It was happened in 1970s in Taiwan. He was a monitor in a unit that was settled down near a nunnery. One day, failing to resist his underlings' inducement, he followed them to see a nut take a shower. Her purity and charm stunned him as they climbed up a tree and found her. He couldn't understand why she would choose to be a nut. The world was so cruel, he thought. Then they became friends, not lovers. She told him her story. Her name was "Fa Yuan". After she was born, her mother left her at the gate of the nunnery. She did so because her boyfriend abandoned her and she couldn't afford to foster her kid alone. At the same time, the local people began to gossip about them. They believed they were in love. And since she was a nut, she was not permitted to be involved in such an affair. Dirty words surrounded her, even from her pals. However, they made no excuse, knowing that must be in vain.
His army was about to leave. He almost forgot what had happened between them. He went to see her the very day before they left. She was pined, crying in silence. He had nothing to say. Then, she urged him to take her away from here. She wanna elope with him and secularize herself. She determined to fall in love once for all, and promised not to bother him after he led her out of here. He hesitated. Considering he had to stay in army for one more year and would have no chance to take care of her, he asker her to wait for him. A year later, he would return to be together with her. "No, you take me out of here now, or you will regret." She was never so excited and determined. Without any answer, she rushed out, tears hiding her eyes. Very depressed, he stepped on the train with his unit, knowing clearly that deep inside him he loved her, and would take her to any place she wanna be.
4 months later, his unit resettled down near the nunnery. As he was free, he flied to see his girl. But she had gone. From an old man living there, he knew that she cast herself on another guy just a few days after he left. Then she was pregnant and was evicted by the nunnery. That man she didn't know much, she just wanna find an excuse to leave the place.
Life was still the life. Years lapsed. He was engaged in business, even forgot that pretty nun. One day, he went to another city for a trade. In the evening he shacked up in a hotel. He ringed the front desk to ask for a cup of coffee. After 2 minutes, a waitress went in with the coffee. He didn't see her face clearly, only her back. She was a young lady, with a girl's fresh skin. All of a sudden, someone's pretty smile appeared in his memory. As she finished this service and turned to the door, "sister Fa Yuan," he cried out. She made no answer, only a smile in her face. Then he apologized to her since he had misknown her. She said placidly, "Yes, you are right, I am Fa Yuan, and you are the monitor."
She was still alone and she never saw that man, her kid's father after she left the nunnery. "Where is your kid, then?" he asked. "I left her at the nunnery." "Why, were you alone not able to look after her?" She answered in a sense of humor and experience, "well, I hope when she grows up she will meet a monitor who will take her away." There was a silence. Then he asked, " why didn't you wait for me?" "You'll never understand that. Once you miss five minutes, your heart will be totally different, you will never find it again. I didn't quite understand at that time, I just did it. Now I understand. Just like today, I worked in this hotel, but if you didn't order a coffee, if the bell captain didn't ask me to serve, or you didn't call me as I turned around, we would not meet again. This is life."
"Will you take me away this time?" She grinned. He looked at her hesitatedly. "More difficult, isn't it?" she picked up a little silk bag from her pocket, said, "Take it back, this is a clasp you dropped in the garden that year." He opened the bag and saw a green clasp which was still like a new one. He couldn't help weeping.
She let out a sigh, "I've gonna go. There's still a lot for me to do next. But I will let you know one thing, you are the first man in my life. I will miss you. Knowing there is you in this world I'll live very happily." She closed the door and left resolutely.
The next day, as he checked out at the counter, he asked, "Could you help me to find a waitress Fa Yuan?" "Fa Yuan? We don't have this person." "She is the one who brought me a cup a coffee yesterday." "Oh, her name is Chang Man. She left today." "Where does she live?""No idea, we often change people."He stepped out the hotel. The sunshine outside was warm, but he felt cold. It seemed that he knew he would never see sister Fa Yuan again. He regretted deeply at that moment, for as he was 20 he was such a spineless man.
