Chapter 8

They said
Time could heal
They said
Memory would fail
My soul was once caged
My heart never changed


Once I got back to Taipei, I immediately wrote a letter and sent it out to the indicated address. Two weeks later I found a letter quietly, lying on my desk when I returned from the evening school class. I was thrilled to see the mail because I recognized the neat hand writing right away.

In my letter to Yang Dong-Yu, I asked him whether he still dreamt of being a pilot apart from many other questions I had for me. In his mail, he told me he was studying very hard and hoping to pass the college entrance exam. Meanwhile, he was working part-time at a local café. He actually lived by himself, only went back to visit his grandma once in a while. I was happy for him but at the same time wondered how he actually pulled himself together to overcome the difficulties.

I promised to pay him a visit once we finished the college entrance exam the following summer. Although school life got more and more hectic, my good friend never left my mind. We communicated via letters several times that year. I even called him twice on the phone.

Then July came surreptitiously. Thousands of high school graduates were anxious to get the college entrance exam done. I was no exception. The first day of the exam, I had Chinese, English, and math tests. The next day I had chemistry, physics, and science tests. The exams seemed to go well; and I was relieved afterward. The scorching sun was beaming fervently outside with the unbearable humidity in the air. Beads of sweat fell down like a facet on each passerby on the street. Yet a chill came up from my spine, giving me unexplainable creeps. I didn’t know what that was and decided to brush it aside.


It was a usual hot summer morning. I rode the express train down to the south and then switched to a bus. It literally took me 7 hours to get to Ping-Tung. When I arrived at the bus station, Yang Dong-Yu was there already. He looked so tanned and tall. I would say at least 185 cm. The smile on his face brought me back some old memory. I waved at him and greeted with a firm handshake. That night he showed me around at the night market. We ate steak with noodles on a steaming hot iron plate and some taro pearl milk tea.

The house Yang Dong-Yu was staying located in a quiet alley. The neighbourhood was very clean; only occasionally one or two stray dogs would show up and scavenge for food.

Later in the night, Yang Dong-Yu and I lay down and started to chat. He gave me his bed and slept on the floor. I was embarrassed but I knew that was how we treated a good friend in our culture. After all we were very close friends. The first question I had for him was whether he was happy. I knew it was a silly question but I couldn’t help. He told me with his eyes closed, “I have never been happier than now. I once thought my life was a curse but guess what? If God or Buddha wants me to be in this world, there must be a reason. So, I am going to live for myself, not anyone else.”

The three-day visit was really a blast. We went to the beach and swam in the ocean. The southern part of Formosa was truly breathtaking. I loved the smell of the sea and fresh seafood. By the time, I was about to go home, I felt that chill coming up from my spine again. This time it struck me for a few minutes.