[原创][征文]In Memory of My Lost Spring

　　 Spring comes quite late this year. Or according to some old timers, there will be no Spring at all this year as Lichun (立春), one of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on the previous Chinese Year. No wonder there has been a long spell of drizzle in this region. The drizzle comes surreptitiously from the gloomy sky and takes hold of me. I not only lost myself to this all-encompassing spell, but also lost forever my “April” in the deep of previous Winter.
　　
　　I remember we met in Spring, five springs ago. On an April day I brought you to the Riverside Park where I had secretly hidden a bunch of rose on the top of the temple tree the night before. Flowers of the temple tree were in full bloom in late April, and your eyes were shining with excitement and expectation. It was drizzling on and off. Even now I could still catch the mixed smell of rose and flowers of the temple tree. At that aromatic moment I whispered in your ears:“I would love to bring the world to a standstill and hold you forever in my arms.” Locked in a time warp, we all felt there was nothing more important than being together as we let the spring drizzle wash down our faces. It’s at that time that I started calling your “April”, since early spring comes in April in my area, and our puppy love thrived in this wonderful Spring.
　　
　　 We enjoyed walking in the drizzle of Spring along the river bank , afraid of missing any fascinating moment of Spring. I used to tell you that we should seize the day as if we were going to die the next day. We couldn’t care less about overdrawing our account of time, but later we felt like love challenged since most of the nice feelings were withdrawn from our arsenal of passion. All banquets must come to an end, as people always warn us. Spring, as we later discovered, is also the time when you become susceptible to aesthetic fatigue. Faced with so many temptations springing from the best season of the year, we felt like a powerless baby who could hardly brush off the enticing outside world. Ironically we were still a happy couple, the very cynosure of all people’s attention, or at least we tried to appear to be so. We tried hard to build up a rampart of trust and responsibility on the rubble of long-deceased love. By that time, Spring had long been over, and our belated efforts were unable to see us through to the Winter.
　　
　　 On that chillingly cold winter day, you told me in a nonchalant tone: “I treasure our relationship of more than five years, and I decided to marry you next Spring…..” It’s anachronistic, my dear April. It came as a thunderbolt from the blue. I would rather you told me upfront that you would be true to your heart and leave me for good!
　　
　　 My heart is bleeding, just like the Spring drizzle tickling down my face. It’s uncharacteristically cold this winter, in which my consciousness is still frozen. But one thing I know crystal clear: Nothing lasts forever while every Spring gone by could never be recovered.
　　
　　The words of a long-time friend are still in my mind: “They also serve those who stand and wait”. I am waiting patiently for my Spring to arrive. As Shelley said: “O, Wind, If Winter comes,can Spring be far behind? ”
　　
　　So, will you get onboard for a brand new journey when Spring comes?