The Map in Memory

By Liu Yong [US]

It was already my son's second year in college, but my wife still insisted on paying him a visit.

“It's quite far away and not his freshmen year anymore, why put

in this much of effort?” I asked.

“He just moved into a new dorm and I have to see him—otherwise there is no reverie.” She said.

“Reverie?” I wondered.

“ It's just something I can hold on to when I think of him.I can imagine that he is on his way back to his dorm； he is walking up the stairs； he is doing his homework； he is falling asleep...” She looked upset and said, “How am I supposed to imagine all of this when I don't even have a sense of what his dorm looks like?”

Then, we went all the way to Harvard to visit him.

I got a phone call from my son at midnight after we came back to Taipei.His voice sounded a bit different—I did not know if it was because he was half the world away or he had been away from home for a long time which made us more bonded after the visit.His voice sounded quivered with some excitement.

After the call, I couldn't calm down for awhile.The admission brochure from Harvard jumped out in my mind and there was a map of the whole campus at the back.I pointed out the path we walked together during the visit, crossing the bridge, the crowded station, and the curved and goldengraved gate.The third building after making a left turn at the gate was his dorm and I could still see our car parked in the front.To my surprise, I felt like I could walk up to the stairs, open his dorm door, and see him—my boy whom I unwittingly miss day and night.(FromThe Destined Vicissitudes of Life, China Publishing Group.Translation: Shi Wenfei )