Yunding Ranch

Chapter 15 Memory Footprints
Walking into the house, you can immediately feel the rich atmosphere of life. The stone-gray fireplace wall on the left side is piled with chopped firewood; the smoke-gray sofa set has a low oak solid wood coffee table in the center. The bottom is matched with a dark gray carpet, and a few books and two ashtrays are randomly scattered on the table; two shotguns are hung on the log wall on the right, and the cabinet below is full of books; the cabinet near the window is full of books. All kinds of sporting goods, footballs, baseball gloves, some trophies and a row of empty boxes...

As if aware of Lu Li's gaze, Cole explained, "The pipes were originally placed there. Jack is a pipe collector, but now all the collections have been given to Frank." I've sorted it out, and I'll leave the rest to you. If you don't like it, there will be a market next weekend, and you can set up a stall there. For example, those sporting goods. I think the middle school will be very happy to accept this gift Yes. Of course, if you want to stay, that's absolutely fine."

Lu Li's footsteps involuntarily stopped in front of the bookcase, because books were the most frequently discussed topic during his chat with Liz.There are many different books on the bookshelf, not only English, but also Latin, French, Spanish, etc. Lu Li even found Chinese books - when Liz learned that Lu Li was Chinese, she revealed strong interest.

Liz was born in China. At that time, his father and mother were in YN. She stayed in Lijiang for two years, then went to Marseille, where she grew up until she was eight years old. Then she came to the United States and stopped when she returned to this ranch. .Therefore, Liz has always had a special complex with Chinese culture.

Opening the bookcase, Lu Li took out the few Chinese books. One was Journey to the West, and it was a very old edition; , which made Lu Li smile.

He refolded the books and put them back on the bookshelf. Just as he was about to leave, he saw a black plastic corner exposed between the two books. Out of curiosity, Lu Li pulled them out. It turned out to be a simple book. photo album.It was just a plastic case stuffed with about a dozen photos.

Lu Li hesitated, this is Liz's privacy, he shouldn't open it privately.At this moment, Cole came over, "Do you like books too? Same as Liz. Liz used to like to sit on the rocking chair on the porch, open a book, and Jack was busy with gardening in the yard." about..." It was Jack who liked gardening, "What did you find?" Cole also noticed the photo album in Lu Li's hand.

Lu Li passed the photo album over, but Cole opened it without any hesitation, flipped through it, "Oh." Cole sighed softly, and then handed the photo album to Lu Li again, "This is Li Liz's family portrait, I mean, including Dylan." The album was open, and Cole pointed to the photo. "That's Dylan, Liz's son. He died in a car accident when he was 22 years old. .”

In the photo is a handsome young man, wearing a neat riding outfit, standing beside a tall black horse, his figure is tall and straight, his face is clear and bright, and the vitality between his brows makes the sun eclipse.

Lu Li had never heard Liz mention her family's situation, and out of respect, he didn't ask either.He once guessed why no one was by Liz's side, why Liz went to New York alone... But he never thought that Liz was already alone, and her closest relatives had already left this world. Leave her alone.

"What kind of person is he?" Lu Li raised his head, "I mean, Dylan."

"I don't know too well. When Dylan passed away, I was still young. It should be...I'm not sure, 25 years, 26 years ago?" Cole sat down on the arm of the sofa next to him, "Yes, it should be It was 25 years ago, when I was five." Cole tried to scrape out the memory fragments in his mind, "but those memories are very vague. All I remember is that Dylan is a very good person, and teenagers always don't like My younger brothers and sisters don’t like to mingle with children, but Dylan is not. He is always willing to take our group of children on an adventure. I remember one time, he took us to catch fish in Marshall Valley. All of our children fell into the water and got wet, but Liz scolded him severely when he came back." Recalling those troublesome years in his childhood, Cole couldn't help laughing heartily.

"Later, most of the things about Dylan were heard from my parents. Liz and Jack hardly wanted to talk about him." Cole shrugged, and there was inevitably some regret on his brows, "I just know, Dylan was a wonderful guy. He was the first guy in our town to get into the Ivy League. He went to New York to study and saw a lot of the world. When the other boys were riding horses and shooting guns, he It's not inferior, but other than that, he also likes reading very much. Most of the books in Liz's bookcase are bought for Dylan. In the small town back then, almost every girl had a crush on Dylan. At prom, there were even girls fighting to be his dance partner...lol."

Lu Li couldn't help laughing out loud. The funny things in his memory have more or less changed, maybe exaggerated or distorted, but they still truly reflect the ups and downs of his youth.

"I think, maybe God was too jealous of him, so he summoned him back early." Cole's voice gradually fell, and the atmosphere in the silence was a bit dignified for a while, but soon Cole took the initiative to break it. This heavy, "During this time, I lived in the building behind—" Cole pointed to the north direction, "That's where the cowboys live, you can live here tonight, if necessary , Push open the back door and shout, I can hear it."

Cole stood up and looked around, "So, do you have any questions? Or do you need me to show you around the whole house?" Before Lu Li could answer, Cole suddenly remembered something, "Yes. I'm going to drive the flock back now, if you're interested, you can come with me."

Lu Li was indeed a little curious. After all, he had learned about ranch life and cowboy life from novels and movies. If he could personally participate in it, the feeling would be different.But after thinking about it, firstly, he drove all the way here, after all, he was still a little tired; secondly, he still wanted to take a stroll around the house, so he still shook his head.

Cole smiled lightly, "It's okay, this is a fixed route every day, and I have the opportunity to experience it every day." After finishing speaking, Cole picked up his cowboy hat from the sofa and walked to the door, "Treat this place as a Your own home is fine." Then he laughed at himself, "Look at my memory, all of this is indeed yours, this is your home. So, don't be too cautious!" Afterwards, he suppressed his own Cowboy hat brim, Cole left the house.

After watching Cole leave, Lu Li lowered his head again and flipped through the photos in his hands. There were not many photos, less than twenty in total, but Dylan was in every one of them, and there was even one that was Dylan Black and white photo of a newborn.

Liz was still young at that time, and she seemed to be a rock lover when she was young—the kind of chick who would attend Woodstock and then support anarchism, and she could only vaguely recognize Lu Li from the eyebrows. The elegant lady; Jack standing next to him is honest and handsome, with a bright smile that can't hide the joy and happiness in his heart.

The time in the lower right corner of the photo caught Lu Li's attention, "1969-11-14", this made Lu Li stunned, and then a spark flashed in his mind, and then he understood.

Dylan was born on November [-]th, the same day as him; then, the information in Cole's words just now, and Liz's expression in the hospital at that time...all the fragments came in a flash.

Liz found Dylan's shadow in him, and that's why she kept the ranch to herself, because they both have a fate in China, because of the friendship in the accident, because they have similar hobbies, and Because of the sunny and energetic young man in the photo in his hand.

Although this was just Lu Li's own guess, the photo in his hand still became heavy.

Looking at Dylan on the photo, the brilliance and grandeur of time are eternally frozen in that moment, as if it will never fade, it is so beautiful that people are intoxicated; look up, through the window, and look at the quietness outside On the prairie, the sun is slanting to the west, and the soft sunlight is falling all over the sky, so quiet that you can hear the sound of the breeze.

Over the past few years, Liz has been sitting here, and memories can be found in every corner, every road, and every moment. How did she persevere, especially after Jack left? In the windy afternoon, she was sitting alone in the rocking chair on the porch, flipping through those old books, following the footsteps of memory.

When chatting in the hospital before, I learned that Liz will go to New York every autumn, because "this is the most beautiful season in this city", these are Liz's original words.But Lu Li couldn't help but imagine, did this sentence come from Dylan?Liz visits every autumn, is she looking for traces of memory, "If I walk the road you walked and look at the scenery you have seen, will I be closer to you?"

Now, Liz has left this pasture to him. This land full of memories, life and expectations has been solemnly handed over to him.But he decided to sell the ranch for auction.

Turning to the photo of Dylan riding a horse again, Lu Li was a little dazed. His turbulent thoughts settled down in this quiet afternoon. The whistling wind seemed to be able to hear the murmur of the beech forest.

(End of this chapter)