Just as Mei Yiqiu predicted, after the Windmill made landfall in Chile's Coquimbo region, they crashed headlong into the Andes Mountains. As if in a hurry to reach somewhere, they lingered and cried out before the 8,900-kilometer-long mountain barrier, unwilling to turn back or find a roundabout route, ultimately losing their way across Chile's narrow strip of land. Its counterparts in the Northern Hemisphere, sharing the same sentiment, almost simultaneously sank into silence among the numerous islands on the Pacific Ocean coast.
Thanks to thorough preparation, the damage in the area north of Santiago to Coquimbo was not severe, but the devastating Force 15 winds still drew considerable global attention. However, people seem to have forgotten the places where the disaster first struck—the islands on the edge of the South Pacific Basin —which have been transformed from tourist paradises into deserted wastelands, where tens of thousands of people have disappeared in the raging storms.
Although the United Nations launched an emergency aid effort in the region afterward, delivering sufficient food and supplies to help survivors rebuild their homes, the vast area affected by the disaster, the numerous islands, the small remaining population, and the severity of the destruction meant that reconstruction was less efficient than population relocation. Ultimately, the survivors had to be sent to distant lands as refugees to be received by generous nations, where they would live on relief supplies, relying on the pity of others and the cautious distance they maintained.
Unlike their fate, the citizens of Hawaii, also an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean and similarly battered by Windmill, gradually returned to their homes. The security of money and national strength quickly made the region a global tourist hotspot again. They rebuilt towns, airports, and marinas, while also preserving much of the scars exposed by the receding tides. Tourists not only enjoy Hawaii's beaches and sunshine but also love to visit the ruins razed by Windmill, witnessing the ruthlessness of storms and the resilience of humanity.
The Bass Islands, Tubuai Islands, Tuamotu Islands, Cook Islands, Marquesas Islands, and Bastak Islands became a paradise for seabirds, snakes, and iguanas. For a long time afterward, undisturbed, they multiplied and developed into large populations until humans returned and occupied their homeland.
However, right at the eye of the storm, a small island with a coastline of less than three kilometers, located three hundred nautical miles south of the Bass Islands, seemed to be specially favored by the heavens, appearing to be bathed in sunshine and calm.
There were no devastating scenes of trees lying askew after a whirlwind, nor any lingering waves forming a lake after a storm. Even the small wooden house on the beach, built on wooden stakes and seemingly able to be blown down by a gentle breeze, remained intact.
The bay is shaped like a crescent moon, with clear, turquoise waves gently surging onto the golden sand, washing over the wooden stakes of the cabins and laden with seashells, like a romantic place where a princess and prince walk barefoot in a fairy tale kingdom.
The beach slopes gently upwards to the purple forest on the mountain. Following the forest upwards, there is a gentle hillside covered with colorful and beautiful flowers. On the hillside are two artistic stone houses, which, because they blend into the surrounding scenery, look more like a pile of rubble from a distance.
Xia Xiaoxiao sat in front of the stone house, gazing at the blue sea stretching into the distance, colliding with the pale sky in the far distance, creating many clouds of various shapes, among which the setting sun released brilliant colorful light.
The waves come crashing in from afar, as if a painter's delicate brushstrokes were depicting the shapes of reefs, beaches, and palm tree roots. They roar incessantly throughout the night, like neighbors arguing, poets chanting, and street vendors hawking their wares. This natural clamor ensures that those living in this secluded place do not feel lonely.
This is where the family of three used to live. From every cloud in the sky to every stone on the ground to every seashell on the beach, it is filled with happy memories of the past.
She still remembered the first time she and Situ came here many years ago, when she looked at the setting sun and exclaimed, "How beautiful!"
They were still on the run at that time. All the staff in Laboratory No. 19 were dead, including the once great scientists and young researchers like her, even the cleaners were not spared. She became the sole survivor, and an unseen danger constantly surrounded her.
She knew that Situ's purpose in saving her was not so pure, but from the first moment she saw him, she was certain that she had found her lifelong support and emotional anchor, even if she wandered for the rest of her life, even if she faced countless dangers.
For a long time, she had nightmares about her former colleagues coming to her with resentment, asking why she was living alone. She was terrified and felt lonely, and tried to end her life countless nights. But each time, the man would appear just in time, and as soon as she saw his face, she would suddenly have the courage to live, feeling that life was still beautiful and the world was eternally radiant.
While searching for ancient messages in Tapu in the South Pacific, they discovered this small island. She felt that this was the fairytale world of her imagination, and she prayed that she could grow old with him here, but she didn't say it out loud. She just sighed at how beautiful it was at sunset. Three days later, two stone houses appeared in the place where she was now.
Those were the most beautiful times she could remember in her life. Purple flowers bloomed in front of the house, and below the flowerbeds was a crescent-shaped bay. Their footprints were left on the golden sand, washed away by the sea countless times, only to reappear countless times. Later, the footprints became three pairs, and the extra pair, though small, was denser and more vibrant than theirs.
Alice was not born on the island. To ensure the safety of both mother and daughter, Situ took the pregnant Xia Xiaoxiao to Santa Fe City, Argentina. In a small town Vera, north of Santa Fe City, she visited his home and saw majestic mountains, ancient mines, and the dilapidated houses of a primitive Indian tribe.
She was fascinated by the place where he was born, but disliked its mysterious atmosphere. She felt that when he returned there, he was no longer carefree; his face became solemn, and his shoulders carried heavy shackles, as if he had transformed overnight from a bard into a prince seeking revenge.
She would rather get lost with him in a distant city, even though his charming appearance and elegant demeanor might attract rivals who would dare to poison her. Fortunately, Situ was not a womanizer, and his love for her remained unchanged.
She gave birth to Alice in a church hospital in Santa Fe City. She gave her daughter a Chinese nickname, Meimei, hoping that she would live Meimei life.
Alice had traveled to many places with them since she was a child, but like her, this island was her favorite. Ever since Situ built her a little cabin on the beach, she had made it her home.
For Alice's safety, Xia Xiaoxiao decided to stay on the island and no longer wander the world with Situ. When Situ occasionally returned, they would stroll Alice -in-hand on the beach. Alice would always ask, "Daddy, Daddy, what should I do if I miss you when you're not here?"
Situ built a wooden house on the beach. The house was enclosed on all sides and had no door. When the tide came in and submerged the wooden stakes, the house looked like a boat floating on the water.
Situ said that no one but Alice was allowed to enter the house. From then on, whenever the daughter missed her father, the two would meet in the cabin, like lovers meeting in secret.
Xia Xiaoxiao wasn't jealous of her lover, but she was curious about how Meimei had gotten into the wooden house. Every time her daughter said she'd seen her father in the house, she thought it was just a figment of her young imagination. But one time, her daughter cried and said her father was injured, and when Situ returned two weeks later, she actually saw the still-healing scars on him. Only then did she realize that her lover had received more love from her husband, but she still wasn't jealous.
One day, while she and her daughter were walking on the beach, Alice suddenly said she missed her father. Xia Xiaoxiao felt a barely suppressed urge to uncover her secret and encouraged her, "Then go to the cabin to find your father!"
Alice actually went.
She saw her little feet stepping on the sand, and suddenly the tide rose sharply. Just as she was about to call her back, Alice had already stepped through the azure sea and the steps she couldn't see, and walked into a small door that had suddenly appeared and opened at some unknown time.
Alice waved to her mother from the doorway.
The door was closed, the tide had receded, and the wooden house stood quietly by the sea, without steps or a door.
The fine sand is like silver, and the moonlight is like water; it is the perfect time for lovers to meet in secret.