A Promise to the Pavilion

Early in the morning, after putting on my sneakers, jeans and backpack, I was ready to go on a trip to climb a mountain. Of course, I also remembered to take my favourite MP3 player.

Arriving at the mountain base, I found the place filled with activities. Many people came here to do their morning exercises, stretch, dance, practice Tai Chi, and so on…

Wading through the crowd, I came to the beginning of the stairs that went straight up to the top of the mountain. While listening to the beautiful music from my MP3 player, I climbed towards the top. I wondered if I could reach the top this time. Each time before, I was always full of confidence at the start. However, when I was halfway up, I would lose my strength. Even if I were pulled up, I wouldn’t be able to get there. It was no good! This time, I just came to relax and was in a good mood. Happily, I continued on. However, when I came to a pavilion, my heart suddenly became heavy. The pavilion and the open field in front of my eyes were so familiar to me…

Before July 20, 1999, this was a group practice site for Falun Gong practitioners and I often came to join the practice. After July 20, the evil communist party started its brutal persecution against Falun Dafa practitioners, and since then, the practice site was forcefully discontinued.

In the blink of an eye, the evil persecution has persisted for nine years. Nine years! When I once again came to this pavilion, scenes of the past appeared in front of my eyes one by one. I climbed onto the pavilion and wrapped my arms tightly around the pillar as if I had been reunited with a family member after a long period of separation. Staring off into the distance, it seems that everything I once experienced came flooding back, “Hi little girl, come down. It’s time to do the exercise.” A kind woman often called after me like this before the exercise music started because I would always stand on the balcony and take a deep breath of the fresh morning air!

Now, where are those kind elders I remember? Heavy labour camp sentences of eight or ten years have been cast upon them – those who follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance in order to become better people with high morality. I really want to ask those killers who persecute Dafa disciples, “What on earth is wrong with being a good person? What’s wrong with having more and more good people?” Just because of one sinister person’s jealousy and fear a whole group of kind people have been shackled in a den of evil. My tears flowed without stopping…

A breath of autumn wind woke me from my thoughts. Wiping off the tears and tying my shoelaces, I looked up. This time I would be determined to climb to the top. Until I reached the very top of the mountain, I would be persistent to voice out my thoughts that have long been suppressed and fulfil my grand wish from long ago. I will tell people that justice will never be suppressed by evil and that the first signs of the dawn after the night’s wind storm can already be seen.

Coming down from the mountain top, I again passed the familiar pavilion. I said to it with a smile, “Pavilion, I have a promise to make to you. In the very near future, I will surely come back here!”