Light-up aka Luminarie 「神戸ルミナリエ」

Every year, my recent living place has a massive light-up display during the winter season to commemorate the victims of The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and their hopes. It will only last for several days, around mid-December if I am not mistaken. The name is 神戸ルミナリエ「Kobe Luminarie」

Not only that, soon after Halloween occasion passed, all public places and shops are also changing the decoration with Christmas' ambience.  Long twinkle light trails, Christmas' songs, and Santa Claus decor are almost everywhere. Everywhere feels like a light-up display. Can't resist but feels so nostalgic. Back then when I was at home, I always wait for the light-up on the Christmas tree.

Every year, during the Christmas holiday, my family and I were packed to go to my Granma's home. My family is an exception because each member has their own religion, included my Granma and half of my relatives who are protestants. Since I was in junior high school, she moved back to her village, 5 hours away from my family's home. I spent my childhood with Granma who was living with my parent at that time but now we rarely met each other except during the Christmas holiday when my family paid a visit to her village. The village is quite a remote place (compare to my city). Not so many houses, dark and small road with dogs and pigs roaming around freely, and of course, don't you say about the ghost stories and many 'pamali(s)'. The only bright place was the Christmas tree inside my Granma's house. A medium-sized one with cute ball-shape decoration hanging, colorful twinkle lights, and one brightest star on the top. With several homemade cookies jar on the table put beside the tree, uncles, aunties, and cousins whom I met once in a while sat together to catch up each other's recent life's stories and Granma who hold my hand tightly to say I need to come closer since she can't see me because of her old-eye and also about how her tongue couldn't taste coffee as well as she did during her younger age. They are a bunch of "懐かしい；natsukashii" feeling, called in Japanese or the feeling of nostalgia, in English. 

Time passes. The last time I paid a visit to the village, my Granma gradually has memory deterioration. She can't recognize the members anymore, neither my sister nor me. One morning she asked who I was and during lunchtime, she asked why did I grow so fast. It seems her memory being paused in one lifetime moment.

It's funny (if you are not willing to say tragic instead) to witness how unfair the time treats us.
For me, I remember my Granma and my childhood memories more vivid now as I grow up yet she has it inverted. 

Time passes. And that's okay. I will remember you a little bit better day by day. 

The light trail is glittering, sometimes it is fading yet it never goes, right?