At Home

Driving the metropolitan expressway during the COVID state of emergency, a thought suddenly struck me.

On an ordinary night, driving the expressway, the neon streaming and glowing to left and right would light up the dark city; but during this state of emergency, it is not neon—rather, most of the square windows of the many high-rise apartments towering up are floating in the dark night, brighter than ever.

When I was little,

I remember my grandfather teaching me that the greater the gap between the outside and inside temperatures, the more easily the snow on the roof melts, and that a house where large icicles form is one where a happy family lives.

Truly, this cluster of lights in the scene appeared to my eyes like proof of peaceful lives being led—much like a house where large icicles form.