A Foggy Day

I pulled the curtain open in the morning. I had a plan to go to Central Park, where the autumn view attracts me. I looked out the window. What day is it today? I thought. Everything was so hazy, was I going or not? I hesitated. Finally, I decided to go. The hazy view has a kind of beauty.

Central Park was covered with thick fog. The trees seemed to be wrapped with a white mist, and layer by layer, all of the areas became a ball of color when I arrived there. However, rays of sunshine made it seem like invisible gentle hands were pushing through the fog, and a clear view appeared in front of my eyes bit by bit. The leaves that fell slowly from the trees seemed to be paving the path in color. I walked on the colorful path and felt the scenery change from hazy to clear. 

I came to The Mall, and there were little stalls on both sides of the road. I noticed an Asian man who was selling his paintings. I walked toward him and spoke English to him, but he responded in Mandarin to me. I was surprised and interested. Our conversation was full of enthusiasm and joy. He told me many things about himself.

“Do you want to go back to China?” I asked him. 

His eyes darkened. “I want to go back, but the ticket costs more than ten thousand dollars.” The normal cost from New York to Shanghai is about $1,200. “Additionally, we need to provide a new Covid-19 inspection certificate,” he said. “I would be isolated for many days when I got off the plane, and I would have to pay all the quarantine costs myself,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on, things have been changing recently, and like in a thick layer of fog, I cannot see clearly,” he said. The topic was getting heavier and heavier. At this time, a tourist came toward him and looked at his paintings.

I had to say goodbye to him. I could only sigh gently and silently bless him, wishing he could go home smoothly. I hope life is like the view of beauty, even when looking through the fog.

Yonghong WuYonghong Wu, age sixty-five, is from China and moved to New York in 2018. She writes, “I am a lonely hiker on the road of art creation. I get my inspiration from the vivid colors in Asian art. I’m fortunate to have jumped into the multicultural vastness of New York. I am not alone anymore.” At the Queens Public Library’s Elmhurst Adult Learning Center, her teacher is James McMenamin, and the manager is Michelle Jonhston.