The Distance

I washed up and then had breakfast. Bored, I climbed up to the roof of the house. This was my favorite hideout when I was a child. There, I could see the grand sky above the small woodshed. Sitting with my arms around my knees, I stared at the mountains in the distance. With a blueprint in his hand, Jason, wearing a safety helmet, was in an argument with an engineer wearing spectacles. It seemed the mining was in trouble. Allen came back from work. Seeing me on the roof, he climbed up and said, "I heard of the mess started by Lily." Over half a year, Allen had aged a lot. The wrinkles on his face and the gray hair on his temples kept reminding me of this fact. I rested my head on his shoulder and said, "Uncle, don't worry. I won't take it to heart." "Yeah, you've grown up. You know how to take care of yourself." Allen sighed. "Parents are always in self-contradiction. They wish their children to grow up quickly. Meanwhile, they dread that." My eyes lit up when I saw the little red frui