Zhiqi Chen

Though I had long grown accustomed to traveling alone, solitude invariably arrived unannounced on the third night. As ever, I ventured out, hoping to wander through the nocturnal streets in search of solace. I consider myself a rational person, yet my subsequent actions were guided purely by intuition. I ran through the Louvre, past the Seine, and by Notre-Dame, driven by an intense longing to encounter her amidst the Parisian streets veiled in night. But when I suddenly looked back, she was nowhere to be found in the midst of that flickering light. Thus, I boarded the night metro, leaving the heart of the city behind, and ascended to the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on Montmartre. I sought to calm my troubled soul, and I must confess that the profound emotion I felt in that moment gave me a sense of salvation. The years of toil and solitude erupted in that night, utterly dismantling the emotional walls I had erected within myself.

波士顿一带，令人萌生想诅咒一切的念头的日子，一个夏季里总有那么几天。
只要扛过那几日，其余的日子倒是相当不错。

黄昏时分沿着查尔斯河散步，想起村上春树的文字。初相见，自然是欢喜的。人们各有节奏——漫步、骑行、爬上树枝，仿佛爱在日落黄昏后。结伴坐在帆船码头，看日落，等帆归。我从朗费罗桥走到哈佛桥，时间慢了下来。天空从橙黄沁成紫红，晚风裹挟着老派爵士和新潮流。