Dolly was my 9-year-old sister. She was mother’s favourite, always doing what she was told and never placing a foot wrong. Sometimes I didn’t like her. But she was my younger sister. I couldn’t do anything about it. And on the whole she wasn’t that bad.

Two weeks ago, on her birthday, I gave her a goldfish as a present. She loved it, named it Peppy and watched it swim freely in the glass container every day after school. She really enjoyed the delight the little angel brought. But recently I found the goldfish a little listless, staying at the bottom of the container most of the time.

One day after lunch, Dolly looked up at Mum and said,“Mum, I want to go to the lake. We go there on Sundays.”

“We can’t go today, dear. I have something else to do.” Mother said as she walked towards her and took the bowl away. Dolly looked a little unhappy, with eyebrows frowned.

“Shama,” Suddenly, Dolly whispered to me, leaning as close to me as her small frame would allow her while still sitting on the chair. “Would you come with me?”

I felt hesitant, but her unfamiliar stubbornness made me curious. What did she want to do at the lake? Still for the red fish? There was red fish in the lake. She had seen some coming to the shore every Sunday.

“Are you sure? Mom will be mad if we get caught.”

“We’ll come back in time before mom knows it.” Dolly gave a mischievous(调皮的) smile and slid out of her chair. I followed her out of the kitchen and came to the front door. Luckily, it didn’t lock. But as soon as we got ready to force out of the door, Dolly turned back and ran into the house again. I couldn’t shout out her name for fear that Mum could hear me but waited nervously.

A moment later she came back, holding something in her hand.

Half an hour later, we arrived at the lake.

Into the cave

Standing outside the cave entrance, Grandfather admired the green-carpeted hills of Guilin. “Next to heaven,” he said, “Guilin is most beautiful.”

“I would rather be anywhere else in China,” Lin thought.

Lin came here today only because of Grandfather, a stubborn and old-fashioned man, who insisted on using the guano, the waste matter of bats(蝙蝠), to fertilize(施肥) his crops. But he was too weak to do the whole job alone. Grandfather only had the ability to gather the guano and bring it out of the cave in the basket, but he wanted to carry it home in the wooden cart, so he needed Lin a lot.

Lin hadn’t been in the cave since the 2-month-ago terrible day of the bats. On that day, as Lin had walked in the cave, a swarm of black bats had appeared out of nowhere, making him extremely terrified.

Grandfather took a shovel(铁铲) and flashlight(手电筒) from the cart. “Come inside with me?” he asked Lin. “Bats hurt no one,” Grandfather said. But nothing could make Lin forget the horror he had felt in that black cloud of bats.

“I dare not go in there now,” he told Grandfather.

“OK” Grandfather said. As he started into the cave with his own shovel and flashlight, he called over his shoulder to Lin, “I’ll be out in no time.”

Lin parked the cart and glanced at his shovel and flashlight inside it. He had used them back in the days when he always helped Grandfather. Now they only reminded him of his fear.

Time flew by very quickly before he came to know it. Then Lin realized that Grandfather’s “in no time” had turned into a long time. What happened? Something had gone wrong? Did he slip down and get hurt?

Looking into the dark cave, he thought, “I can’t go in there”. Then he imagined Grandfather, hurt and alone.

Hesitantly, Lin reached for the flashlight and started into the cave.

Recalling Grandfather’s words, “Bats hurt no one.” Lin calmed down.

As is known to all, the traffic is very poor and heavy. The bus or the train is really crowded. Every time I go home from my company or leave home for my company, I have to accept such a hard experience though I have been used to it.

On a cold December morning in 2020, I boarded a bus with my four bags which were large. Luckily, there were two empty seats left. About one hour later, a well-dressed young guy got on and took the seat next to mine. I was cautious. I would often come across guys who were eager to talk to a girl travelling on her own. So I was not surprised when he spoke up.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Rampur Bushehr,” I replied briefly and put on my earphones to enjoy some music or to avoid talking with him. He did not bother me after that as if he had known my idea.

It started to rain and cold water was dropping through the roof right on to my lap. Seeing that, the guy emptied a plastic shopping bag full of clothes, which he pushed into his travel bag. He then handed me the plastic bag. I accepted it with a sheepish (困窘的) “thanks” before spreading it on my lap.

Minutes later, the bus broke down! The conductor announced we would have to move to another bus that would reach us shortly, and that there would be no more buses after that, since there had been heavy snowfalls. All the passengers of the bus got off and stood on the side of the road, ready to rush into the next bus. The conductor unwillingly helped me get off the bus with my luggage and I too waited with other passengers.

When the bus finally arrived, it had many passengers already.

As the bus left for my hometown, I looked around for the guy.