Disappearing Fragments
Old Man Li is sitting by the sea again.
These days, he's always like this, staring blankly into the distance. Everyone in the village knows he's waiting again. Waiting for what? No one can say for sure. Perhaps he's waiting for someone who will never return, or perhaps he's waiting for a dream that can never be fully pieced back together.
The news is full of uproar, talking about "Starship lost contact," "fragments scattered." Old Man Li doesn't care about these things. He only cares about his sea, his expanse of blue that always churns with the unknown and the possible. But recently, this blue seems to have also been stained with a layer of gray haze.
"I heard, that big fella, it broke." Old Wang, the ship repairman, with a pipe in his mouth, walked over to Old Man Li.
Old Man Li didn't say anything, just turned his gaze further out. The sea breeze blew his gray hair, making it look like clusters of fragments struggling to fly into the sky.
"The Americans, they're looking everywhere. They say they want to find those... fragments." Old Wang blew out a smoke ring, watching it dissipate in the wind. "What do you say, what are they looking for those things for? They're all smashed to pieces, can they even be put back together?"
Old Man Li slowly turned his head, looking at Old Wang, with an indescribable look in his eyes. It was a kind of calmness after experiencing the vicissitudes of life, and also a kind of helplessness towards the impermanence of the world.
"Some things, once broken, can never come back." Old Man Li's voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing the calm of the sea surface. "Just like... people."
Old Wang was silent. He knew what Old Man Li was talking about. A few years ago, Old Man Li's son, also a spaceship engineer, participated in an ambitious space project. And then, there was no then.
"People, sometimes, are like this starship," Old Man Li continued, his voice low and hoarse. "They always want to fly higher, farther, but they forget that the higher you fly, the more thoroughly you shatter when you fall."
The waves crashed against the reef, making a dull sound. In the distance, the shadows of several search vessels were faintly visible on the sea surface. They were like a group of tireless scavengers, searching for traces of what once shone in this vast blue graveyard.
Old Man Li suddenly laughed, a laugh with a hint of bitterness, but also a hint of relief. "You say, even if they find those fragments, what can they do? Can they turn back time? Can they bring back those who have passed away?"
Old Wang shook his head, he didn't know. He only knew that in this world, some things can never be undone.
"Actually, whether they find them or not, what does it matter?" Old Man Li murmured to himself. "What's important is not the fragments, but... that they once existed."
He stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and walked towards the village. His back, in the afterglow of the setting sun, looked particularly lonely, but also particularly determined.
He was going to see his grandson. The little guy had recently become obsessed with puzzles, and was always able to piece together those scattered fragments into a complete picture. Old Man Li thought, perhaps, this is hope. Even if there are many fragments, even if they are scattered, as long as there is a heart, one can always piece together a world of one's own.
As for those lost starship fragments, let them stay in the sea. Perhaps, one day in the future, they will turn into coral on the seabed, becoming another form of existence.
And we, those of us who live in the present, all we can do is remember them, remember the light that once shone, remember the souls that once flew for their dreams.
Because, what has existed will never truly disappear. Just like those fragments, even if scattered to the ends of the earth, they are still part of the universe, indelible marks in the long river of time.
And we are all scavengers of time, searching for the meaning of life in the fragments of memory.