A Mortal's Lifetime
We strolled around the market square all afternoon, browsing the stalls and sampling the countless offers of festive food. I satisfied my cravings for lamb skewers and indulged myself in delicious flower cakes made from fresh peonies and roses, not realizing how fast time passed until the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
When the first star started to twinkle in the sky, we made our way to the hills hugging the eastern outskirts—the girl from earlier had mentioned fireworks in the evening, and Bai Ye suggested that we might get a better view from above the crowds.
He was so right, I thought as we sat down on a clearing facing the center of town. Lanterns lit up the curving roads below us like golden dragons, coiling sluggishly into peaceful somber at our feet. Steam and smoke from the food stalls rose like glowing puffs of clouds. The din of the throng was a distant murmur, mixed into the lulling songs of crickets and the last cicadas of the year.