I have a date with the beast

On the night of the second day after the Ghost Festival, Jiang Ze received a call from his elder brother in the country.

"Come back, father is gone." The tone of the person on the phone was calm, as if he was stating something similar to the good weather.

But after Jiang Ze hung up the phone, he realized that he couldn't feel sad either.

He had already confessed to his boss Li Yang that he wanted to resign. The boss had no choice but to show respect for his choice in the end, but asked him to leave after recruiting new people.Jiang Ze agreed after a moment of consideration. After all, the boss treated him well. Unexpectedly, his eldest brother called him that night to tell him the bad news that his father had passed away. He had to ask the boss for another week's leave.

Jiang Ze took a change of clothes and some valuables and set off.In fact, he does not have any valuables. A key to his hometown, a tablet phone bought many years ago, a bank card with a small deposit and a little cash are all his belongings.

There were a few scattered people on the bus, and Jiang Ze sat near the window, hugged his backpack that had several holes in it but was still reluctant to throw it away, and watched the scenery passing by outside the window with ecstasy.

Look at the scenery from tall buildings to low houses, and from low houses to fields.

He got out of the car deep in the field.

My father was buried in the acre of wheat field in front of the old house, the coffin was erected high, and there were no other tombstones as far as the eye could see, making him more or less lonely.Just like his funeral, there was no hearse, no suona, no three kowtows and nine bows, everything was kept simple. When Jiang Ze came, all he saw was the tombstone in the wheat field.

The elder brother and the second elder brother complied with the request of the old man before his death, and hastily buried him in the field. After that, they didn't stop any longer. They eagerly returned to their home, where they had their beloved wives and children.

I heard from the old people in the village that his father went to practice ceremonies with others a few days ago. He walked around the field a few times that evening, but he couldn't see what he was looking for. He didn't know when he tripped over a sickle. Woke up.

After all, it was his father. When Jiang Ze listened to the old man explain the cause of the accident, his heart felt bitter.

He has never seen his mother, and he heard from the older people in the village that he ran away from home after giving birth to himself.For a long time, Jiang Ze hoped to be closer to his father. He wanted to follow in his footsteps and learn from him as a teacher, but he was repeatedly blocked and alienated.Many times Jiang Ze felt that his father didn't treat him as a son at all, and he only cared about his eldest brother and second brother, so Jiang Ze felt somewhat resentful towards that old man in his heart.

But whenever he saw his father lying on the bamboo chair at the door, smoking an old pipe with a polished surface, and looking into the distance with a tired and painful face, Jiang Ze couldn't bear it.

After decades of wind and rain, the old house is now dilapidated.The roof is covered with fine cobwebs, the wooden door is damp and deformed, and makes a squeaking sound when pushed lightly, and the glass is covered by layers of dust that has increased year by year, and has long lost its original brightness.

He lived in this huge house for 18 years.

The mattress was unexpectedly clean, the dark blue pattern was washed and faded to white, the pillow was covered with a yellowed towel, and there was a smell of inferior soap on it.

Jiang Ze slept in his father's room with this smell on his pillow and dreamed about it for a few days.

In the dream, there was a man with a high bun. Jiang Ze couldn't see the man's face clearly, but he felt that his figure was unrestrained and graceful, and his gestures showed innate arrogance and extraordinaryness.The indistinct facial contours are somewhat similar to his own, but they are very different.

Every time he wakes up in the morning, Jiang Ze can't grasp the tail of the dream, leaving him only the vague figure and endless daze.

The air in the countryside is always better than that in the city. After staying for a few days, Jiang Ze was shocked to find that his headaches that had lasted for many days had eased a lot.

In the evening, Jiang Ze couldn't help but walked to the backyard, preparing to spend his last days, which was his favorite place when he was young.

He raised his head and stared intently at the leafy ancient locust tree in the middle of the backyard, his thoughts were filled with thoughts for a while.

In my memory, this locust tree has always been so big, and the thick trunk is difficult for three adults to wrap around. The brown branches are covered with cracked tree patterns, which is very rough to the touch.

My father said that this ancient locust tree is hundreds of years old. He said that every tree has witnessed a period of glorious or decadent history.

Jiang Ze sat cross-legged by the tree. He stretched out his hand and gently stroked the branches of the tree, feeling its rough texture and long growth rings.

As if he had liked it as a child, covering the surface of the tree with his hand, brushing it inch by inch, as if it were a treasure.

The fingertip touched a mark that was different from the natural crack, Jiang Ze stopped and looked there with a hint of doubt.

The nick went deep into the branches, and even after many years in the mediastinum, it has not faded away.

Jiang Ze's hands were still in place, he bowed his waist to look closer, and hesitantly read the two characters deep in the tree trunk: "like the wind..."

A gust of wind blew by, causing the leaves to rustle, as if answering him.