The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his car --- a gift wasted on me at that age. The important thing was that Hannah and I could drive around.

Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much taller, almost five foot ten. “Hannah's a knockout,” my mother always said. And that summer she signed with a modeling agency. She was already doing runway work.

A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we stopped at the McDonald’s drive-through, putting the fries on the seat between us to share. “Let’s ride around a while,” I said. It was a clear night, full moon slung low over the desert. Taking a turning too fast, I plowed (撞)through a neighbor’s wall and drove into a full-grown tree.

We were taken in separate ambulances. I’d cracked(使裂开)my cheek bone; Hannah’s forehead had split wide open. End of her modeling career. What would I say to her?

“I’m so sorry.” I said.

“You’re both alive,” she said, “The rest is window dressing. I forgive you. Hannah will too.”

Sharon’s forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to stay friends throughout high school and college, to be at each other’s weddings … The scars are so faded that no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still see it just below her hairline --- for me, a mark of grace(优雅).

For Mao Zhongwu, who was paralyzed (瘫痪) from the waist down in an accidental fall 16 years ago, sports have opened up a new world. The 37-year-old cross-country “sit-skier” collected one gold and two silver medals at the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games — in men’s middle-distance, men’s sprint (短距离) and men’s long distance, respectively. “It was sports that made me come out of the lowest point in my life and changed me physically, mentally and spiritually,” Mao said.

Born and raised in Dalian, Liaoning province, Mao has been fond of sports since childhood. The accident changed everything. Paralysis ended his functional independence. He had to live under his mother’s care. For a long time, he felt ashamed and was unwilling to go out. In 2017, persuaded by his mother, he started to learn table tennis. Ten days later, he took part in a citywide competition and performed well.

Fan Yi, a coach from the sports department of Dalian’s service center for the disabled, picked Mao and brought him to the wheelchair racing team. Fan recalled that in the beginning Mao didn’t dare to talk with other people. But he gradually became cheerful and confident in training. Three years ago, Mao shifted to train for cross-country skiing. “As an older athlete, he recovers slowly. He persevered through willpower,” Fan said.

Mao said that when he decided to be a professional athlete, he told himself there was no turning back. “I have experienced the bitterness of life, and I know this is a rare opportunity that I must seize,” he said. Everyone’s body has its limits. When he was suffering through the period of tiredness caused by overtraining, he thought he was too old to compete in the Olympics. “But I never gave up. With the support of my team, I stepped toward my goals one by one,” he said. “Although I’m not young now, I will keep training and eye on more gold medals as long as I can.”