光陰似箭，不知不覺間，我已在佛利蒙度過了五載寒暑——這是我自十五歲起，第一次在一個地方住滿五年，而且照目前的情況，我和這座蟬聯「全美最快樂的城市」多年、文化豐富多元的城市之間的緣分，或許還會持續很多年。
兩年前，我寫了一篇《在佛利蒙的三年》。當年的我，正在努力地走出喪母之痛、適應新工作、在新的環境紮根。在懷抱著汪洋一般的鄉愁之餘，我也認真地發掘佛利蒙的美好，並不斷地告訴自己「此心安處是吾鄉」。兩年後的今天，佛利蒙感覺真的越來越像「家」了。多年以前，我曾在網路上看到過一句話：「天大地大，時間最大。愛耗不過它，恨也熬不過它。」在佛利蒙住了五年，我逐漸咂摸出了箇中滋味。剛搬來佛利蒙時的混亂與徬徨、失根的憂慮，都在五年光陰的沖刷中慢慢沉澱了。
過去幾年來，我的事業突飛猛進，在職場上的壓力也與日俱增，每天下班後，我喜歡和 Steve 在家裡附近散步聊天、紓解一整天下來的情緒和壓力。雖然我走著走著依然時常迷路，佛利蒙寧靜的鄰里街道已經成為了我工作之外的小小避風港。有時因為天氣不佳或是太晚下班而無法出門散步，但是只要一回到家，即使只是窩在床上上網，職場上的雨雪風霜也會被隔絕在外。我也持續享受佛利蒙在生活上帶來的美好：院子裡的果樹和菜圃，讓我們一年四季都有當季的蔬果嚐鮮；露營、登山和各種戶外活動未曾間斷（Steve 甚至迷上了釣魚，三不五時地為家裡的餐桌加菜）；攀岩更是成為了我的生活中不可或缺的一部分，每週兩到三次的攀岩，讓我保持身體健康、結交新朋友，並且不斷自我突破。另外，去年底從台灣回美國時，這麼多年來我第一次沒有哭——或許，佛利蒙真正地開始在我心中成為「另外一個家」了吧？
最後，今年初迎來了一個大驚喜。一月底，Felix 說他要來灣區參加活動，順便約我們吃飯。過去六年，Felix 時不時地從東岸造訪，所以我不疑有他。直到見面，他才告訴我他順利在灣區找到了工作，一月中已經從康乃爾搬回距離我們僅有二十分鐘的聖荷西，準備安頓下來了。他之所以等到見面才告訴我，就是為了看我大腦短路的傻樣。在我軟磨硬泡了六年之後，終於得償所願，我的確花了好長一段時間才完全消化這個令我喜極而泣的好消息，直到現在，偶爾還會覺得身在夢裡。Felix 搬回來後，灣區感覺更熱鬧了，以後的聚會、登山和露營又多了一個人，我在佛利蒙的根也紮得更深了，希望我們在東灣這座文化多元又寧靜美麗的城市，還有好多個平安健康的五年。
Time flies, and before I knew it, I had lived in Fremont for five years — this is the first time I have lived in one place for five years since I turned 15. And as things stand, I may be staying in “The Happiest City in the U.S.” for many more years to come.
Two years ago, I wrote an article titled “3 Years in Fremont.” Back then, I was still struggling to overcome the grief of losing my mother, get used to my new job, and settle into a new environment. While still feeling homesick, I tried my best to seek out the beauty of Fremont, constantly telling myself, “Home is where the heart is.” Two years later, Fremont feels more and more like “home.” I remember seeing a quote online a while back, “The world is vast, but ‘time’ is the greatest of all. Love cannot outlast it, nor can hate.” Having lived in Fremont for five years, I gradually came to understand the meaning of this quote. The chaos, uncertainty, and the anxiety of being rootless I felt when I first moved to Fremont have all slowly faded away over the past five years.
In the past few years, my career has progressed rapidly, which also come with increasing pressure. Every day after work, I love to walk around the neighborhood and chat with Steve to let out the emotions and stress at work. Even though I still often get lost on our walks, the quiet neighborhood and streets of Fremont have become my little haven outside of work. Sometimes I cannot go for a walk after work, either because of bad weather or coming home too late, but as soon as I get home, even if I just stay in bed and surf the internet, I feel sheltered from the rest of the world. I also continue to enjoy the wonders Fremont brings to my life: the fruit trees and vegetables in our yard allow us to enjoy delicious, in-season produce all year round; camping, hiking, and outdoor activities continues (Steve even fell in love with fishing, adding dishes to our dining table from time to time); rock climbing has become an indispensable part of my life. Climbing two to three times a week keeps me strong and healthy, helps me make new friends, and allows me to constantly push my limits. Further, when I came back to the United States from Taiwan at the end of last year, for the first time in many years, I did not cry — perhaps Fremont has truly begun to become “another home” in my heart.
Finally, a big surprise came at the beginning of this year. At the end of January, Felix said he was visiting the Bay Area for a dance event and wanted to meet up for lunch while he was here. Over the past six years, Felix visited us from the East Coast from time to time, so I thought it was just one of those trips and did not suspect anything. It wasn’t until we met that he revealed to me he successfully secured a job in the Bay Area and had moved back from Cornell to San Jose (just 20 minutes away from us!) in mid-January, ready to settle down. The reason he waited until we met to tell me was to see my short-circuit moment. (It turned out to be priceless.) After nagging Felix about moving back to California for six years, my wish finally came true, and it took me a long time to fully process this good news. Even now, it still occasionally feels like a dream. Now that Felix is back, there is one more person for parties, hiking, and camping trips, and this further deepens my roots in Fremont. I hope we will have many more wonderful years to come in this diverse and beautiful city in the East Bay.
