Rediscovering the Past in a Transformed Town

 

About six years ago, I visited the town where I had lived in the past for the first time in 30 years. The town had undergone a complete transformation, and it seemed like the number of cars and buildings had significantly increased. As I strolled through the town, memories from 30 years ago flooded back, and I couldn't help but reminisce about the past. Despite the substantial changes, there were still fragments of places that had remained untouched, evoking a strong sense of nostalgia. Nevertheless, even though the overall appearance of the town had undergone a drastic transformation, my own consciousness remained unchanged from 30 years ago. This created a feeling of being left behind in the flow of time, and I keenly felt the weight of the 30 years that had elapsed since my last visit. It was as if I had stepped into a time capsule. The memories in my mind were stuck in the past, 30 years ago, while the town I stood in had moved forward, ticking away in the present. Within the confines of my mind, it felt like I had embarked on a journey back in time to the future. It may sound self-evident, but this experience repeated the constant oscillation of my mind between the past, where time seems to stand still, and the present, where time marches forward, indifferent to the years gone by.

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