withered willow leaves

When I was 14 years old, my parents took me back to the old house from my grandfather's house.At noon on the day I came back, my mother pushed me into the backyard. When I passed the willow tree in the middle of the yard, I saw a handsome young man sitting on the ground leaning against the tree root and fell asleep under the tree.I pointed to the young man curiously and asked my mother, "Mother, who is this elder brother?"

My mother looked in the direction I pointed, and said with a smile: "How can there be any brother?"

"It's right here! Under the tree!" I don't know if I woke up the young man, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at my mother and me.The moment I saw his eyes, my heart seemed to stop for a moment.I think his eyes are the most beautiful things I have ever seen in the world.The blue eyes that are verdant and green, revealing a faint crystal light, and the long gown he is wearing is also blue.A breeze blew by, the weeping willows swayed, and the green shirt swayed gently with the wind. He was under the willow tree, as if he had merged with the tree.

At this time, I heard my mother say helplessly: "There is no one here, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Obviously he is right in front of us, why can't mother see it?Just as I was about to speak, I saw him raise his hand, put his index finger on his lips, and smiled softly at me.I don't know if it was because of his restraining action or his smile, I forgot to refute my mother, and I didn't even know when I was pushed back into the room by my mother.

After returning to the room, my mother packed the luggage for me, and the eldest brother and second sister who had only met a few times also came to my room to see me.I was not free until the sun was about to set after supper.I didn't let the maid and the boy follow, and pushed the wheelchair to the courtyard by myself, looking for the person who made me very curious.

He was still leaning against the tree, as if the sound of me pushing the wheelchair had disturbed him again, he opened his sleepless green eyes and looked at me.

When I came to him, I asked him: "Who are you? Why can't my mother see you when I pass by during the day?"

"I'm not human."

Seeing him seriously say this sentence, I didn't feel scared, and asked him a little funny: "Then what are you?"

"I am this willow tree." He also replied with a smile, reaching out and lightly tapping the trunk behind him.

"Are you a willow spirit? Can you eat people?"

He chuckled.

"I read that it is said in the scriptures that spirits and monsters can eat people."

"If I eat people, can you still talk to me here?"

"That's not necessarily the case. The storybook also said that some spirits and monsters turn into human beings to marry and make friends with humans. After gaining the trust of humans, they slowly eat them."

He couldn't help laughing, his blue eyes were full of smiles, but there seemed to be a trace of loneliness: "Since I became conscious, you are still the first person to talk to me."

Hearing him say this, I remembered the situation during the day: "Can no one see you?"

"Invisible."

"Why can I?"

"We are destined. Your name is Jin'er, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "What about you?"

"I don't have a name." His eyes were filled with loneliness again.

Looking at the willow tree behind him, I blurted out: "I'll call you Mr. Liu from now on."

He froze for a moment, the loneliness in his blue eyes was washed away by a real smile: "Okay."

My mood was also happy with his mood. Looking into his eyes, I said something mysteriously: "Your eyes are so beautiful."

He didn't say anything, just smiled at me.Suddenly he glanced behind me and said to me seriously: "Your mother has come to look for you. Don't talk to me when there are people around, you understand?"

I hummed, and my mother had already come to me, and she said, "What are you doing here? You don't take anyone with you. It's cold outside, so go back to the house." After speaking, she began to push me away.

I looked back at Mr. Liu, and he was also looking at me, silently.I don't need Mr. Liu to tell me that I understand, and I can't let others know.I don't know why, even though I know that Mr. Liu is a monster, I can chat with him casually without the slightest fear. Maybe the first time I saw him, I had a good impression of Mr. Liu, thinking that he can't be a bad person.

Since that day, I have spent most of my weekdays in the yard.Under the willow tree, I took advantage of the shade to enjoy the shade, practicing calligraphy, reciting the poems I just learned, and reading the stories I read from the newly acquired Chinese vernacular.And the audience of all these is Mr. Liu.Mr. Liu would praise me for my good handwriting, he would explain to me when he saw poems he didn’t understand, and he would laugh with me when he read interesting stories.I asked Mr. Liu why he knew the allusions to those ancient poems.He said that he had watched the birth, old age, sickness and death of several generations of masters in this house.Seeing those young masters and ladies who have not yet grown up sitting by the window shaking their heads and carrying books to recite, after listening to a lot, they memorize it.Some playful young masters probably didn't listen carefully to the teacher's lectures in school. When they got home, the elders posed questions to test them, and they were punished terribly if they couldn't answer them.Hearing this, I was amused and laughed out loud, and asked him: "Then were my father and elder brother chased and beaten by my grandfather with a ruler when they were young?"

He shook his head and said with a smile: "No, your father and elder brother used to be as diligent and studious as you."

I asked him again how long it had been since he took human form.He said he forgot, but didn't try to remember it.People in the house come in and out from time to time, passing under the tree, they can't see him, no one can talk to him, and they can't leave the yard. It's very sad to be alone in the yard looking at the same scenery year after year. boring.Gradually, I don't have the mind to care about how many years have passed.

There was a sense of loss in the vicissitudes of life in those eyes with light blue light. I don't like to see unhappy emotions in those eyes. I hurriedly comforted him: "Now you have me! I can see you, I can Talk to you! You can't leave this yard, I will come to accompany you every day!"

"Yeah." He looked at me and smiled softly.

Mr. Liu said that his senses are extremely sensitive. When people in the house pass by the backyard on weekdays, Mr. Liu will remind me that someone is coming when he hears footsteps, so I immediately shut up and dare not talk to him again.Sometimes we were chatting vigorously and laughing endlessly. Facing the suspicious eyes cast by the servants, I had no choice but to hold a book in front of me, pretending to be amused by the stories in the book, and when the servants left, Mr. Liu and I were both relaxed. With a breath of helplessness, they looked at each other and smiled.

Before I knew it, it had been two years since I returned to the old house.

Another season of catkins flying all over the sky.One day, I was sitting across from Mr. Liu, who always liked to lean against the tree trunk as if he had no bones.When I was holding the book and saw the sentence "My fair lady, a gentleman is so good", suddenly something fell on the book, and I held it between my fingers, soft.Looking up, I saw the white catkins hanging on the branches of the weeping willow, and the wind was blowing, and the catkins were floating in the air.Under the tree, Mr. Liu in a green shirt was surrounded by emerald branches and white catkins. Occasionally, some catkins fell on his long ink-like hair hanging on his shoulders.Looking at this scene, I unconsciously uttered a sentence: "Young Master Pianpian, Xiaosheng is so cute..."

Mr. Liu, who was looking up at the sky, seemed to have heard my murmur, and suddenly turned his gaze back to look at me, with a hint of astonishment in his blue eyes.

Facing those eyes that I liked so much from the first sight, I dared not look at them for the first time, lowered my head in a panic, and said: "I'm going back to my room first" and hurriedly pushed the wheelchair away.I don't know why I fled there in such a guilty conscience.