(a)

During your last Chinese New Year, Kaohsiung's parents went on vacation to Monaco, a tiny European country. www.biquge.info When they came back, they brought some small gifts.

Among the gifts for you, there is a photo album of Monaco landscapes, all taken by famous artists, the composition of the picture and the capture of light and shadow are beautiful, you like it very much.

We have been together and have seen this album many times.

I remember the album showing the old king of Monaco, the grand coronation ceremony of the crown prince when he succeeded to the throne, the beautiful queen who was once a Hollywood star, the Grand Palace with a mixture of Spanish and African styles, the royal gardens full of flowers, caryophyllus flowers from Africa, Byzantine-style stone buildings, and the linden tree (with thick stems that look like vases, which are used to store water), which is said to have been brought in from South Africa at a cost of millions, the big casinos that are drunk on money, the red men and women who come and go in and out of them, and the super luxury cars that fill the streets. There are multi-billion-euro luxury stores, cosy and pleasant street corners......

Your favorite picture is from the Pirate Museum. In that museum, there is a sharp dagger, the shape is very unique, the blade is essence and shiny, and the handle of the knife is carved with many scrolls of vine leaf patterns, that kind of vine leaf has a nice name: Wufu grass. Later I wrote a novel under the name of this grass.

You'll also love one of the cliffs, with a curved stone staircase that spirals down from the top of the cliff to the beach below. The waves on the beach are rolling like stratus clouds. In the midst of the countless waves, there is a small private marina with several white yachts of various sizes moored. On a clear day, they drive fast on the calm Mediterranean Sea, dragging a line of snow-white waves around the boat, and many seagulls and unknown seabirds fly in the sky.

(b)

I remember, when we were looking at the picture book together, you once told me the story of a captain.

You say that there is an old captain who has sailed the seas all his life and has a lot of seafaring experience.

Someone once asked him a question: If you were sailing and suddenly found a storm in the sea in front of you, what would you do about the course?

The old captain first rejected the conventional choice: turning the bow of the ship and desperately trying to escape from the direction of the storm.

Then the common second option was denied: to twist the bow 90 degrees, hoping to bypass the storm from the side.

The right choice, he said, was to point the bow in the direction of the storm, sail at full speed, and rush into the storm.

Because the first option will increase the time for the vessel to be in contact with the storm, the second option will further expose the entire side of the vessel to the storm, increasing the area of the ship's storm contact, both of which will lengthen the process of the vessel and the storm entanglement, increasing the risk of capsizing.

What sounds like the most dangerous approach is often the safest, and navigating the storm head-on, while also very risky, is the best option of the three. Because the relative speed of the ship and the storm can be used to reduce the contact time between the two, the ship can leave the affected area of the storm as quickly as possible, and the bow meets the storm at a 90-degree right angle, which can also minimize the contact surface between the two and allow the strongest part of the ship to meet the strongest first blow of the storm. This choice seems desperate and crazy, but it is the most rational.

I was very impressed by this story.

I understand why you're telling me this story.

One of the biggest storms of our lives is coming at us.

You will sink and disappear in this storm, and you hope that I will be able to withstand this storm, and that I will be able to gain strength and become stronger because of it.

You want me not to try to escape, not to flinch and fear, and to face the stormy waves of life head-on.

I always remember this story, and to this day, even the tone of your demeanor when you told it at that time is very clear, as it is now.

(c)

At the time, we were still interested in one of the pictures.

The picture shows a tall, white-stone building, typical of Byzantine style, with huge stone columns, long, wide stone steps flanked by long, wide stone steps, and a doorway carved with motifs of gods and flowers. It is built on a small hill, backed by lush flowers and trees, facing the vast blue Mediterranean Sea, with an extremely open view and a four-season sea breeze.

You stare at the house for a long time, and you say that you have an inexplicable sense of intimacy and familiarity with the house, as if it had been or will have some very intimate connection with you.

You say that you have a sense that the house is inhabited all year round, even though its gate is tightly closed in the pictures, and there are no vehicles parked in front of it.

You say, "The man who lives in this house is an old lady with silver hair." Although she is old, she has a solemn demeanor, dresses dignified and luxurious, wears jewelry with large pearls of saltwater, treats people well, is kind and polite, and shows a very good upbringing. You think she is from a European aristocratic background, how many generations have passed, and her family background is quite prominent.

You say that you can clearly see her face, see her blue-green eyes, see the wrinkles on her forehead, the corners of her eyes, and her neck, and even smell the faint smell of perfume on her body.

You also said that in this house, there is an old harp. At night, the sound of the piano flies out of the house, wandering under the stars, echoing the sound of the waves in the distance.

At that time, I was surprised to hear you say that. You say it in such detail, it's as if you've been there.

I don't think you're making up anything.

You must have seen everything there from afar.

(iv)

Later, I really went to Monaco once.

I took the local tourist map and went street by street looking for the house. I asked a lot of people to describe to them as much as I could about the appearance of the house, but there were so many of them in this small country that they pointed me out a lot, and when I looked at it in the field, it was not at all.

After many twists and turns, I finally found the house exactly like the one in the album under the guidance of the locals.

I stood in its great shadow, looking up at the long steps, and my heart fluctuated for a few moments, before I overcame my cringe and hesitation, mustered up the courage, climbed the steps, and rang the electronic doorbell next to the gate.

A gatehouse appears in the gap where the door opens.

I told him that I had something important to do and wanted to meet the old lady in this house.

The porter looked at my passport and turned to go in.

After a while, an old lady, as you had described, appeared at the door, and she asked the porter to open the door, and invited me to come in and have a cup of afternoon tea with her. She said: "No Chinese have come in to visit this house, you are the first." ”

As I walked with her into the house, I saw a huge hall with a high dome, and on the right side of the hall, among the countless beautiful flowers, lay an ancient harp.

And this old lady is indeed the countess of a certain royal family in Europe.

When she was young, she and her husband came to settle here, built this mansion together, and lived here ever since, and after her husband's death, their son also went out to do business, doing business in antiques, and she stayed in this mansion alone.

Sure enough, it's true!

Everything you said back then was true!

As I sat in the Countess's flower hall and served Assam tea with fresh milk, I had mixed feelings.

Does this house really have a close relationship with you?

What kind of relationship is it?

I'm waiting for the answer to be revealed in the future.