After I hastily left the city at night

I started the day with a dreamy content.

Awoke by warm sunlight and the sound of water, splashing on leaves, I hesitantly got up from the mat, and wandered downstairs.  My uncle, who has always been a stubborn early riser, was bustling about in the front yard.  I pushed open the heavy front door, lingering in a state of wonder.  His figure, brisk in the morning sun, is more lively and animated than ever. 

“Ah, you’re up!” he greeted me, while going on about his chores, “are the others awake?”

No, the house was still slumbering in silence.  Such a lovely and peaceful silence, that cuddled this spirited yard.  Conjoined, they lit up each particle in the air, and filled my prospect with cheerful tunes of whistle.

Yesterday I was a city girl in Taipei, shadowed by the whiff of melancholy dwelled in the dewy air.  Today I stood bare in bright sunshine, amazed, but more surprised, by the limitless azure extended to the end of my sight.  A world for living, not contemplation.  A time that is to be grasped, without pondering or reflection.  

I want to seize every minute, juice each day for the most beauty I could experience.  In this county, where hills gleam and the shore is ten minutes away, I want to play without a care.  I shall be a wild child, gushing and swirling, taking the world in with wide open arms.

And at night, I will curl up on the windowsill - in the company of gentle street lights - and write.