#Gate Square Qixi Celebration

The sky was preparing for one of the clearest nights of summer. It was the seventh day of the seventh month according to the Chinese calendar; a night of legends, stars, and love. You sat alone on a bench, at the edge of a city shrouded in silence. One side of you was filled with loneliness, the other with the wonder of a child gazing up at the sky.

Suddenly, the Milky Way shimmered before your eyes like a silver river stretching along the horizon. It was as if there was a restless movement within you; the stars weren't just shedding light, they were whispering a story that resonated deep within your heart.

In that moment, you felt Niulang's steps. The shepherd's determined walk was like a heartbeat echoing through the sky. The star threads woven by Zhinu's slender fingers woven the fabric of the sky, the patience of longing hidden in each stitch. Two souls drew closer, but between them stood the Milky Way, a vast river.

Then the sky rippled; thousands of magpies gathered, flapping their wings. Their black feathers deepened the night, but hope gleamed at the tips of their wings. And that was the moment the miracle happened: a bridge woven from wings was built across the river. Time seemed to hold its breath.

Niulang and Zhinu approached each other step by step. The stars sang silently, the night wind carried only their names. As the two lovers reunited, the sky descended for a moment into your heart; in their embrace, you felt the power of longing, the patience of love, the pain of separation, and the joy of reunion all at once.

As you sat there on the bench, a piece of your heart added to their story. It was as if Niulang and Zhinu had sensed your loneliness and heard your silent waiting. Their reunion cast a light within you: there is always a reunion behind separation, always a morning within the night, and a hidden friendship within loneliness.

The bridge slowly dissolved in the sky, and the magpies moved away. But you knew: Next year, on the same day, the stars would reunite again. And you will be waiting for them again on the same bench, with the same trembling in your heart.