There is a gentle island in my hometown.

Like flowers and beautiful families, the years pass like a fleeting time.

Walking around Gulangyu Island, under the shade of willow trees, every old villa is a souvenir of this city and this island. These remembrances are often scattered here and there, like threads hidden in the depths of time. No matter where or when, someone's memory can be aroused.

Step onto this island filled with the sound of music and nostalgia, and walk around the arched doors and carved windows entwined with ancient vines. The old people whisper softly, and the children pass by laughing.

The years are quiet and peaceful.

二

However, walking along the cascading stone steps on Gulangyu Island where birds are singing and flowers are fragrant, there are too many scenes that are disappointing. Many of the charming old villas in the photo albums are aging rapidly. Either the glory has faded with the passage of time, or it has fallen into disrepair and depression.

As generations pass by, the ancient years begin to interpret the powerless vicissitudes of life. The red bricks and white tiles of that year have long since disappeared, and she is like a resentful woman from the former dynasty in a lonely ancient palace. Her face is the helplessness of a famous actress after taking off her makeup, and her back is the loneliness and desolation under the lonely sunset.

Looking back a hundred years ago, the sea garden was full of vitality. Priests and consuls from various countries rushed to buy land and build houses with carved railings and jade, red walls, green tiles and blue sky. The returned overseas Chinese built a lot of construction here, and the eaves and corners were angled and colorful.

It’s a pity that beauty has aged so quickly, looking back a hundred years already.

三

Walking around Qindao.

The villa of Lin Wenqing, the first president of Xiamen University, is deserted and in a mess, with iron fences tightly locked. Looking through the gaps between the grass, you can see dilapidated tables and chairs and mottled walls. I heard that the scavengers who lived there had just moved out.

The old house of General Lin Zumi, who supported Sun Yat-sen's democratic revolution, is old and dilapidated. The shutters are crumbling, the glass is broken, and the red bricks are incomplete. Only the towering camphor in the courtyard protects the old house. I miss General Lin's heroic spirit for the revolution and his pride in dedicating his life to the country.

Looking up the dark steps to Lin Yutang's wedding room, the carved screen is incomplete, the eaves are leaking, it is dilapidated, and the iron door is stained with rust.

There is also the collapsed former residence of Lin Erjia, which is full of desolation and weeds. The Meiyue Pond has long dried up, and the Wisteria Pavilion is no longer what it used to be.

Once upon a time, they were all famous figures on the island, and what they wrote were all legends. However, the old friend has passed away, and the centuries-old monuments left behind have maintained their original intentions between prosperity and decadence, but they have been abruptly buried in the glitz of the endless stream of tourists.

Due to the emptiness, desolation, and disrepair of the old villas, people began to forget about them. When passing by, they sighed at the dilapidated houses in front of them. It was just that, and they no longer looked forward to it. People are passing by in a hurry, and old villas and old stories are being abandoned.

four

What happened at Biye Zhuqiao that day, no one was seen and the water flowed empty.

Time is not reserved for young people, hate is long, when will it end.

In such bricks and tiles, there are always endless stories to tell. The atmosphere of nostalgia is fluttering, touching the heartstrings of those who are used to looking back on the past.

Stories never grow old, only people’s hearts grow old. The old people were chattering about the old things in the old city, and the innocent children were standing aside. Maybe they heard something, or maybe they were just playing in the dusk and sunset. The setting sun was shining all over the place, something quietly passed by, and the light and shadow were scattered.

However, if one day, the storyteller gets old and leaves, and the people who listen to the story change again and again, the once glorious old villa quietly becomes sad, and the moss spreads, eventually burying everything in the past.

If one day, we forget everything, even forget what we forgot.

Finally, the memory that has been lost and is being lost can no longer be found.

五

More and more people have claimed the old villas, and they are rebuilding their memories. In the repair and carving of every brick and tile, we can find the youth of the old villas and the neighbors in the old lanes.

Although these repairs require a process, the waiting process for their gorgeous reappearance is beautiful.

six

In one year, all the drops in the lotus are drained, and the wine in the blue well is frozen.

At this moment, we have to keep our memories. Old people, old villas, old photos, streets and alleys will all grow old. Only memory can survive forever with hard work.

We try to salvage the memories of our predecessors, use every possible method, and rely on the strength of our hearts to walk towards the depths of the past. Keep walking until we meet in a warmer future.

seven

Praying to meet the old days.

In exchange for a beautiful smile.