Rowing on the Stars - Episode 1: Meng Meng is Born

Meng Meng was born in the "Strange Kingdom." This kingdom was no different from any other, but Meng Meng was unlike any other child. As soon as she was born, a shimmering "rainbow light" radiated from her body. Although it lasted only a few seconds, everyone witnessed it. It was considered a sign of good luck.Meng Meng's parents were ecstatic. From then on, Meng Meng was adored and lived a sweet princess-like life.

If Meng Meng needed anything, her parents would buy it for her. Meng Meng was never lonely as she had many relatives and friends to keep her company. She was exceptionally intelligent and well-behaved from a young age. Despite being the only child in her household, Meng Meng was friendly towards other children and polite to all adults.Meng Meng loved her family, her parents, and her relatives and friends. Her biggest wish was to be able to stay with her parents, relatives, kindergarten teachers, and classmates forever. Additionally, Meng Meng did not want to grow up. She had heard from her uncle that when she grew up, she wouldn't be able to eat candies anymore, nor stay with her parents. She wouldn't be able to play with teddy bears or toy dogs either. She would only have to go out to find a job or go far away for studies. She didn't want to lose all of that, so every day, she wished upon the stars, saying, "Dear stars and moon, please don't let me grow up."

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and Meng Meng's playmates grew taller or stronger. But Meng Meng remained the same height as when she started kindergarten at five years old. Her playmates were now around ten years old, while Meng Meng looked exactly the same as she did at five. Even after finishing elementary school, she still appeared unchanged. Though she learned more and became smarter, her height and manner of speaking remained like that of a five-year-old. Meng Meng's parents were extremely worried at this point. They took her to see many doctors and visited multiple hospitals, but all the doctors said that Meng Meng's lack of growth was a mystery and that they were helpless. Meng Meng's parents were devastated. Her mother cried every day, which eventually affected her eyesight. Meng Meng's father had to quit his job to be with her. When it was time for her to go to junior high school, Momo's lack of growth prevented her from being admitted. Despite her excellent academic performance in elementary school, Meng Meng was denied the opportunity to continue her education at school. Meng Meng began to feel gloomy. She regretted making the wish to never grow up in front of the stars and moon. It had become her reality.

Meng Meng tried various methods to try and go back to normal, to start growing. Every day, she would look up at the night sky and say, "Please let me keep growing, Moon sister, Star sister. I'm really scared and lonely now. My friends and teachers have left me, and my parents are not as happy as before." When relatives and friends saw Meng Meng, they would shake their heads and sigh. Gradually,Meng Meng even considered the idea of death as a way to escape this cold world. She pleaded, "Moon sister, Star sister, please take back the curse and allow me to grow. I want to go back to school, make my parents happy forever, and have friends who praise and play with me. But no matter how much Meng Meng pleaded every day, the stars remained stars, and the moon remained the moon. Nobody helped her fulfill the wish to grow up. In the end, Meng Meng had no choice but to completely give up and fall into despair.

Meng Meng became more and more disheartened and despondent. She stopped smiling and speaking. Moreover,Meng Meng no longer wanted to stay in familiar surroundings. She didn't want to see everyone pointing fingers and gossiping about her lack of growth. She knew that their criticism and comments would not help her grow. On top of that, her parents were aging every day, and Meng Meng worried about what would happen to her when they were gone. Furthermore, her parents' love for her diminished significantly. Although she still resembled a little child, her parents demanded her to talk and act like other older children. She had to speak politely like an adult to salespeople or others around her. For instance, when Meng Meng's mother fell ill, she had to go to the town to buy medicine. Many people would look at her strangely, and Meng Meng had to politely converse with them. Or every day, she had to help her father sell tofu at the market and engage in conversations like her father did. Although Meng Meng understood what adults were doing and saying, she was accustomed to speaking like a five-year-old child. Despite being fifteen years old at that point, she continued to use a child's tone.

Meng Meng started to become rebellious. Her parents' love turned into various demands and accusations, causing Meng Meng to feel like everyone in the world was against her. However, Momo also knew that they were not bad people. She wondered why everyone was so strict and demanding towards her. Meng Meng would dread the break of dawn every day, but only when it was dark, lying under the covers or looking up at the sky, did she feel infinite freedom.

She began to dream of having wings like a bird, so she could fly and go to the stars. She wanted to see her star and moon sisters. Why did they agree to let her remain small forever but not agree to let her grow up? Or perhaps there were beautiful castles on the moon and stars. There, she would meet other incredibly smart children who would never grow up. She could play with those playmates just like when she was a child, and maybe even bring her parents along. They would live a perpetually happy life.

In these castles, there were also many candy houses with brightly colored candies, as well as teddy bears and toy dogs. Outside the castles, there were flying butterflies, birds, beautiful rainbows, various shaped feathers, flying horses, and small boats. Meng Meng would ride in a small boat and travel through the galaxy, visiting her star sisters. She would go see meteor showers and spin on comets. Most importantly, her boat was the most beautiful one in the entire Milky Way. One day, she would encounter the fairy sister, who would gift her a magic wand to conjure everything she desired.

But the morning arrived, andMeng Meng woke up, facing the realities around her all over again. From not wanting to grow up to dreaming of flying to the galaxy, she had distanced herself further and further from this real world. Her heart was closed, and she immersed herself in her own world every day.