As long as the heart still blossoms.

 　　That night, the flowers bloomed, the stars shone brightly, but I failed to appreciate them; now the flowers have faded, the stars remain, and I am filled with regret; the wind whispers softly, the rain dances gracefully, and I wait for the flowers to bloom in my dreams.

　　———Epigraph
　　Thinking back, as long as the flower in my heart remains, ten miles of thorns are not as beautiful as your fleeting bloom.
　　In the second semester of my final year of junior high, the pressure of the high school entrance exam had already arrived. I spent my days hunched over my desk studying, having long forgotten what year it was. Hurrying back and forth between school and home,
　　I didn't even notice the green along the roadside, already dotted with specks of red. That night, the starry sky was exceptionally bright, and the clear moonlight reflected the glistening dewdrops on the petals, making the flowers appear delicate and vibrant. But the frustration of failing the exam left me with no heart to appreciate this last vestige of spring. Night is night; even the brightest starlight could not dispel the darkness in my heart.
　　Afterwards, several days of heavy rain fell, and in the rain, spring quietly slipped away. Busy with my studies, I forgot what spring looked like, and when I remembered again, half a month had passed.
　　It was still a starlit night. Walking along the road, I suddenly wanted to see the flowers. I ran over, but the ground was covered with fallen petals, scattered in the moonlight. Like a lost child, I chased after the departing silhouette of spring. The leaves were no longer verdant; their veins were a deep green, like tears left behind by spring. I felt a deep sense of loss. Had spring come and gone? Why had I not seen her beautiful figure? In my despair, I remembered Lin Daiyu's poem, "Why am I so heartbroken? Half for pitying spring, half for resenting spring. Pitying spring comes suddenly, resenting spring goes suddenly, coming without a word, going without a sound."
　　At night, in my dream, I ran through a dark green expanse, exhausted, yet unwilling to stop, desperately trying to catch the receding red, but I could never catch up. When I woke up, I found the night outside the window still deep and dark. Standing by the window, in the vast darkness, I couldn't help but lament the spring I had missed.
　　Once missed, it's gone forever. Even the busiest people must occasionally pause to appreciate the beauty they haven't yet missed. When spring fades and flowers fall, it's too late to chase after them.
　　In my dream, my flowers bloomed because I learned to cherish—to cherish spring, to cherish beauty. Even in our hurried journeys, let's not forget to appreciate the beauty before us; it's God's gift to life.