Follow one's heart

Follow one's heart

The clouds seem to be green. And the trees seem to be white. What was the color of the sky? Everything seemed dimly under the clouds. The rain dimmed our sight. The bus we were riding was like flying around the mountains, up and down.

I was tired of living in the city. There were the roars of cars, smelly exhaust, and annoying smog that haunted you like a shadow. So, this summer holiday I decided to go on a walk away trip in the deep mountains.

I was curious about the destination that we were going—Shennongjia. In the local legend, savages appeared and disappeared in the wild mountains. That’s very attractive to me—I always like these complicated legends. I'm also tired of the endless exhaust gas and noise in the city. So, I followed my heart and went to Shennongjia.

After a few hours, the bus finally stopped at the top of this mountain. Please take a deep breath of fresh air; my whole body relaxed in the free air. Far below the mountain top, the grass and trees, like a green carpet, fell away and down to the clouds.

Hearing the teacher's voice, I looked back. ‘Now, students,’ the teacher said against the wind, ‘because of the big wind and the drizzle; we can’t go mountain climbing tomorrow.’ Ruby, my best friend, asked near my ear: ‘Do you hear what was the teacher saying?’ And she closed her mouth quickly because the wind was so big! For example, if you fly a kite now, maybe you and your kite will fly high into the sky together! ‘So, what will we do tomorrow?’ asked someone loudly. ‘We’ll learn some biological knowledge.’

The next day, the rain still didn’t stop. But the thick fog dispersed, and the branches and leaves of the big tree were green. Our teacher started to teach us some biological knowledge. Such as the biological classification invented by Carl von Linné divides organisms into seven levels: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. And how the plants breathe and how they absorb the sunshine.

During the evening, we finished our biological lesson. We had supper in the dining hall. The food was so delicious. There were hot fried chicken ribs, ice cream, and small cakes.

The sky cleared up on the third day. We finally could go mountain climbing FINALLY!

It was hot at first. The sky was like a giant steamer. After a few minutes, we were liberated—we got on the bus—the bus forward slowly in the mountains. A few shades of green passed before my eyes. After a while, we reached the foot of the mountain.

Walking on the path up the mountain, the fragrance of earth came to my nose. The birds were twittering, and the flower was in full bloom. On one side were the tall trees; the green cane vines were hanging down from the branches. Swaying in the wind, they liked hiding the secret behind the woods. A few yellow flowers were scattered in the low bushes on the other side. They made the dull green more alive. Several glasses of water that are not as thick as your arms hurried past like they were rushing to go for a date with some small animals.

The golden sunshine paved the small path, and the sky was blue, just like the most beautiful love fairy tale that Aphrodite weaves—clean and bright. Under the refraction of water mist, the burning sunshine also cooled down. The blazing wind softened and smoothed the dry heat, making us slow down.

Suddenly, the chirping of cicadas stopped. There was a terrible silence spread over our heads. Suddenly a loud cry was heard. ‘Ahhhh—’ everyone was scared. What happened? We asked each other. But no one knew the correct answer. Someone guessed that it was a ghost crying; someone even thought it was a savage howling. We didn’t stop thinking and fearing until the teacher said: ‘Come along with me.’ The teacher led us to a wooden house. How strange it was! Please think about it, a small wooden house with constant cries stood in the middle of a dark forest, how creepy it was!

But curiosity drove us forward. We quickly followed the teacher towards the strange house. The cry sounded louder when we got closer. What was it inside? The door was very narrow; only one person was allowed to pass at once. After a few steps, we saw some faint light. And the crying sounded even louder. Inside, the house was different from the outside.

There was a small wooden bridge in the middle of the room. There was flowing water under the bridge. Some lights were coming from there. And… … WOW, look at that! There were a lot of animals under the bridge. Their skin was very smooth, with a layer of mucus on it. Their heads were wide and round, with a pair of small eyes on them. Their tails were flat, and their limbs were short. I didn’t think it was a creature on earth.

The teacher smiled: ‘This is called Andrias Davidians, maybe you haven’t heard about it, but they have another name– giant salamander.’ Some people showed an expression of understanding. ‘I know it! It is listed as a second-class protected animal in China!’ shouted Ruby. ‘That’s right. But keep your voice down next time. They are easily frightened.’ ‘Ok.’ Ruby whispered. Then the teacher told us that the giant salamander could live over 70 years. That’s so incredible.

We watched them for a while, and I found their front paws had four toes, and the back paws had five toes. The teacher said it was time for us to go back.

The sun was setting in the west; the birds returned to their nests, and only cicadas were still chirping. After getting to the hotel, our teacher told us tomorrow would be more exciting.

On the fourth day. Before the sunrise, our teacher woke us up. We hurried, had our breakfast, and got on the bus again.

On the way, everyone was talking about where we’ll go. Ruby and I think we will find the savage in the deep mountains. On the inner side of the road, the leaves, dark green, light green, or light yellow, embrace the bright sunlight. Just like the nestlings opening their wings to the sky. The teacher stopped our guessing: ‘Now, students,’ she said, ‘now you will give yourself a nickname, but it must be about plants and animals. And my nickname is Daisy.’ There was a heated discussion on the bus immediately.

After thinking a few minutes, Ruby said: ‘I want to call myself Maple leaf. What do you think about it?’ ‘That’s great, but what should I call myself?’ ‘Maybe Rose?’ ‘No. I heard someone named herself Rose; I don’t want to be the same as others.’ I said. ‘How about the name you Pussy Willow?’ ‘What’s that?’ I asked. ‘It is a kind of flower; its flowers are like hairballs. And its flower language is free and easy, or follow your heart. I think it suits you very well.’ ‘Thank you, Ruby, that’s beautiful!’ And We smiled at each other.

Then we told others our nicknames. Someone even composed a piggy family—the oldest called Wild boar, the second one called Porcupine, and the last one called Pink piggy! That’s so funny!

Then we rode the bus to another mountain top. The teacher asked us to wear a kind of clothes– a military green coat made of linen. What were we going to do? Everyone was confused. Then the teacher led us to walk down a small path towards a big forest. Suddenly, we heard a noise again, different from the cry we heard yesterday. Is this the savage this time?

However, the mystery was soon revealed—it was a group of Golden Monkey. They got a beautiful blue face, like the angel in charge of freedom. And with their nose up. And they got long golden hair draped over their grey yellow fur. Suddenly, a little monkey jumped on Ruby’s shoulder. ‘Ah!’ Ruby was shocked. ‘What’s… … what is that?’ she asked tremblingly. ‘It’s just a monkey.’ I replied. ‘Oh, too scary.’ That’s so funny! Monkey on Ruby’s shoulder! Then we fed the little monkey on Ruby’s shoulder. It was adorable! We even wanted to keep it. But our teacher said it’s a national first-class protected animal, even higher than the giant salamander.

The happy time flew by quickly soon, the sun was setting, and we should get back to our hotel. But not long after we got on the bus, we sensed something was wrong. The bus was not riding to our hotel; it was riding towards the mountain top! The sky was all dark now; the black shadows flashed past outside the window. Unknown birds chirped sharply from time to time. The wind in the valley howled like a beast. There was no star in the dark sky. We were tired and sleepy now, but where were we going?

We will get the answer soon. The car stopped in a flat valley. Then our teacher carried a lot of packages out. She let us open the bag and place them on the ground. They were tents! That means we are going to sleep outside today! Ruby and I picked a pink one. Then we started to set the tent up. At first, we didn’t know how to fix it. Then we find we need to insert its four corners. That’s easy!

We thought we could watch the stars, but the sky was so dark that we couldn’t see anything. What a pity!

The next day, we walked along a steep path on the mountain. A gust of cold wind blew from the valley to our face. From time to time, several pieces of rubble fell off the cliff. Penetrating screams could be heard above our heads. The wind was chilly; we couldn’t help tightening our clothes. When I was looking around, I suddenly saw a black print like a kind of animal’s footprint! ‘Ah! What’s that?’ I asked in a trembling voice. Is that a legendary savage? I can't help trembling more violently! The students also looked at the footprint. The teacher said in a soft voice: ‘It’s ok. It is just a footprint that the workers drew.’ Wu… scared me again!

Then the teacher told us there isn’t any savage at all. According to the living creatures, the living area of a group of savages must not be too small. If they are real, we can find them easily! Therefore, it was fake that there were savages in Shennongjia. That’s a pity for this trip, but the other things we learned were also interesting. The clouds floated gracefully because they followed what they wanted. Several blackish-red tassels were flowing in the sky because they went the way they wanted. Let’s go to the mountains and relax to cope better with life from time to time. Follow what you want; follow your heart.