“I dreamed about Kweilin before I ever saw it,” my mother began, speaking Chinese. “I dreamed of jagged peaks lining a curving river, with magic moss greening the banks. At the tops of these peaks were white mists. And if you could float down this river and eat the moss for food, you would be strong enough to climb the peak. If you slipped, you would only fall into a bed of soft moss and laugh. And once you reached the top, you would be able to see everything and feel such happiness it would be enough to never have worries in your life ever again.
“In China, everybody dreamed about Kweilin. And when I arrived, I realized how shabby my dreams were, how poor my thoughts. When I saw the hills, I laughed and shuddered at the same time. The peaks looked like qiant fried fish heads trying to jump out of a vat of oil. Behind each hill, I could see shadows of another fish, and then another and another. And then the clouds would move just a little and the hills would suddenly become monstrous elephants marching slowly toward me! Can you see this? And at the root of the hill were secret caves. Inside grew hanging rock gardens in the shapes and colors of cabbage, winter melons, turnips, and onions. These were things so strange and beautiful you can’t ever imagine them.
「在抵達桂林之前我幻想過它的樣子，」母親用中文說著故事。
「我幻想鋸齒狀的山陵線沿著蜿蜒的河流排列，有魔力的苔蘚襯得河岸鮮綠，山稜之上有白色的雲霧，若順著河流向下漂流食用岸邊的苔蘚，就能擁有爬上山峰的體力；如果不小心滑下山腰，也只是笑著落在柔軟的苔蘚床上。要是爬上山頂就能見到山下全景，那樣舒暢的景色會帶給你快樂、忘了憂愁。」
「在中國，大家都曾幻想桂林的美。當我抵達時，才知道我的幻想是多麽的可笑，想法又是多麽的無知。我看著山丘，笑的同時打了個冷顫，山峰看起來就像巨大的炸魚頭即將躍出油桶，在每個山丘後面我看見另一個魚頭的影子，而後一個接著一個。空中的雲稍稍移動，山稜就變成像怪物般的大象群體緩慢地向我步行而來！你能想像嗎？山下是一個又一個神秘的洞穴，裡頭生長著陡峭岩壁，形色如卷心菜、冬瓜、蕪菁和洋蔥，那樣怪異又美麗的景色是你無法想像的。」
