A damsel who had prayed for a millennium

Once upon a time, there was a pretty, pure and versatile damsel from an aristocratic family. She had a graceful name – Huimei. Her virtue made so many magnates queue up for marriage proposals. She deeply believed her prince charming was on the way. Hence, she turned them all down.

Huimei had a glimpse of a young man at a very crowded fete one day. Thought Huimei to herself, he was the one that she had waited for a very long time. She was unable to approach him in a sea of people and let him vanish helplessly. Huimei had sought for that man everywhere, he evaporated like a drop of water, but. All she could do was only praying to Buddha every day. Her sincerity was affected by Buddha at last.

Buddha, ‘Do you really want to see that man again?’ Huimei, ‘Yes, I really want to see him once again.’ Buddha, ‘But, you will have to give up everything including your lovely family and your happy life. Will you?’ Huimei, ‘Yes, I will.’ Buddha, ‘You will also have to practice for five hundred years. Then, you will only see him for once. Will you?’ Huimei, ‘Yes, I will. And I won’t regret at all!’ Buddha had turned her into a big stone, which was set on the uninhabited land. She was not only suffered from the windblown and sunburned day after day. The worst was she could never see one person pass by after some four hundred years. The hopelessness drove her to the edge of collapse. A team of quarrymen found her at the final year. They moved and cut her into several pieces to build a stone bridge’s guardrail in town. As the bridge was completed, Huimei saw the man who she had already waited for the last five hundred years. He walked through the bridge in a great hurry and vanished in the crowd once again. Buddha appeared. Buddha, ‘Are you satisfied now?’ Huimei, ‘No, why am I only been the bridge’s guardrail? If I were paved on the center of the bridge, I could have a touch with him at least!’ Buddha, ‘So, you have to practice for another five hundred years.’ Huimei, ‘Yes, I’m willing.’ Buddha, ‘You have been suffered for so much pain already. Don’t you have a bit of regret?’ Huimei, ‘No, I don’t regret at all!’

Buddha had turned her into a big tree, which stood in a street of bustling with life. Watching the people walk back and forth day by day made her more miserable. The more expectant she wanted to see that man for once again, the more disappointed she had got. If not for the previous five hundred years of practice, Huimei surely would have collapsed long ago. She calmed down gradually as the time passed by. She understood he would come at the very last day. That desire did no longer stir her, but... 

There he came finally! He wore his favorite white gown which he mostly liked. His face was the same delicate and handsome as he was used to. Huimei gazed at him infatuated. He did not rush in a hurry that time. He focused on a big shade tree standing alongside. A very attractive tree of having the dense shades, he went toward it. He decided to take a break due to the intense heat of the midday sun. He had leaned against her side. Huimei got close to him eventually. However, she could not tell him about her yearning for a millennium. Nothing more she could do, just tried all her efforts to gather the shades to shelter him from the sinister sunlight. He was about to start off after taking a nap. He probably showed his thankfulness by stroking and beaming the tree gently. He left without a backward glance, then...

Buddha appeared again. Buddha, ‘Do you still want to be his wife? Thus, you must practice...’ Huimei interrupted tranquilly, Yes, I do long for… But, I think it is not necessary.’ Buddha, ‘Ah?’ Huimei, ‘This has been very good already. I do love him. It doesn’t mean I have to be his wife.’ Buddha, ‘Ah?’ Huimei, ‘Does his present wife suffer the hardship same as I do?’ Buddha nodded slightly. Huimei beamed, ‘I can do alike. But, it is not necessary anymore.’ At that moment, Buddha sighed gently. Or said, Buddha had a sigh of relief. She was curious about this and asked, ‘Is there something worrying over you?’ Buddha smiled, ‘This will be great! One young man needs not to wait for another millennium. He had already practiced for two millennia just because he wanted to take a look at you.’

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It may be just a myth.

It may be just a love story.

What if Huimei gave up at the very beginning, she married someone else and she might have enjoyed a happy life forever. Or, she married someone, and her heart was with someone else. Her life might have lived with regrets to the end. Eventually, she insisted on chasing a love of illusion. That also made another young man suffering for the two millennia. Only they would comprehend after they themselves had lived through all the sufferings. The similar circumstance happens in life always, but.

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Just for a persistence of faith, many people deplete their entire lives in the everlasting awaited.

Life is faded away in the everlasting awaited.

The greatest value is what you are having at this moment, this time, this life!