After a night’s stay at a 7 Days Inn in Shanghai, we set off from the Shanghai Bus Terminal to Jiangsu. Even before boarding the bus, my body started to protest, but my heart was still eager to attend the wedding. My friend’s family is in Rugao, Nantong, and I had promised to visit them many years ago. Today, that promise was finally fulfilled.
It was a sunny day, the first long trip of 2014, with someone accompanying and taking care of me all the way, and we were going to attend a good friend’s wedding… These small elements were enough to be sources of happiness. The bus steadily drove along the broad road towards our destination. Sitting by the window, I calmly pulled open the curtain and did what one does on long journeys—slept. Although my phone, iPad, and music player were in my bag, I chose to conserve my energy, hoping to meet the family I had only been in touch with for seven years in a refreshed and radiant state.