Say Hello, A Misstep

I didn’t understand their indifferent attitude

Passing by / Ansi

When I was in elementary school, the roads were wide and cars were scarce. I remember one evening, my parents and I were pushing a bicycle, walking on the hilltop outside “Jiading Road Elementary School” on Ruichang Road.

Now, if you want to be honest, you’d feel obligated to stay true to these weathered memories, meticulously accounting for every omission and possibility. But if you’re more eager to “craft a good narrative,” you might disguise these recollections as fiction, swearing by them with conviction, infused with emotion.

For instance, was it really early summer? Or do I think so merely because it’s approaching early summer as I narrate this years later? I seem to remember a sunset, with pink and purple hues reflecting off rows of window panes. Perhaps we were just strolling leisurely, without a bicycle. My aunt’s house wasn’t far; we had likely just finished dinner at my grandparents’ and were heading there. Maybe just for a visit, or perhaps I was to stay the night, conveniently close to school the next day.

Pinpointing the exact year proves challenging. I’m tempted to say third grade, but Ms. Liu, who features in this memory, only taught me after fourth grade. It could be fourth grade, yet my cousin entered first grade at our school when I was…