Chapter 154: 245th entry, the little girl at the neighboring table

245th entry, the little girl at the neighboring table......

246th entry, the little girl at the neighboring table……

――――Liu Guozong's Spring Diary, Sixty-Seven

In the early half of the spring night, rain pattered outside the window. Facing the lone lamp, my thoughts wandered……

A foreign child of a newly appointed director (alas, I can't recall his name) heard that heaven was beautiful: 'In heaven, no need to work, no need to study, nothing requires effort; in heaven, there is no scheming, no envy or strife, nor poor nor rich; food never burns, clothing never worries; no need to fret over buying a house, and the wives are angelic beauties, not only lovely but also kind……'

This foreign child, thinking by day and longing by night, eventually, in a dream one day, came

Arrived in heaven――

Heaven is indeed beautiful. In heaven, one need not study, need not labor; there is food to eat, clothes to wear. Three meals a day, angels constantly bring and take, attending most attentively.

But as time went on, this foreign child who had entered heaven grew a little impatient.

'How is it that in this heaven, every day is just eat then sleep, sleep then eat? Isn't that like a pig? Can't we find some work to do?' the child said to the attending angel.

'Sorry, child, heaven is a place of enjoyment, there is no work to do.' the angel said to him.

This child who had come to heaven was three parts unhappy, three parts bored.

'Why does this heaven have no day or night, everywhere hazy and vague, unable to see sunrise or sunset, the stars brilliant, nor see the moonlight clear?' the child, feeling three parts bored, again asked the angel.

'Sorry, child, there is no time in heaven, no distinction between day and night, so everywhere is hazy and vague.'

'These hazy, vague days—eat then sleep, sleep then eat, no study, no labor, no day or night, no sense of direction—is this how humans live? Isn't this even more piggish than a pig?' the child in heaven muttered, six parts impatient.

'The saints in heaven are there; I want to go visit them, pay a call.' the child requested of the angel.

'Sorry, child, in heaven the residences are far apart; even the nearest are hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, from one home to another takes at least thousands of years, up to hundreds of thousands of years. It's not easy to drop by, so just stay put patiently!' the angel told the child.

The child in heaven was eight parts impatient, nine parts disappointed.

In his impatience and disappointment, the child thought of his family at home, his childhood companions, and the little girl at the neighboring table who often gave him stationery and snacks.

'Can I see my parents, my schoolmates, and that little girl at the neighboring table?' the child in heaven pleaded with the angel.

'No, at this moment your parents are laboring day and night, with no time; your childhood classmates, some have entered university and achieved success; some have gone out to work and become bosses; the little girl at your neighboring table, hearing you had entered heaven to enjoy bliss, has already married and is now attending to her husband and raising her child……'

Hearing the angel's words, the child in heaven, greatly vexed and deeply disappointed, pleaded: 'Let me go back! In the human world, I would chop wood in the mountains, carry stones, shout orders for the boss, scavenge junk in the city—I would gladly do that……'

The spring rain outside the window was still falling; compared to that boy in heaven suffering torment, I am supremely happy. As they say, happiness is a feeling; I now feel good, very happy.

Especially the late half of the spring night with the window's gentle rain.

'A small building listens to spring rain all night; at dawn, the alley sells apricot blossoms.' Nowadays no one sells apricot blossoms; most people sell labor, just like me—selling labor is also happy, as long as I remain in the human world!

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