Astoria, New York
May 28, 2021
Rongchang, Chongqing
Dear Mom,
Hope you see the characters as if to see me.
I am planting pumpkins on the balcony. It reminds me of the days when you took me out to the field to learn about vegetables when I was little: sunny days, we walked through the narrow paths snaked through the field, surrounded by purple broad bean flowers, golden canola flowers, or lush green leaves of sweet potatoes. Yam, with big round leaves, reminded me of those of lotus , which I loved for no reason. All of the memories are still so vivid after these many years. With eyes closed, I could easily be brought back to the past. Perhaps many years later, I will still remember this early summer, the seeds from the pumpkin I left on the balcony last winter are all sprouting, the seedlings squeezing each other in the gardening basket. You asked me to cook them -- sautéed pumpkin sprouts perhaps! Do you remember last year what you said to me on WeChat when I showed you the pictures of cherry tomatoes I grew?
“Be careful of squirrels!”
Yours,
Zhan’er