蜻蛉

It was our last summer holidays for our school term. Most of us were either busily preparing to go back home for a short break or for their home-stay programme. For me, I chose to stay behind and as for her, she opted for the home-stay programme. For about a week, she will be staying with her host family at Hakone. I chose not to go back home coz I thought I could spend more time with her together but ...

When she came back from her home-stay programme, she bought back a lot of snacks and souvenirs for me. But what left me with the deepest impression was that she gave me a folded map of Hakone with a lifeless dragonfly in it.

She told me to be careful with the map as I was opening up the folded map because there was something inside. I was very surprised to find a dead dragonfly in it. It's wings and abdomen were all well preserved, not a single bit crushed. She said she was holding the folded map in her hands all the way from Hakone back to Tokyo so as to keep it intact.

She explained that this particular dragonfly flew and rested on her shoulders as she was walking. Before she could chase it away, she realised that it was dead. She guessed the dragonfly must be very tired & exhausted and needed to land soon. And she happened to be the dragonfly's last stop as it gave up its last breath. She said she felt sad for the dragonfly and wanted to keep it with her but somehow she decided to give it me.

Till this day, the folded map with the motionless dragonfly is still with me. Despite its abdomen has broken into two, its wings are still beautifully intact. It maybe just an ordinary dragonfly but somehow this particular dragonfly has left a mark in me. No longer I see dragonflies the way before but I see them as a present she gave to me.