Short Day Four
The next day, Huang Yaya woke up at seven o'clock. Her mother, with dark circles under her eyes, called her for breakfast. For parents, the greatest tragedy is seeing their children die young. At the dinner table, she watched as her aunt and uncle's hair turned a lot whiter. A day ages ten years, a night adds a lot of gray hair.
She was listening to the adults' conversation at the table. Her cousin's grandmother had a heart attack in the middle of the night and was rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, her uncle's sister came home today and took care of her in the hospital. Otherwise, they wouldn't know what to do.
A gloomy and sad atmosphere permeated the table. No one seemed to have much appetite, not even Huang Yaya. Shortly after finishing her meal, she saw a police car approaching. As soon as the officers got out, her aunt grabbed a cell phone and a notebook that had been left on a stool and ran over. The others followed her, and she and her brother could do nothing but watch.
"Police, my son will not commit suicide. Look, this is the message his classmates sent him, saying that if he doesn't give money, they will beat him every time they see him." My aunt's voice was trembling. She almost fell down several times, but fortunately my uncle and his group were there to support her.
"And in this notebook, he wrote that he was in great pain from being bullied..."
"My son was such a good boy, but he was forced to death by those bad students."
A group of people surrounded the police, demanding justice, and the police could only patiently appease them.
"Sister, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and saw my aunt and mom reading the notebook together. My aunt was slapping herself while reading and saying it was all her fault. She shouldn't have always scolded my cousin and told him to die." Huang Zijian whispered in her ear.
"This notebook has been torn." A policeman said as he looked at it.
…
In this commotion, they are just outsiders. They cannot control what has happened, nor can they truly empathize with others. They can only sigh at the transience of life.
The holiday ended in sadness. Huang Yaya sat on the green train back to AA City and read the announcement in the class group chat: military training was coming. XXXX University's freshman military training used to begin in September and last for two weeks, but every time, some students suffered heatstroke due to the weather. This time, the school had made the unprecedented decision to postpone the training to October, a gesture of care for the freshmen.
The driver of the bus back to school almost turned it into a roller coaster, making Huang Yaya's stomach churn. She could only pray that they would get to school quickly.
"Third Middle School..."
At this stop, the driver slammed on the brakes again, cursing loudly at the car in front. Huang Yaya looked at the map on her phone. There were only five stops left to school. She just had to endure it a little longer and she would be free.
Many people got on the bus at this stop, and a girl in school uniform took the empty seat next to Huang Yaya. At first, she didn't pay much attention to it, but as the bus was moving, she suddenly heard a very small sobbing sound, as if the person making the sound was trying very hard to control themselves, but still couldn't help crying.
She turned her head to observe the little girl beside her. She kept her head down, occasionally wiping her cheek with her hand. Huang Yaya rummaged through her bag, found a half-empty tissue, and handed it over. She thought to herself that even if she guessed wrong, heard wrong, even if it was a mistake, it was better than being an indifferent spectator.
The little girl raised her head, tears welling up in her red eyes.
"Wipe it off."
"Thank you, sister." If the pain wasn't seen, she could still hold it in. But once it was seen, the sadness in her heart would burst out. The little girl's tears fell in big drops. She took the handkerchief and wiped them away.
Although Huang Yaya, influenced by the internet and her parents, believed in the principle of "mind your own business, and bear the consequences of interfering in other people's affairs," she could only think of the sentence in her junior high school Chinese textbook: "Do not refrain from doing good deeds, no matter how small; do not commit evil deeds, no matter how small."
Huang Yaya gently asked the little girl: "What happened?"
"Thank you, sister. It's nothing. It's just..." The girl hesitated to speak, but her expression could not lie.
Faced with this answer, Huang Yaya didn't know how to comfort her cousin. Should she just shut up? After all, she had done everything she could for a stranger. But the past was still vivid in her mind. Did her cousin want someone to ask him about it and comfort him at that time?
"Sister, do you know what happens after the night passes?"
"It's daytime."
"What season comes after winter?"
"It's spring"
"Yes, so after the pain is over there will be happiness."
The girl, still crying, looked at the stranger in front of her and said, "What if it's always painful?"
This sentence left her silent for a long time. What if others could only feel pain? Was she supposed to lie to her and tell her that things would get better as she grew up? Would the pain go away as she grew up? She was conflicted and embarrassed. How could she say anything to comfort this child?
"Sister, life won't always be painful. Are you happy when you drink the juice?"
"happy."
"You look miserable now, but someone will buy you some juice later and you'll be happier."
Huang Yaya turned around and took out a bottle of iced black tea from her bag and handed it to the girl. She said awkwardly, "I only have iced black tea. I don't know if you like it."
The girl shook her head and refused: "Sister, I can't take your things."
"Don't you like iced tea?"
"like."
"Then take it. I'm not a bad witch. I'm a student at XXXX University." Huang Yaya took out her student ID and showed it to the girl. After all, there are still beasts who kidnap children and women these days, so people really shouldn't easily accept things from strangers when they are outside.
After the girl looked at her student ID, Huang Yaya put the iced tea directly in her arms.
"We've arrived at XXXX University..."
Huang Yaya was pushing a large suitcase with her left hand, holding a plastic bag with her right hand, and carrying a small bag on her back as she prepared to get off the bus. Before getting off, she said to the girl, "I'm getting off, sister. If you're unhappy later, come find me. I'll treat you to milk tea."
The girl stopped crying, holding the bottle of iced black tea in her hand, and nodded blankly at her back.
…
Not long after Huang Yaya arrived at the dormitory, the other three roommates arrived one after another. After all, they had a class meeting in the evening and had to collect their military training uniforms.
That night, Huang Yaya dreamed of a little boy with a bunch of small buns crying in the corner. When she walked over, the boy seemed scared. Even if the dream was not real, she would not bully children in her dreams, except for naughty ones.
Huang Yaya stepped forward and asked enthusiastically, "Don't be afraid, little friend. I'm not a bad person. Are you lost?"
The little boy looked at the man in front of him and asked timidly, "Are you the new servant?"
When Huang Yaya heard this, she wanted to grab the child's face. She was not a servant. But when she saw the tears in the corners of his eyes, she gave up. She couldn't bear to leave such a cute child.
"Sister is not a servant, she is a fairy from heaven."
The boy's eyes were filled with surprise, and he asked happily, "Fairy sister, can you bring my mother back to life?"
She lamented, "Why is this another tragic dream?" The child looked only four or five years old. What was wrong with her mind? How could she bear to let such a young child be without a mother?
"I'm sorry, little one. I'm limited in what I can do, but your mother loves you very much. She specifically asked me to tell you that she will always be watching over you in heaven."
"Sister, why doesn't mother come to see me in person? Without mother, I feel like I'm dying." The little boy asked the strange older sister sadly with tears in his eyes.
"Because your mother is very busy, you look at the stars in the sky. Your mother can see you through these stars."
"Sister, then..."
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