"I finally found you, thank you, thank you, I couldn't have survived without your help in the first place." This is the most sincere gratitude I can express to my benefactor.

My name is Ma'aya and I am an Israeli student. In 2008, my companion and I went on a trip to Dujiangyan, but we were caught in an earthquake.

My classmate and I were crushed under the rubble and seriously injured. On our way to the hospital, we met a Chinese boy who took us over the mountains before we found the hospital.

Yearning for China

I was born in Israel, and although I grew up in Israel, I yearned for China at heart, and I wanted to see the scenery and beauty of China.

My yearning for China was also seen by my parents, and they bought me books about Chinese history. When I got this book, I touched it several times with my hands, and in my opinion, it was more precious than a toy.

Only, I was still young and did not understand the books, but the dream of going to China was deeply rooted in my heart.

When my mother saw this, she also encouraged me, "Aya, if you want to go to China, you must study hard and study in China in the future."

I looked at my mother and nodded firmly. From then on, I took studying in China as my motivation, and whenever I couldn't study, I would take out Chinese books and read them to give myself encouragement.

With such a support, my grades have been stable and my parents are very relieved. They were worried that I would not study hard, but now they are completely relieved.

But when I started high school, my parents were on edge again. They were afraid that my constant stability would be broken and that I would fall off the wagon.

But I never took studying as an easy thing to do, and how hard I had to work to go to China to study.

At first, my grades were not very good either. I was also buried in books all day long to get my current grades, and for many days and nights, I read my textbooks hard under the lamp.

Now that my grades are improving, I am not going to give up halfway, and I want my parents to promise me that I will go to China to study, so they put their mind at ease.

I've been studying like crazy for my sprint to study in China, and the first thing I do when I open my eyes in the morning is think about what I studied yesterday.

In Chinese, I'm getting a little carried away, but I'm enjoying the feeling of working hard for my goal.

I applied to a college in Sichuan, China, and also applied for a passport, and went to Sichuan to take the test at the required time.

I was still a little nervous when I took the test, my heart was beating a little violently, and the moment the test papers were handed out, my sanity came back.

Looking at the questions on the paper, which were not too difficult for me, I read through the paper carefully and had a general idea in my mind, I wrote down the easy questions first and then attacked the more difficult ones at the end.

When the examination time was over, I sat on the bench outside and kept taking deep breaths, and cold sweat came out of my hands. I felt that I should be able to pass and come to China to study, but the waiting process was very torturous.

I went back to Israel and waited at home for the news. I couldn't fully put my mind at ease until I got the acceptance information.

About a month later, I finally got the news that I passed and I could go study in China! At this point, I couldn't contain myself, and I was jumping around the room shouting, "I got in, I got in."

It was when I calmed down that my parents spoke to me, "Aya, studying in China is a very valuable opportunity, and when you get there, you must study hard and never waste your time."

I nodded, I will cherish this trip to China.

Earthquake

During my study in China, I also met my companion, Anat, who also loved China, and we had a great conversation and agreed to go on a trip together.

On May 12, 2008, Annette and I met up to go to Dujiangyan, which is a beautiful scenery, and Annette and I strolled around for a long time without feeling tired.

It took us until morning to feel a little hungry, so Anat and I found a restaurant and we ate while we talked. But, not yet said a sentence or two, the restaurant but some slight shaking, I some did not care too much, and Anat and I continued to talk.

Within five minutes, the restaurant began to shake violently, the entire restaurant shaking from side to side, sitting are unstable, you need to cling to the table. At this point, I realized the seriousness of the problem, I wobbled to my feet and tried to run out, but it was too late.

Over the next few minutes, the restaurant intensified its shaking and it wasn't long before it collapsed and Anat and I were buried.

Buried in the rubble, I was so scared that I couldn't control the tears that came out of my eyes, "Anat, Anat are you there?" I tried to call Anat to see how he was doing.

I shouted for a few minutes, did not answer me, I wanted to move, but I could not move, my body was pressed to death, are almost unconscious.

Looking at the blackened ruins, I kind of lost hope. I didn't know if people outside knew we were buried here, and I didn't know when someone would come to rescue us.

My mental defenses were also breached, I was still young, I still had to see my mom and dad, I still had a bright future, but now, it was all overwhelmed by the rubble.

I let out a small sob and not a moment later I heard Anat's voice, "Ma'aya, are you there? Ma'aya?"

Hearing Anat's voice gave me some hope too, "I'm here, Anat, I'm alive, how are you?"

"Not so good, my hand is smashed, it hurts." Listening to Anat's reply back, I was also a bit anxious, I really hoped someone would come to our rescue.

"Annette, you have to hold on, we'll work together, we all have to survive!" I firmly told Anat to hold on.

With Anat's company, I had more confidence and courage, and I prayed silently in my mind that someone would come to our rescue.

I don't know how long it took, and I couldn't hold on, so sleepy, I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't, I knew that once I slept through, I might not wake up.

I pinch my palms with my fingernails to force myself awake, and whenever I feel sleepy, I pinch my palms to keep myself awake.

Time passes this, and the situation is getting worse, I was buried for too long, and now hungry, sleepy and cold.

"Ma'aya, I can't hold on much longer, will someone else come to save us? Can we, can we still live?" Annette said weakly.

In fact, I also have some doubts, we can still live? After all, in the face of disasters, how small is the power of man.

I wanted to give up, but I also clearly knew that once I gave up, I would really die, "Anat, don't give up, please, hold on a little longer, we will be saved."

At this point I was also weak and my voice was faltering, but as long as I thought of the scene after being rescued, I had the motivation to keep going.

I don't know how long I've been buried, it's been a long time for me, and as I was about to hold on, I faintly heard a sound of talking.

"Come on people, there are a lot of people buried down here, we must hurry to get them out!"

Hearing these words, I was also relieved to drift off to sleep. When I woke up again, I had been rescued, so had Anat, and so had everyone else in the restaurant.

Rescued

I looked at the sun and unconsciously left tears in my eyes. It felt so good to have my life back, I looked at Anat, who also happened to be looking at me, his hand was broken and the rescue team was putting bandages on him.

I wanted to say to Annette, "Congratulations we all survived." But just as I opened my mouth, the pain felt like closing it.

I reached out and touched it, my jaw was taut, I looked to the distress team member and he told me, "Your jaw has been cracked, you must wrap your jaw, but we have no treatment for you, we are just the rescue team, you want to see a doctor, you have to go to the hospital to do so."

At that moment, Anat also came over and he looked at me and said, "Ma'aya, you always encouraged me in the ruins, and now, I will also accompany you to the hospital."

With Annette by my side and my confidence, we said goodbye to the rescue team and went to find the hospital. It was a long walk to the hospital, and Anat and I stumbled and fell, either he fell a little or I tripped.

When we walked out, only outside and Dujiangyan exactly the same situation, everywhere is ruins, everywhere is desolate, there is not a single person on the street, tall buildings are also turned into ruins, trees and flowers are no longer the vividness of the past.

I looked at it all and just felt overwhelmed and sad that so many people, all injured and unfortunately, lost their lives because of this disaster.

My throat was clogged with pain and my eyes were red, I didn't have the courage to look at it all and couldn't afford to face it, I was supported by Anat, I don't know how long I walked, we also ran out of energy and casually sat on the ground to rest.

With the strength of our two people, it is impossible to walk to the hospital, thinking about it, I also can not help but some or sadness. When we thought a miracle would not happen, a boy walked right in front of us, which gave us hope, like seeing water in the desert.

"Help us, please help us." We pleaded for help to the boy in front of us, and when he saw us in this state, he immediately came forward.

"Hello, how can I help you? My name is Jiang Wei." I looked at Jiang Wei and replied in a trembling voice, "My name is Ma'aya and this is my classmate Anat, we are injured and need to go to the hospital."

Jiang Wei listened, busy to help me and Anat, his left hand to support Anat, the right hand to support me, we three little by little to walk forward.

During the conversation, I also learned that Jiang Wei, who is also a college student and whose home is in Sichuan, was worried about his parents at home, so he took a leave of absence from school to go home to see them.

Jiang Wei dragged us, walking for days, before we reached his home, which had also collapsed, and he shouted from outside the ruins, "Mom and Dad, I'm coming, Mom and Dad."

I looked also felt sad, but I could not do anything, about a few minutes later, another person came, he looked at Jiang Wei's back and said, "Son, I'm here, Dad is fine."

Jiang Wei turned around with a jerk and ran into the arms of his father, who patted Jiang Wei's back and said, "Don't worry, your mother and I have been placed in a safe place."

Seeing that his parents were safe, Jiang Wei's raised heart was released, and he looked at me and Anat again and said, "I promised them that I would take them to the hospital, Dad, you go back to the settlement first, I'll drop them off at the hospital and will come to you."

"Good, you remember to be careful ah, must be safe back." Jiang Wei's father explained to, Jiang Wei shouted: "Got it." And helped me and Anat to continue to walk forward.

We walked for a long time, so long that I don't even remember what time it is, and the good thing is, neither of us ever gave up.

With great difficulty, we came over a mountain, but to get to the hospital, we still need to go over a mountain, we were hungry and our feet were worn out.

I really do not have the strength, Jiang Wei walked on my back, Annette leaned on a branch to walk, we went over the mountain, step by step over the second mountain.

Over two mountains and the hospital was almost there. Our injuries had dragged on for a long time, and in order for us to step up and get treatment, Jiang Wei trotted off with me on his back and Anat in pursuit.

In about half an hour, we arrived at the hospital, at which point I realized that several days had passed between the time we were buried in the rubble and the time we went to the hospital for treatment.

The doctor treated us and, at the same time, cheered us on: "Be happy, it will get better, it will all get better, have faith."

Yeah, everything is going to be okay, the rescue teams are all in the areas, launching rescues, and they're moving fast.

After Annette and I treated our wounds, we came out with the intention of thanking Jiang Wei, but as soon as we came out, we found that he had disappeared.

It turns out that after taking us to the hospital, Jiang Wei left, and we haven't even thanked him properly. I always remembered Jiang Wei's name in my heart, and even after returning home, I still haven't given up looking for him.

Find a benefactor

When I returned to Israel, I told the Israeli people about it, and they all admired Jiang Wei, a very courageous boy.

I have been trying to find a way to contact him, but not once could I get in touch. I posted a photo with Jiang Wei on the Internet, hoping that someone would give me Jiang Wei's contact information.

I looked for my good classmates when I studied in China, hoping they could help me find Jiang Wei, but none of my classmates knew Jiang Wei, and they also wanted to get to know him, but out of helplessness, they really couldn't find Jiang Wei.

I have also been depressed because of this incident, I always wanted to thank Jiang Wei, but he really disappeared again to the sea of people, how can not find.

My mother had advised me to express my gratitude in my heart as well, but I felt that this was too insincere, and I must express my gratitude to Jiang Wei in person.

A year or two has passed, and I still haven't been able to find Jiang Wei. During this period, I also went back to China, by memory, to find Jiang Wei's home address at that time.

But Jiang Wei has long since moved, the family that now lives, and I do not know where he went, I stayed in the local area for a few days, but still did not inquire about Jiang Wei's address.

I had to return to Israel and continued to post information on the Internet looking for Jiang Wei, and so I searched for 13 years, and just when I was about to despair, a message gave me renewed hope.

"Hello, I know Jiang Wei, I'm studying in Israel right now, I can talk to him for you."

Seeing this message, my heart jumped with excitement and I quickly messaged him back with my address.

The next day, I waited early at home, and soon, the classmate who knew Jiang Wei came, and as soon as we met, he introduced himself, "Hello, my name is Li Wen (a pseudonym), and I seem to have written your story, which is very touching."

"My name is Ma'aya, please, can I talk to Jiang Wei now?" I asked eagerly, I wanted so badly to say thank you to Jiang Wei.

"Good." Li Wen took out his phone and broadcasted a video call, and in the call page, I also met Jiang Wei.

The moment I saw Jiang Wei, I also uncontrolled tears, I looked at Jiang Wei and said, "Thank you, thank you so much, when I was not able to say thank you, I have always regretted."

"It's okay, and I'm happy for you to see you again, and I'm relieved to see that you're doing so well in life."

Jiang Wei and I talked a lot, like old friends who haven't seen each other for years. Jiang Wei and I also left our contact information, and one day, I will definitely invite him to come to Eretz Yisrael for a visit.

Epilogue

That Wenchuan earthquake not only made me feel the unity and love of the Chinese people, but also made me feel the strength of China and its determination to never give up on its people in the face of disasters.

I also learned to be friendly and brave. One day, I will return to China again, and I hope that at that time, I can also contribute to China.

This article describes the deeds of the characters in the first person, and all the contents are written by the real experiences of the characters, so I hope the readers will enjoy it.