The ground was covered with mud turned up after the heavy rain, and every step I took I felt as if a hand reached out from the ground and grabbed my ankle.
The moon appeared, but there were no stars. The air was filled with the smell of rot dug out by heavy rain. She walked in the moonlight amidst this fresh smell of rot.
After being rejected, Xiaolan became a person again.
Should she go home? She thought, after all, she only knew these two places were related to her. Although the house was neatly tidied, there might be some clues left behind.
She didn't think too much, and she didn't even deliberately recall the way she came. It was as if she was being pulled by some force and walked on a road that she should not be familiar with yet.
I don’t know what time it is, and I didn’t see any pedestrians along the way.
It turns out that the night here is so long. Thinking of the incomprehensible look in the aunt's last greeting in the morning, and Uncle Song's eagerness to get rid of herself, she felt that it was actually quite good to walk at night like this, at least she didn't have to feel other people's feelings.
A strange look.
In the blink of an eye, Xiaolan arrived at the gate of the community. She couldn't remember which door or building her home was, but she seemed to remember her steps and walked straight into the depths of the community.
It was pitch black everywhere, the trees, bushes on both sides, and even the street lights that emitted a faint light gave people the impression of darkness.
She took one step after another, as skillfully as if she had walked countless times before, but this familiarity did not bring her anything related to memories.
She looked at the street trees, the old bricks on the ground, and the short buildings with similar shapes. She didn't feel nervous about being hit by the memories. If she had to say she had any emotion, it was mainly at a loss.
Entering the building, it gets even darker.
When passing by the door of the aunt's house that morning, she stopped.
Although the aunt was also wary of herself, she was very kind. She thought so, and went over to sneak a peek at the cat's eye. As expected, it was a dark hole. She turned around and quickly walked up the steps, deciding to go down and ask again after dawn.
I saw the closed door.
The door looked locked and she didn't have the key.
Did she lock it when she came out in the morning, she thought as she walked up the last few steps.
Putting his hand on the rough handle covered with dust, Xiaolan twisted slightly, which was accompanied by the harsh noise caused by the friction of rusty metal. The sound of "creaking" was amplified in this dead silence.
Lan paused guiltily for a few seconds, feeling as if he had woken up the entire building's residents.
"Gah!"
Considering that opening the door slowly would probably be noisy, she quickly opened the door a small crack this time, turned sideways and got in, then quickly closed the door with her back hand.
Before the noise could fill the air, Xiaolan had already closed the door tightly and walked to the middle of the room.
The light in the room was dim, and Xiaolan realized that the sky was gradually turning white. The faint light in the early morning filtered through the window, revealing everything in the room to her.
That's all, but in fact there is only flying dust left in the living room, and there is at least a wooden bed in the attic.
Xiaolan looked around in the dim light before the sun rose. In addition to the small stairs leading to the attic, there were four doors in the house. They were all open now, and the door panels had been removed.
My room, my parents’ room...
She recalled what was behind the four doorframes, her little body wandering among the raised dust.
Empty...empty...all empty.
She looked at the room full of pipes that seemed to be the bathroom, and wondered in surprise, had even the toilet been removed?
What happened?
If this continues, she won't even be able to say with certainty that this is her home.
The downstairs had been tidied up so thoroughly, but the wooden bed in the attic, which seemed to be still intact, was still there.
Xiaolan was startled and inspired by her own thoughts.
The remaining wooden bed in the attic may be a clue left by his parents or others. After all, the downstairs is empty, so it's not really necessary to pry open the floor.
With this thought in mind, she stepped onto the stairs below the attic again.
The little head gradually poked out from the stairs. The sky was much brighter than before, and the skylight in the attic was also very bright. Although there was no longer the feeling of being awakened by the sun, the light still illuminated all corners here.
Sure enough, there is still only one bed?
She hoped that she had missed something important yesterday, but the attic was too small, and it seemed that there was still only this empty hard bed.
The hard bed has no headboard, and naturally no bedding or sheets. It only has a simple white-painted metal bed frame and neatly arranged wooden boards on the bed frame.
She first leaned over and looked into the four legs of the hollow bed frame. The light hadn't fully shined in yet, but she could vaguely see something rolled up in the narrow pillars.
Xiaolan was excited and anxious, and stretched out her fingers to hook the thing hidden in the pillar.
bumped into!
The touch was fragile and thin. Xiaolan used the friction of her fingers to drive it up little by little. As more parts appeared under Xiaolan's fingers, the smooth and slightly greasy feel made her feel a little chilled.
This familiar cheap touch...
Sure enough, she looked at the rolled-up snack wrapper in her hand and fell into deep thought. If she insists on saying that this is a clue, it can be explained, but...it is just that it is difficult for her to understand what is hidden behind this wrapper.
Even so, Xiaolan folded it carefully and put it in her pocket.
She changed her target, squatted down and stuck her head under the bed.
The wooden boards were arranged neatly and closely. Xiaolan stretched out her hand and knocked on each board. The dust raised made her unable to open her eyes. In addition, the sunlight in the early morning was not enough to shine under the bed, except for the dust on one end.
And scraps of wood, she found nothing.
While sneezing, she patted the old surprise on her head and shoulders. She felt that she had only made herself more embarrassed so far. Could it be that this bed was really forgotten when she moved?
There is a double bed that is neither big nor small, and the quilt and mattress are gone. There is no reason to leave a removable bed frame, not to mention that even the toilet has been removed.
She sneezed again and simply sat on the bed, hoping to sleep first. Her thoughts were now messy and complicated, and she was even a little angry. She attributed this emotion to lack of sleep. Although she was not sleepy, she was not tired.
Tired, but she needs to rest.
The simple little bed creaked loudly, and she was so frightened that she immediately jumped up from the bed.
Otherwise... lie on the ground for a while?
Xiaolan thought this way and already crouched down to sit on the ground. With her wandering eyes sweeping over, through the light from the skylight, she suddenly saw something under the bed, lying on the blank ground just now.
Was it an illusion of light? She moved to the left.
The small flaky thing was still lying quietly under the bed.
She almost rushed over, ignoring the debris and dust under the bed, and leaned over to take a closer look.
Putting her hands around, wanting to touch but not daring to touch, Xiaolan stared curiously at the object in front of her.
The sun had already risen at this time, and the dazzling and warm morning sunlight penetrated through the skylight. The light washed away the haze and the storm the night before, and also illuminated a photo in front of Xiaolan.
An old little photo.
The photo shows a timid little boy wearing overalls, about seven or eight years old, with his eyebrows and eyes lowered. The boy's right hand seems to be held by someone, and there is a smile on the corner of his mouth.
Xiaolan gently picked up the photo and put it in the palm of her hand. When her head hit the bed board, she remembered that she was still lying under the bed. She quickly grabbed the photo and got out, sitting on the bed and bathing in the sunshine to observe carefully.
The photo only shows the boy's palm, but it looks like there is another half.
The sun shone warmly on Xiaolan.
Xiaolan raised the photo and looked at it under the sun. The light coated the photo with a golden frame. The boy's whole body seemed to be glowing. Looking at the golden old photo with rough edges, Xiaolan's mouth was unconscious.
Rising.
Ah, the sun is so warm.
At this moment, Xiaolan believed for no reason that the other half of the photo was herself, her childhood self.
Then, finding this boy's identity and who he really is is no longer a secret.
"Dong dong dong!"
While I was thinking hopefully, there was a knock on the door suddenly.
Xiaolan was startled and could not figure out where the sound came from.
When she realized that someone was knocking on the door, before she had time to wonder who was knocking on the house that was said to have been empty for a long time, a woman's soft call sounded outside the door.
"Xiaolan, are you in there?" This chapter has been completed!