival brought us, was a heavy storm. The placid life of many families was agitated as a consequence of the worst storm that was indelibly imprinted on my mind.
The whole town was in the grip of chilly cold, leaving the sun no chance to touch us. The fluffy snow was dancing to the rhythm of the whistling wind, and the north wind whipped off the water with a piercing bite. Such a sudden storm separated me from the outside world. The frostbite crept into my hands, and the dull ache indeed got on my nerves. Under the shadow of the severe cold, pacing back and forth in my house and sitting around the fire was undoubtedly the best way to idle this endless winter away.
The storm stepped up its aggression on Spring Festival’s Eve. The ground was covered with a white blanket of snow. Scourged by the storm, the electricity, gas and water supplies were cut off. Thus, life at that time was a mess. We had to get - to - get water from a public house, and the instant noodles were the only food for my rumbling stomach due to a serious shortage of food. The biggest trouble we encountered was the water—leaking on the roof of my house. Pots, basins and buckets were the best tools to defend against it. At the sight of the dead orange trees, tears welled up in my eyes and my heart ached dully.
My sister was a victim of the storm; it would leave a deep scar in the depths of her heart. She had planned to hold a wedding party before the Spring Festival. However, the storm played a joke on her. She was working in another province, but the wedding party was to be held in my hometown, so she had to hurry home to hold her party. When the wedding party was geared up, we were looking forward to waiting for her to come back. On the phone, my sister said: “Because of the heavy storm, the traffic system has been paralyzed, and I was trapped in my car for 2 days, so I can’t arrive on time. Sorry, please cancel my wedding party.” Her voice was choked up with grief and depression. My parents were anxious, and heaved a long sign and cancelled the party. Thus, my sister’s dream of marriage was ruined because of the worst storm. For most young ladies, a wedding party is precious and a one - time experience in one’s life. However, for my sister, it seemed like a dream in the remote distance.
The Spring Festival was a great occasion for a happy reunion of the family members, but my elder brother was out of the scene. He was a soldier in Guangzhou province. 200,000 migrant workers were swarming into the railway station to get back home. All was a whirl of mess in the railway station, so my brother had to keep them in order, and help them to get on the train—that was his work and that was his duty as a soldier. I haven’t been with him even up until now. There is a lump in my throat even mentioning it.
The Spring Festival was unforgettable for me. Darkness hung over us all that night because the electricity was cut off. We huddled together around the fire and my father said: “Let’s not cry about what’s gone, we’ll just start all over.” The food for our dinner that night was not as delicious and savory as before. But life would never lose its savor. I learned a lot from it.
The storm lasted 15 days and the sun finally pierced the haze. Bathed in the sunshine and touching the breeze, I felt a new lease of life. My family lost a lot of possessions in this heavy storm, but we finally came through it. A brand new year was waiting for us.
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