Dear Morning Star:
Before writing to you, I have prepared several drafts, which I was not satisfied with.
I didn't feel it strange, but somewhat rigid.
Please forgive my poor English. After all, I am merely a senior one student.
I have an English dictionary by my side, which I may consult when I meet difficult words and phrases.
Please forgive me if there is any confusing expression.
At the first sight of your signature, I feel it pleasant.
Yes, pleasant.
Because every time I see it, I feel myself standing under the dim sky and seeing several stars.
An array of stars fade with the darkness. What we greet is the vigorous sunshine.
It is just like my life.
I seem to have been reborn after experiencing some incidents.
Um...
It is somewhat formal at the very beginning, but I think it will be better if more relaxing.
Huh, I don't know how to express my expectation and excitement with English modal particles. After all, I look forward to your letter, although I have just started writing the letter.
My English teacher said that we are letter pals.
But pen pals are also ok.
Of course, letter pal may be more direct.
By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet.
I give myself a nickname: "Glimmer".
This is my first nickname. Actually, I refer to your nickname. They do match each other, don't they?
I was born in H City of Z Country, but my ancestors came from a remote place.
Although I'm nearly the same with a common resident of Z Country, yet my grand-grandfather was a native Soviet.
He chose to stay here for some reasons.
I met him for several times in my childhood, but I haven't seen him for a long time. Others say that he is still in good health. Our family may visit him this year.
Morning Star, do you know about it? After knowing that you are from Russia, I feel we are connected.
I have a special feeling for it, although I've never been there.
Is the emotion for hometown deeply engraved in the gene?
If possible, I truly want to visit it.
Moscow, especially. For me, Moscow is an ideal holy place.
In addition, I have a strong interest in weapons of the Soviet Union, for they are simple but efficient.
The music of the Soviet Union is also pleasant, which contains the tender feelings of tough guys.
Sorry, I deviate the topic too much, but writing a letter is like chatting. We may just freely express ourselves.
But I still want to continue with our previous topic.
I am a senior one student who is 16 years old, 5 years younger than you. You should be in college or just graduate from college, right?
Is the college life easier or tougher than that of senior high school?
I think the life of senior one is comfortable.
I am not too idle nor too free and feel very full every day. I've also made some new friends, but I feel somewhat sad when thinking of our separation three years later.
I kind of miss my good friends in junior high school, but I cannot meet them for some reasons.
Luckily I am now in the senior high school and do not meet previous classmates, and I have to escape them if I meet them.
By the way, Morning Star, do you like wearing skirt? Will you wear skirt all year round?
I don't like skirt very much, but our school uniform is a skirt, so I have to wear.
It is not that warm and not as safe as pants, so it does not give me the sense of safety.
The winter just came in my city.
But I feel somewhat cold. Although I have some lineage of Soviets.
I still like snow although I dislike coldness.
The white snow falls and covers the whole city with silver color.
But my city is a southern one, so there is little snow.
The snow is always very small or it is sleet.
The snow melts soon and it is not satisfying at all.
What do you think is the most comfortable thing in winter?
I think it is the scene where there is big snow outside and I stay at home with a fireplace warming myself.
I may place water nearby the fireplace in case of being cool. And if I feel hungry, I may throw several sweet potatoes into it to allay my hunger.
When I feel bored, I may touch the cat or read books leisurely.
How amazing the life is.
However, my city has no underfloor flooring nor fireplace at home.
Therefore, it is very cold when it is minus one or two degrees.
Luckily, our school begins to install the heating radiator and it will be warm in school.
I saw photos of the city mailed by you. What a splendid city!
My city is not that prosperous.
But I also visited some other prosperous cities, which are similar to that in your photos.
I do like the dome on your buildings, which is very pretty.
And Moscow must have subways, right?
But my city has no subway, and I wonder when there will be any.
But when there is a subway, the road must also be jammed.
But it is not that crowded now in the city.
It is said that there is always traffic jam in big cities and sometimes it may last for one hour in 100 meters; is it so?
I feel it exaggerated. If so, why do people still drive cars? Riding bikes is much faster than this.
I picked some maple leafs in autumn, which I made into bookmarks. I will send one of them to you in the letter. And if you want some other interesting things, you may leave me a message. Of course, I am just a student and cannot afford too expensive things.
I have so much to say, but there are few people that I may talk to around me.
I feel myself having experienced too much in the second half this year...
Sometimes I feel myself still in dream when waking up.
Have you watched The Matrix?
It is probably about the unreal feeling.
But now I know that the reality is real.
By the way, do you like cats?
I raise a Dragon Li, which is lovely and somewhat sticky.
It was bought by dad to capture mice in the fruit store.
But I never see it captured a mouse.
I still like it.
Every day when I return to the fruit store after school, I will hug and touch it. Its smooth hair and soft body always make me relaxed.
So I call it "crunchy candy", which is a pastry here. If you want to taste it, I may send some to you.
But I can only do this during the Spring Festival.
Those sold in the city are not that authentic. Only those handmade in villages are delicious.
Is there any special snack in Russia, the kind that can be long preserved.
I just know about cheese and the hard bread.
It is said that the economy of Russia is not that promising, is it?
Our economy keeps turning better.
The elders often say that they could not even afford meals in the past and could only have meat during the Spring Festival.
They just had some chaffs in daily life.
Luckily, everything turned better after reform and opening up.
Although our family is not that rich, yet we often have meat now.
But I still think the high-tech products, such as cellphone and microcomputer are still expensive. And I don't know when they will get cheaper.
If I have a cellphone, can I directly call you?
But the transnational telephone charge must be very expensive, right?
When can humankind chat freely at any time anywhere?
I think my teacher in the primary school told us that there would be videophone, so that we could easily see what the other is doing even thousands of miles away, and chat as if we were face to face.
But even the mobile phone is not popularized now, let alone the videophone.
And I may fail to afford it even if there are high-tech products like videophone.
But I truly expect that the era can come soon.
And I wonder if I can wait the approach of the era in my life.
I feel myself having a lot to say at the beginning, but I suddenly don't know what to mention when starting writing.
Maybe it's because we are not that familiar with each other. We may talk about more topics when we know more about each other.
Yes, I should tell you more information of mine.
I am 1.58m tall now, but I think I will grow as high as 1.7m in the future.
After all, I have the lineage of Soviets.
I cannot be that short.
And my weight was 40 kg when I attended the senior high school entrance examination, but I don't know my current weight.
My shoes are size 34, so I may even wear some children's shoes.
There is little size of such for men's shoes, but luckily women's shoes have. But I don't like to wear female shoes. I prefer the neutral plimsolls or gym shoes.
I like various cuisines and prefer snacks to formal meals.
I also like specially produced TV plays, such as Ultraman or Kamen Rider.
But they are not introduced to our mainland, so I just watch the versions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, or the versions with Japanese sound and Chinese characters.
I don't know your hobbies.
It will be great if we have similar hobbies.
I think it's time to say goodbye in the first letter.
I am writing it in the classroom under the afternoon sunshine.
I will send the photos of my pet cat "crunchy candy" and the photos of our city along with the letter to you.
Be happy every day.
And I am looking forward to your reply.
---Glimmer
November 9, 1999
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英文版翻译、校对、润色：茶离
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