AufWolke sieben sein
On New Year's Eve, Shen Yanshu and his family stayed in the ward with his grandmother. She still showed no signs of waking up. Her body gradually became thinner and some eczema appeared on her arms. Shen Yanshu didn't know whether his grandmother could wake up.
Her phone rang: "What are you doing?"
"Go downstairs."
"What's wrong?"
"You're a little tired of staying in the ward, right? Go downstairs and change your mood before going back to accompany grandma."
Shen Xing looked over and said, "Xiao Shu, it's almost 12 o'clock. Let's go home and set off this year's firecrackers and fireworks."
"I'll tell you later." Shen Yanshu hung up the phone.
"Dad, Su Bai is here."
"Then you and Su Bai can go and put it in Grandpa's yard."
"Okay, I'll be back after I finish."
"Go home and rest. Mom and I will take care of you here. You can also take Grandpa back with you."
The grandfather next to him said, "I'll stay with her during the New Year. You guys can go later. There's no room for so many people to sleep. Xiaoshu, go quickly."
Shen Yanshu looked at his parents and saw that they had no objections, so he said, "Then I'll go first."
"Put the lighter in the cabinet at the entrance. Don't lose it and buy a new one," said grandpa.
"I remember."
Shen Yanshu went downstairs, looked at Su Bai's dusty appearance, and threw himself into his arms: "I miss you so much."
She was feeling a little down. Last year, her family happily had the New Year's Eve dinner, but not this year.
Su Bai rubbed her head: "I miss you too."
"Dad asked us to go home and set off fireworks."
"Okay, I'll drive you there."
"You came here alone, didn't you?"
Su Bai nodded.
"Then I'll drive, you take a rest." Shen Yanshu said, "Don't say no, you'll have to move the fireworks and set off firecrackers later."
Su Bai smiled and rubbed Shen Yanshu's head: "Okay."
When they got home, Su Bai moved the firecrackers and fireworks to the yard and said, "You can have some."
At 12 o'clock, Shen Yanshu lit the firecrackers on time. The crackling sound rang in her ears. After the firecrackers were finished, she lit the fireworks. The brilliant fireworks lit up a small piece of the sky when they soared into the sky.
"Su Bai, will Nova celebrate the Spring Festival?"
"There will be Chinese people gathering together to celebrate the Spring Festival, and our family will celebrate it too." Su Bai remembered that when he was rushing to catch a flight and driving past a church, there were more fireworks rising in the square behind it than now.
"Are you the one who sets off all the fireworks?"
"No, I never get involved in these things. I usually work in the study."
"Still working on New Year's Eve."
"Because there was nothing to do at that time, and my grandmother told me that Spring Festival is a festival of reunion, it was difficult for our family to get together."
"Now that I have you here to accompany me, Grandpa and Grandma will miss you very much."
"They knew I was looking for you. Grandma said she thought I would die alone, but she didn't expect you to show up. So instead of staying with them, they wanted me to do something that would make them happy."
Shen Yanshu looked at Su Bai: "Are you happy now?"
Su Bai put his big hand on Shen Yanshu's head, let her look up, then bent down and kissed her, "AufWolke sieben sein."
I am now on the seventh cloud, beyond the boundaries of the material, and have found spiritual happiness that was once unknown to me.
Shen Yanshu leaned in his arms and heard him ask, "Do you feel happy? Do such a boring person like me make you feel happy?"
"I'm very happy and at peace. I've been thinking about what my grandmother told me lately. She told me that when two people get along, they're just adapting to each other. Adapting to each other is a process of eliminating individuality, compromising a little for the other, and then slowly becoming similar." She said, "Do you think we're similar in any way?"
"You made me become like you, able to express my feelings." Su Bai said, "Is this something we have in common?"
"Well," Shen Yanshu asked again, "Su Bai, how old do you think we will live to be?"
"I don't know. What about you?"
"88 is fine. I like the number 8."
"Then I'll try harder and live to 90."
Shen Yanshu held Su Bai in his arms. The fireworks had already finished, but they hadn't returned to the house yet. "The doctor said it would be hard for her to wake up. She might pass away in a dream. I don't know if it was a good dream or a bad one. If it was a bad dream, would it be very painful?"
Su Bai put his chin on her forehead and hugged her tightly: "It will be a good dream."
Shen Yanshu's voice was muffled as he spoke, "When I was in school, the professor stood at the podium and talked to us about death. He said death was a great philosophical topic, and then he talked about the sum of human beings, about body and soul, and about our mortality... At that time, I had never experienced a serious illness, nor had I felt the death of a loved one, so I still felt fear when talking about death. But then, I would step out of the classroom, breathe a breath of fresh air, and I would put my fear behind me."
"When I was actually facing death, I found myself so cowardly that I didn't even dare to imagine it. I couldn't bear to look at her silent face. I thought about where she was sleeping. Even if I took good care of her, she would still break out in a rash. She would no longer cry out in pain, no longer respond to my words, and would not open her eyes to look at me. She would not be able to do anything."
Shen Yanshu felt sad, as if she was shrouded in the fog of February and March, so thick that she couldn't breathe. Her eyes would turn red every time she thought about it.
"Grandpa found the letters she hid in the study. She had written so many, densely written." Shen Yanshu burst into tears when she spoke here. "She said she was most worried about me and hoped that I wouldn't cry for her death. She said that this day would come when I got older, and asked me to live my own life. If I could catch up with the person I liked, she would be happy for me. She said I was a brave child."
"But I'm not brave at all. I just want her to stay with me for a few more years."
"She will accompany you, in any form."
…
Grandma passed away on a sunny morning. The days of rain had ended and the sun finally came out. Her breathing stopped. Maybe she was waiting for the sun. She liked sunny days, so she chose a day she liked.
Shen Yanshu visited Su Bai's grandmother in the spring. She gave Shen Yanshu a sapphire ring of about ten carats that had been passed down from her ancestors, saying that she hoped she and Su Bai would always be happy.
Standing in front of the tombstone, Shen Yanshu held Su Bai's hand and said, "Grandma, I have found the man I want to pursue. I plan to marry him. I am very happy now. If you can hear me, please come to my dream and tell me."
The wind gently blew Shen Yanshu's hair, and a leaf fell on grandma's tombstone. Perhaps souls really do exist in the world, and the dead still exist in another way.
—End of full text—
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