Part II
Soon after lunch the next day, we picked up our luggage and were on our way to Grandma Tan’s home - a remote, strange and mysterious rural village. We took a ferryboat first and began to climb mountains.
After what seemed to be an endless climbing, we at last saw Grandma Tan's home in a distance. It was a peaceful, tranquil but isolated place. There were two houses attached to each other. They were surrounded by thick bamboos and trees.
Having seen the sight, I immediately linked it to the settings of Grandma Tan’s ghost stories. Suddenly, I saw many ghosts coming towards me from behind the bamboos and trees.
That night I cried and screamed. My parents felt so sad. They thought that I couldn't bear their leaving the next morning. They never knew another reason - the side effect that Grandma Tan’s ghost stories had upon me.
I knew that ghosts didn’t come out in the daytime, so I was normal the next morning. I knew there are 8 people in grandma tang's family. Most of them were grow-ups. Only one little girl was about my age.
Fangfang.
I behaved normally in the next few days. My mother took a picture for me and Fangfang before she left.
My mother said good- bye to us and let Grandma Tan and her family take care of us in the following months.
Every night before going to bed, I would look at the moon. Mom said that she would come to see us when it was a full moon.
I slept with my elder sister every evening. I always held her hands tightly until I fell asleep in that lonely and strange home.
In the daytime I helped Fangfang take care of a cow , two pigs and get enough grass and herbs for them.
Soon Fangfang and I became good friends. She helped me learn to do a lot of farm work and I helped her with reading and writing.
I went through a lot during in my childhood. But whenever I looked at the picture with Fangfang, I couldn’t help recalling the happy days when I was in the countryside. The people in the countryside didn't judge people by their ranks or positions like the city people. They didn’t look down upon us when my father was down. They never gave us any special treat when my father was in position again. They were just what they were: simple, nice, brave and hard-working. I learned a lot of good qualities from them, which always encouraged me to take any challenges I had in my life without any fear.
Now I begin to understand why my mother gave me a camera on my 7-year-old birthday. It is true that the camera recorded the footprints in my life journey.