P3
Mom finally got her scooter license. 

P5 
Mom took the test through the village loudspeaker, right there in the old courtyard house. She was the first to take the exam — didn’t touch the lines, had perfect balance, and passed within seconds. 

P6
After getting her license, the phrase Mom said most often was: 
Do you want to go for a ride?

P7
But she only dared to take me along the farm roads, following the Zengwen River, checking whether the mangoes she planted had been stolen. 

P9
At 20 kilometers per hour, we circled our hometown once. 
Ten minutes later, we were back at the front door. 

P10
What Mom longed for the most was to take a longer trip — riding to the market to buy snacks and daily necessities, or going to visit my aging grandparents. 
But she didn’t dare ride alone. 

P11
“Grandpa made your favourite Bay Leaf Garlic Chicken. Shall we go back and eat together? Don’t you want to go?”

It’s so far… 
There are so many cars on the road… 
Mom, you should just go by yourself… 
But Mom would be riding alone…

P14
After finally reaching the market, Mom parked the motorcycle and took me to buy barley soup, slippers, and undershirts. 

We bought vegetables, agar and braised pork, 

P15
whole chickens and whole ducks, 
and also joss paper and fruit for offerings to the ancestors. 

P16
Our hands were full when we returned to where we had parked— and then we realized:
The motorcycle was gone!

P17
I followed Mom as she anxiously searched everywhere, circling the market again and again, but we found nothing. 
The weather was scorching, and the crowds were overwhelming. 

I couldn’t help bursting into tears. 

I want to go home! 
I want to go home! 
I want to go home! 

P18
Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums came from afar. 

P24
“A-Min, let’s go crawl through the Centipede Parade.” 
“No, I’m scared.” 
“Don’t be scared—why are you so timid?”

P25
Mom grabbed my hand and we ran into the procession. Amid the gongs, drums, and firecrackers, Mom led me: crouching low, weaving back and forth, crawling from the centipede’s head to its tail. Smoke filled the air—we looked like a mother and child fleeing disaster. 

P26
We followed the Centipede Parade to the entrance of the market, its tail sweeping past the traffic at the roadside… 

“Mom, look!” 

P28
“Dad! Mom!” 
“I finally got my license—now I can come visit more often!” 

P29
I lowered my head and ate the Bay Leaf Garlic Chicken that Grandpa had prepared, thinking that maybe Mom was better off staying at home. 

But… my grandparents’ home was originally Mom’s home, too. 

P30
“Be careful on the road home!” 

P34
Now, whenever she has time, Mom starts the motorcycle and rides back to her parents’ house. 
She no longer asks me, “Do you want to go for a ride?” 

P36
Looking vibrant in her confidence, she says goodbye to me—
again and again— 
farewell.