From that point on，the sky over northwest China became the sky of dreams.
During the day，the drifting bubbles were hard to see.There were just the reflections off the membranes，everywhere in the blue sky，that made it look like the surface of a lake rippling under the sunlight.On the ground，enormous but faint shadows traced the slow passage of the bubbles.The most beautiful moments were at dawn and dusk，when the rising or setting sun on the horizon would limn the river of bubbles in the sky with radiant gold.
But these lovely scenes didn’t last for long.The bubbles above popped one after another.More bubbles were rolling in，but clouds were beginning to gather in the sky，obscuring the bubbles.
Next，in the season that had been driest of all in previous years，a slow，steady drizzle drifted down from the sky.
Amid the rain，Yuanyuan arrived at the city of her birth.After ten years of evacuation，Silk Road City had become quiet and empty.Unoccupied skyscrapers stood silently in the rain.
Yuanyuan noticed that these structures hadn’t truly been abandoned；they were well-preserved，the glass in the windows unbroken.The whole city seemed to be deep in slumber，waiting for the day of revival it knew would come.
The rain tamped down the dust，leaving the air fresh and pleasant.Raindrops tickled deliciously cool on the face.Yuanyuan strolled along streets she knew well，streets through which her father had led her by her small hand countless times，on which countless soap bubbles she’d blown had scattered.A childhood song resounded in Yuanyuan’s heart.
Suddenly，she realized that she really could hear the song.The sun had set now，and in the city descended into night，only one window shone with light from within.It belonged to the second floor of an ordinary apartment building，her home，and the song came from there.
Yuanyuan stopped in front of the building.The surroundings were clean and well-kept.There was even a vegetable patch，the plants in it growing heartily.A tool cart stood to one side，fitted with a big metal bucket，clearly used to carry water from elsewhere for the plants.Despite the obscuring darkness，one could sense the breath of life here.In the dead silence of the empty city，it beckoned to Yuanyuan like an oasis in the desert.
Yuanyuan climbed the well-swept stairs and gently pushed open the door to her home.Her father was reclining on the couch，his hair grizzled under the lamplight，contently humming the old children’s song.He held the little bottle that Yuanyuan had used to carry bubble liquid as a child，and the little plastic hoop，and he was blowing a string of multicolored bubbles.
