Bon Voyage
柿事顺利

“Necessary farewells that honour shifting seasons and preserve shared memories.
三梨三别，二柿有情，
愿你柿事顺利，梨也好，别亦安。”

oil on canvas
46x46cm

After several months, the day was finally here.

He stood on the edge of the dusty road, eyes lingering on the ancient mountains he had known his whole life – soon to be just a distant memory. The carriage wheels groaned in the distance. The moment had come.

No fanfare, no speeches. Just a quiet parting.

His dearest friend arrived, holding a small cloth bundle. “A little something for the road.”

They didn’t say much. They didn’t need to. After a childhood of running wild through fields, and sneaking river swims, words only got in the way. The goodbye had been coming for a long time – and they both knew it. Still, when their eyes met, something flickered through them. Not regret, but love wrapped in the ache of change. 

The hardest goodbyes were the ones that were necessary.

On the carriage, he opened the bundle. Inside lay three pears and two persimmons. Moved, he bit into a pear gently. It was the freshest pear he had ever eaten, but in his mouth, it was bittersweet. 

Three pears, for the reluctant goodbyes.
Two persimmons, for the words unspoken.

Bon Voyage, dear friend.

三梨三别，二柿有情，
愿你柿事顺利，梨也好，别亦安

Some goodbyes are temporary, while others stretch along indefinitely. The bittersweet truth of necessary farewell: some endings honour shifting seasons, yet preserve the love that was shared in memory, like the sweetness of a fruit that lingers on the tongue long after it is finished.