Goodbye, My Youth

The Summer Islands are located in the northern part of the Far Eastern Ocean, facing the mainland across the strait. Due to its unique geographical location, the archipelago is warm and rainy all year round, suitable for the growth of precious phoenix flowers. Therefore, the flower cultivation industry is the pillar of the local economic industry.

The population of the archipelago is small, and there are no bustling cities like on the mainland. The islanders mostly live in villages, and only on the largest island, Brent Island, are there slightly larger towns. "Brent" in the local language means "a place full of flowers".

At around the age of ten, children from the archipelago will go to the town's college to study. After six years, the college will select the best group of students through graduation exams, and they will be eligible to continue their studies on the mainland. The remaining people either choose to continue their father's work in the archipelago or venture at the sea.

And that's where my story begins.

My parents are ordinary families in the town, although not wealthy, they are stable and down-to-earth. My parents placed their expectations on me, hoping that I would study hard and live a better life in cities on the mainland in the future.

I am an obedient child, and when they say so, I do. I follow my teacher's teachings, study diligently, and like other children, I look forward to the day when I will step out of the archipelago and into the big city. I also aspire to find a good job, live and work in peace, and live a prosperous life.

However, there are always some adolescent children who are rebellious, yearning for the blue ocean and vast sky, eager to pursue their dreams, and explore unknown fields. Therefore, they refused to stay obediently in the school to study, and some even set up campsites by the port as their secret base, which they called the "Sailor's Home".

After finishing a day of classes and dealing with the teacher, these children gather together in the campsite to play and make unrealistic sailing plans， causes their grades result to be very bad, so they are regarded as "bad children" by teachers and parents.

And the corresponding "good children" are those students who have excellent grades and are obedient and sensible. They are the key cultivated objects of the college and also the pride in the hearts of their parents.

As for me, I cannot be considered a "bad child" or a "good child". I have heard of that secret base once, driven by curiosity and instigated by classmates, but I only felt that it was noisy and didn't want to go there again.

Compared to "good children" who follow rules and regulations, "bad children" always cause various troubles.

When I was just thirteen years old, the winter of that year had just passed. As the new semester began, people stepped into the college and froze - the entire college was filled with magnificent flowers, and those obviously carefully taken care of flowers swayed in the wind. Walking in the college, it was like being in a sea of flowers.

To be honest, it surprised me a lot, but not everyone is as happy about it as I am.

The dean's face was gloomy and he asked, "Who did this?"

A girl stood out from the crowd and said, "It's me."

"Olivia, are you..."

"Teacher, are these flowers beautiful?" Olivia didn't answer, but asked in reverse.

The dean was obviously very unhappy and said, "Now is not the time to discuss whether the flowers are beautiful or not. Do you know how much time you have wasted doing this? If you spend this time studying, how much should you learn?"

"Let these flowers bloom freely and bring beauty to people is my dream. Teacher, you have said that each of us has the right to pursue our dreams and should also persist in realizing them. So what's wrong with me working hard for my dreams?" Olivia smiled and said.

"Hmm..." The dean remained silent for a moment and turned to her father who came to see Olivia off to school. "What is your evaluation of your daughter's behavior? You should also know that she often hangs out with those ignorant children."

Olivia's father shrugged and said, "Oh, I think it doesn't matter. Children should have some time to do things they like."

Both parents and teachers were surprised. For them, it is unreasonable to let children to sepen so much time doing things unrelated to their studies.

But Olivia's father said so, and it's impolite for others to say more, so this matter ended. But later, the dean told Olivia to take all the flowers home.

Olivia's father was a flower dealer, and every time I passed by her shop, I could always see her tending to the flowers with a gentle expression.

On the only time I went to "Sailor's Home", I noticed that the path by the seaside was lined with beautiful flowers, which were planted by Olivia.

"The flowers are very beautiful," I said to Olivia after school that day.

"Do you think it's beautiful?" She looked surprised. "Yes, the flowers are so beautiful, why do everyone turn a blind eye to them? I've always felt that people who can't see the beauty of flowers have no heart."

"So you move the flowers to the college to attract everyone's attention?"

"Yes! I didn't expect you to understand." She was extremely happy, "By the way, are you going to the secret base with me to play?"

"I...sorry…"

"Okay! Then... goodbye!" she said lightly in her voice.

At that time, I didn't have any ideas to interact with them, but that didn't prevent me from becoming good friends with them and learning everything from them today.

Another year passed by quickly. A senior who went to the mainland after graduating from this school returned to the college. He has achieved some success and wants to go back to his hometown. The teacher felt that this could motivate us, so he invited him to give us a lecture.

The person spoke passionately, stirring up the emotions of the students. However, Heinrich sitting next to me kept sneering.

Heinrich is considered a leader among those "bad children", and he has always been at odds with those good children.

"Oh my god," Heinrich stood up directly and said to the person on the podium, "it's really glamorous. But I hope you won't cry when you repay the money."

"Hey, classmate, what do you mean by that?" The person blushed and hesitated.

"Heinrich! Are you trying to cause trouble again?" Frank also stood up and pointed at Heinrich, rebuking him.

Frank has good grades and is humble and polite, making him a leader and admired object of "good children".

Heinrich smiled and said, "I'm not talking nonsense. My family runs a bank business, and the proof of his loan is still in my father's hands. Look, the 'Marina' suit he's wearing is a cheap counterfeit. Authentic buttons can reflect colored light under the light..."

The person blushed and ran away in a gloomy manner. Later, it was heard that he quickly packed his things and left the archipelago the next day.

Heinrich was punished for copying books for disrupting order, but with so many bros helping to copy, such punishment is simply not painful.

However, I don't fully understand why that person insisted on wearing fake branded suits. As islanders, don't we usually wear coarse cloth clothing woven from local wool? There are even many people who can't even put on a decent piece of clothing.

Later, Olivia explained to me, "People always have to go up high. Some people even if they don't have a penny on them, dress up in order to be superior, and doing so actually lowers their position."

I still couldn't quite understand, pondering Olivia's words in my mind, until one day on my way home, I saw Frank's father selling a pet dog to an out of town tourist. It was clearly just a stray dog found everywhere in the archipelago, but Frank's father insisted that it was a purebred shepherd dog.

Then I seemed to understand Olivia's words and ran along the path to the seaside port.

"Oh," Heinrich said jokingly as he leaned against the wall, "what brings you here? Aren't you unwilling to visit our base?"

"Give me a glass of rum, I'm almost thirsty," I shouted as I rushed to Heinrich.

"Dude, you didn't take the wrong medicine..." Heinrich's tone changed from joking to worried.

"F**k you!"

After the wine came up, I picked it up and drank it all in one gulp.

After getting drunk, I shouted at the sea, but I don't remember what I said. In the end, Heinrich and the others dragged me back.

From then on, I became one of the regulars of "Sailor's Home", where I saw a different side of the bad kids that people called them. Heinrich always manages to make the atmosphere lively, but when everyone becomes lively, he quiets down and sits alone by the fire, unsure of what he's doing.

I noticed Heinrich's abnormality, and driven by curiosity, I squeezed out of the crowd and walked to Heinrich's side. He was originally reading a poetry collection.

"You like to read poetry?"

Heinrich was startled by my sudden question and then laughed heartily. "Yes, I can read a little."

"Why would you want to read this?"

"Poetry is the language of the soul, and those who do not understand poetry have no heart. I do not want to become someone without a heart."

"But I always thought you hated studying."

"I don't dislike studying, I just dislike some people using it as a means to achieve a certain goal."

"So... why do you read poetry?"

"Because poetry is beautiful. Pursuing beauty is human nature."

Heinrich spoke these words in a casual manner, which made me feel like Frank instead of him. Heinrich indeed has a little-known side, which is like the wild grass on the roadside, growing recklessly without anyone caring, and those who have a heart will discover it.

We soon welcomed the last year of our college. The teachers also knocked on their desks and said earnestly, "Children, this is the last and most crucial year. Whether you can go to the mainland depends on this year!"

I couldn't disappoint my parents' expectations, so I forced myself to spend more time on studying and fewer times going to secret bases.

One day after school, Heinrich and the "bad children" stretched lazily like being granted amnesty and walked out of the classroom. Frank and another group of people were in front, discussing the plot of a recently popular novel.

If it were normal, Heinrich and his team would treat these people as air and walk directly through them. But today Heinrich sneered and turned to Frank, mocking him, "Oh my, isn't this our great Mr. Frank? I thought you wouldn't read such 'idle books'!"

Frank blushed and immediately stood up to counterattack, saying, "What are you talking about? You ignorant scum!"

"Yes, I'm scum. Thank you very much for your praise. After all, not everyone is as polite as you are."

Frank couldn't bear such an insult, he proposed to duel with Heinrich. So they confronted each other in the small forest with wooden swords.

Finally, Heinrich's arm was bruised several times, and Frank's head was hit hard a few times.

"See, they are no different from us, but they have learned to disguise themselves and become more hypocritical. And when external stimuli wash away their hypocrisy, they reveal their true colors." Heinrich shook his head and smiled bitterly at me while treating the wound that day.

All those involved in this matter were punished by the dean, while Heinrich was expelled from  collgue.

On the day the dean reprimanded us, the students were divided into two parts. On one side, the good students led by Frank sat in the front, while the bad students led by Heinrich sat in the back. After much hesitation, I ultimately chose to sit slightly in the middle.

Frank, sitting in front with a bandage wrapped around his head, turned around and cursed at me, "Scum!"

And the people sitting behind also pointed and pointed at my back, whispering, "Traitor!"

"No... I'm not..."

Heinrich handed me a piece of paper from behind. I thought he would write something very disappointing about me, but the note said, "You don't have to worry about what others say, you just need to follow your own heart and make choices (although I think you should sit with us)."

The last year has finally passed, and I didn't expect to achieve good results in the final exam and qualify to study in mainland.

On the day of departure, it was drizzling, young boys and girls shugged their parents and said goodbye, with raindrops or tears on their faces.

I found Heinrich among the crowd at the dock, sitting on a boat drinking alcohol with the bow facing north.

"Do you mind giving me a ride?" I looked up and asked.

"Oh," Heinrich gave me a faint smile and waved, "come on, buddy, if you don't mind."

"Hi!" I turned around and found Olivia waving at us on another boat next to me.

"Are you going to the mainland too?" I asked.

"Perhaps, but I prefer to follow my heart."

"What exactly is the so-called heart?" I asked the question that had been bothering me for a long time.

"The heart is not something, it's like the wind, invisible and intangible, but you can feel it, it's right there, in that direction. So people without a heart cannot go far away."

"Hmm..." I pondered.

"So, let me take a step first. Wish you a smooth journey!" Olivia untied the cable on the ship, and a white wave swept through the bow, spreading to both sides, leaving a long white wake.

"Bon voyage!"

Sitting next to me, Heinrich played the accordion, and the sails soaked in the drizzle swayed in the wind. I hummed the popular folk songs of the archipelago to the sound of the accordion:

“The bitter sand blowing pain on the face

Like father's scolding and mother's crying that will never be forgotten

When I was young, I like being alone by the seaside

Roll up my pants and step barefoot on the beach

Always fantasizing about another world at the end of the ocean

Always thinking that brave sailors are real men

Always looking weak and cowardly

When being bullied, I always hear sailor say

He says that this little pain in the wind and rain is nothing

Wipe away your tears, don't be afraid

At least we still have dreams

He says that this little pain in the wind and rain is nothing

Wipe away your tears, don't ask why…"

Goodbye, Islands.

Goodbye, my youth.