The summer vacation in 1974 is the most unforgetable in my life. My beloved uncle who had brought me up with great care and affection was seriously ill, suffering from esophagus cancer. He had lost so many weights that he was as thin as a lath. The doctor told my aunt that she needed to get prepared . In fact, my uncle knew too well that his days were numbered. But he decided to take me to Nanjing,the capital of our province for a trip despite lots of persuasions of not go. I had never been out of the small city where I was born before. So, it was my very first trip.
On the way in a bus, I impatiently asked my uncle how big Nanjing was. He smiled, saying “ If you were Zhenjiang, then I would be Nanjing. See the difference?”He was very proud that he had been to Nanjing many times and he even boasted that he could get to any corner of the city with his eyes closed. “ Boy, I want you to see the world,” he said to me cheerfully. As a well travelled man, he firmly believed that “ One learns more by travelling tens of thousands of miles than reading thousands of books.”
Our first day in Nanjing was delightful and everything seemed new and fresh to me. We visited Mo Chou Lake and Ling Gu Temple. By the time we got back to the hotel, my uncle was extremely tired. I enjoyed myself so much that I did not notice that and I even forgot he was a patient. In the evening, we took bath together in a public bath room. I was shocked when I helped him take off his clothes because he was so skinny. I helped him into the big tub room. After sitting in the vapour mist for a while, he asked me to wash his back. But as soon as I touched his back with a hot towel, he was shivering , saying painfully “ It is too hot.“ I felt the towel and said ,“ it is not .” “ Boy, if I had some flesh on my back, I would not feel hot either,” he said gentlely. His words were breaking my young heart.
Next day, we went to Xuan Wu Lake. Finding him very pale and faint, I suggested to cancel the trip and go back home. He said, “ Nonsense, Xuan Wu Lake is the place you must see, otherwise, it does not mean that you have been to Nanjing.”So, we took a tricycle to the park. In the park, my delight of sightseeing gave way to uneasy and worry. Finally we headed to a zoo at the top of a hill. My uncle climbed each step painstakingly. After every couple of steps, he had to stop for breath. When he felt that he could no longer climb up the hill, he sat down on a stone chair , wiping beads of sweat on his forehead and said to me, “ here are 5 cents, buy yourself a ticke. The zoo is right on the top and there are many interesting animals there.” Seeing him so weak and almost collapsed. I was reluctant to go and said with tears in my eyes, “ Uncle, I do not want to see animals. Let’s go home.” “ Silly boy, if you only know chickens in our backyard, people will call you stupid, “ he said halfjockingly. “ You go up and I am OK. Take your time and I am waiting for you here,” he continued. So, I went on climbing up. But every 5 or 6 steps, I turned back to see my dear uncle to make sure he was all right there. In the distance, I saw him sitting lonely on the stone chair with one hand holding the chair back and the other pressing his belly. Knowing he must have been experiencing excruciating pain, I could not help bursting into tears. But my uncle tried to smile and wave to me. At that moment, I made a big decision that when I grew up, I must take my dear uncle to the most beautiful place in the world. I quickly finished looking around in the zoo and joined my uncle again. Thus ended my first trip.
Three weeks later, my uncle passed away. When he left this world, I was at school. Though he had stopped breathing, his eyes remained wide open until I came back home, holding his stiff hands and crying bitterly, murmuring ,“ Uncle, I am home…” I knew he was worried about me because I was onle one under age and all his sons and daughter had grown up. The last words he left to my aunt is that he did not want to have a grave nora funeral. He said, “ I am an ordinary man, I do not deserve a land after death. Just throw my ashes into the Long River.” Against his will, my aunt and cousins buried him and held a funeral. All these years, I just saw his grave once in the funeral. But my dearest uncle and his last journey with me are always kept in the innermost recesses of my heart! In the eyes of people in the world, he is an ordinary man. But in my eyes, he is the whole world!
Many years have past since. I always follow my uncle's instruction of seeing the world. I studied English in Shanghai and have worked in five cities so far. I have taken my wife and daughter to visit many scenic spots and tourist attractions around China. Last December, I even got an opportunity to visit the United States. When the airplane took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and soon flied upto the clouds above the open sea, I closed my eyes and said in my heart to my uncle. I was sure he must be able to hear me as I was in the sky closer to him. I said most piously that “ Uncle, this time I am really seeing the world. How much I wish I could bring you with me…” I just could not control my feelings any more and rushed to the washroom ...
