Listen to the sound of time growing taller

    The night was slightly cool, a gentle breeze rustling. I had just woken up and habitually checked the time on my phone: "Tuesday, December 31, 2013, 6:28 AM." Suddenly, as if an electric current had passed through my body, I shuddered, and the sleepiness vanished instantly. Watching the morning light stream through the window, listening to the breeze rustling the branches outside, I felt the wheels of time spinning rapidly, turning past winds, past rains, past springs, past winters, past joys and sorrows, past gains and losses. In the rush, 2013 waved goodbye, and the brand new 2014 suddenly appeared before me, catching me off guard.
    Goodbye, my 2013, an ordinary yet profound year. It was you who gave me my grandson as a birthday gift; it was you who allowed me to achieve great things amidst favorable weather; it was you who gave me more waiting and anticipation; it was you who gave me more longing and affection. You are the endless warmth in my heart!
    Goodbye, my 2013. In the palm of your hand, so many unintentional moments, so many destined encounters and unfortunate brushes, like distant landscapes, like magnificent performances, vanished around the corner of time. Some things, once experienced, cannot be retained; some people, once arrived, cannot linger; some scenery, once witnessed, cannot be possessed. The beauty of this world can only be frozen in a fleeting moment. As years pass, as the river flows on, the ripples in memory fade with the passing years.
    Get up, wash, eat breakfast, and begin the prelude to a new day, step by step. The scenery before the door remains the same, the cycle of life endless. No matter how great yesterday's success, or how embarrassing, how helpless and bitter, yesterday can only be remembered; today is the new beginning. The anticipated beauty is an unpredictable future; many things, once waited for, become forever.
    Hello, 2014. I didn't open my arms to give you a warm embrace, because an unprepared promise is a bow that can't be drawn, a boat that can't reach the shore—it can't withstand scrutiny, and it can't evoke resonance. You've come, and no matter how you come to me, I will still warmly embrace you. However, please don't mind that I can only treat you like a glass of plain water, treasuring your preciousness when thirsty, savoring your purity when relaxed, sharing your refreshingness with friends, and lingering on your sweetness after a meal.
    Time never stops; life flows on relentlessly. How we walk our own path is up to us. At the turn of the year, let's quietly listen to the sound of time growing stronger; in the coming year of 2014, let's gently cherish the chapters of life that we must read, moving forward through wind and rain, turning each tomorrow into respect for life, and sharing the joys and sorrows of fate.