Amidst the continuous mountain range, the sounds of carriage bells, hoofbeats, and wheels echoed intermittently along the rugged mountain path.
Rounding a sharp bend, the carriage procession entered a desolate rocky mountain range.
In the winding convoy, apart from the occasional shouts of the coachmen, no other sounds could be heard. The reason was simple: after a long and arduous journey, the passengers were exhausted, with no energy left for conversation. Inside the carriages, people were either asleep or silent.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the echoing sounds of the carriages faded, no longer grating on the nerves. It was as if a breath of fresh air had suddenly swept through, bringing complete relaxation to both body and mind, leaving everyone feeling refreshed. The passengers in the carriages lifted the curtains to see where they had arrived. What met their eyes was an endless expanse of grassland, with the northern desert winds blowing intermittently. The southern visitors marveled at the towering grass, unable to guess its height, now rippling like waves.
It was a breathtaking scene they had never witnessed before.
They gazed in awe, forgetting the hardships of the journey and the fear and despair of leaving their hometowns for a strange land.
Suddenly, the urge to talk surged within them, and bursts of laughter occasionally rang out from the convoy.
In the last carriage of the procession, several people were chatting animatedly, but one girl stood out as an exception.
"Mia, what are you looking at? It's too windy—put the curtain down!" Dick said, moving to sit in front of the person behind the curtain.
"Dick, look! There's someone watching us!" Instead of lowering the curtain as instructed, Mia gestured for her friend to look outside.
"Really?" Dick leaned forward, peering in the direction she pointed. "Where, Mia? There's no one there."
"Right over there…" Mia tried to point more precisely for her friend, but the person outside was gone. "Huh, where did they go?"
"Mia, are you sure you didn't see wrong? Who would be out here in a place like this? I heard from people familiar with this area that there's no one for dozens of kilometers around."
"No way! I saw it clearly. As soon as I lifted the curtain, I saw him standing on that rock, looking at us." But then, she felt that the person was looking specifically at her.
"Hmm, alright then, tell me what this person looked like." Mia was more honest than anyone; she never lied. "I don't know. His face was covered—but I could see his eyes. They were blue, his eyes were blue!" Mia's voice carried a hint of excitement, her tone tinged with enthusiasm.
"What are you so excited about, Mia? This is the Northern Desert, the land of foreigners. You can find eyes of any color here," Dick said dismissively. Before coming here, he had asked around and learned a lot about this place. However, Mia took his words at face value, completely unaware that he was exaggerating.
"Really? Are there really?" Mia shouted excitedly, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Dick replied halfheartedly, then urged, "Mia, come on, pull the curtain down! It's getting colder!" It was only early autumn, yet it was already so cold here. If this is winter, will I even survive? I'd probably freeze to death.
"Oh," Mia reluctantly lowered the curtain, seeing that everyone else in the carriage was urging her to do the same.
"Ugh, why are we so unlucky? The master's daughter is getting married off to this godforsaken place, and we were chosen to be her attendants. Can we Southerners really endure this harsh climate in the Northern Desert? The ladies and madams get to stay in warm houses, but what about us? What are we supposed to do? Just wait to freeze to death?" Dick's sighs struck a chord with the others in the carriage, who nodded in agreement, murmuring, "Yeah, yeah…"
But Mia felt no discomfort in this strange land. Her thoughts were fixed on the mysterious man she had seen earlier and his strikingly unique blue eyes. His gaze was as bright and warm as the sky here, yet deep and enigmatic, sparking a desire to uncover its secrets…
"It's snowing! Such heavy snow—so beautiful!" Excited cheers came from outside the carriage. Snowflakes danced through the air, carried by the wailing wind. The snow grew heavier, and the wind rattled the carriage's canopy. Soon, it turned into a blizzard of large, goose-feather-like flakes, falling so thickly that no one could keep their eyes open. The coachmen pulled their hat brims low, wrapped scarves around their necks to cover their mouths and noses, and put on thicker coats to shield themselves from the sudden, ferocious snowstorm.
With a loud bang, the carriage jolted violently, throwing the passengers off balance, tumbling into each other. Had they crashed? "Everyone, get out! The carriage is stuck in a ditch—come help push!" The coachman flung open the door, shouting loudly.
"Ugh—I knew it! This place is hell! I'm here because I sinned in my past life…" Dick growled under his breath as he jumped out of the carriage. Channeling his frustration into strength, he pushed the carriage with all his might.
Mia, silent beside him, pushed just as hard. But no matter how much effort they put in, the carriage wouldn't budge, as if it were defying them.
"Ahh!" Dick's anger boiled over, and he let out a furious roar before throwing himself onto the snow. "I'm done! I give up! I'd rather die right here!"
Seeing him like this, Mia realized she was powerless to help. She crouched beside him. "Dick, are you okay? Are you alright?"
"Alright? How could I be alright!" He was dying—either from rage or freezing to death.
"Don't say that, Dick. We can't ask God to change the weather, so we have to figure this out ourselves."
"God's against us! An hour ago, there was still sunshine, just a bit cold. Now it's a blizzard, we can't see the road, and we're stuck in a ditch…" Dick lamented bitterly.
"…" Mia was momentarily speechless. The weather had indeed changed too quickly—a sudden shift. Just moments ago, they could see the nearby scenery and the carriages, but now everything was buried in snow, visibility reduced to a blurry haze. Only faint voices could be heard from ahead.
"Dick, get up! Don't lie in the snow—you'll get colder when it melts on you."
"Lying in the snow calms me down," Dick said, barely containing his frustration. "Anyway, everyone's gone to help with the front carriages. No one will know we're slacking off here."