What happened to Isaac?

On the eve of Christmas Eve, the port of Liverpool was even busier.

When the last passenger ship was about to dock today, it was already evening, and people with luggage crowded the deck, and Xavier was one of them.He was almost pushed ashore by the crowd. Standing on the ground, looking around with his hat on, he saw some elderly dock workers in groups, ready to take a break from work, while most of the young people were still working tirelessly. Earning strength and money—Among the group of people, Xavier saw the figure of Isaac.

Xavier stood still with the box in his hand, feeling a little overwhelmed for a moment.Every time Isaac seemed to turn his head away, he subconsciously hid in the crowd, as if he was ashamed to meet each other, let alone go forward to say hello.He just looked at Isaac from a distance like this, until it was completely dark, Isaac had the posture to call it a day, walked into the small wooden house built by the boatmen themselves with his waist supported, and came out after a long time, with a rope hanging around his neck. towel.

Xavier frowned, why did he have to work so hard when he sent money back every month?

He followed Isaac and found that Isaac did not go home, but went to the tavern.Xavier followed suit and sat down gently next to Isaac while he was talking to others.

"A pint of beer, please."

When Isaac saw that the pint of beer he didn't order was placed in front of him, he turned his head suspiciously, and suddenly noticed the blond young man sitting beside him.He took a closer look and exclaimed, "Langdon!"

Xavier smiled.

"Why are you back?" Isaac asked.

"Just come back," said Xavier, "don't you miss me?"

"But I remember you weren't going to get married before? Why did you come back suddenly?"

"No, there's nothing about getting married or not. You remember wrongly."

"Why not?" Isaac said, "Don't bully me for not being able to read, I'll show you when I get home! Isn't that what I said in the letter last month?"

"Well, well, don't get excited. Well, there is a thing, but I'm not married."

"Ah? Why? That woman doesn't like you?"

"..."

"Forget it, it doesn't matter! There are plenty of women in the world, you look like this, you won't be short of favorites," Isaac laughed and rubbed Xavier's head, "It's good to come back and relax. But what do you When is it time to go back?"

"..."

"what happened?"

"I may not go back."

"what?"

"I quit."

"why?"

"No why."

"You—did you mess with something?"

Seeing Isaac's unbelievable and disappointed expression, Xavier shook his head and called Isaac out of the tavern.Two people stood on the pier, Xavier suddenly said: "You are old."

He stared at Isaac's shaggy red hair, his weather-beaten face, and his moist lips. For some reason, it was a serious moment, but it suddenly occurred to Xavier that those lips tasted like ale smell.

Xavier was taken aback by his own thought. He was still organizing his words and told Isaac that he had rejected the Duke's daughter's favor.

"The Duke was very angry, and the Duchess said with a stick that I was not flattering, and hinted that she would never marry her daughter to me, so I could rest assured. Even so, she still had a chance Just make things difficult for me, I can't stay any longer."

"You - came back to Liverpool because of this?"

"Ah."

"Just because you think you don't love her, you turned down the chance to marry her, and you offended the Duke's family because of this incident, so you can only go back to your hometown in desperation?"

Xavier looked away in embarrassment.

There are some things he didn't say to Isaac, for example, the Duke's family never respected him, never really promoted him, and didn't give him connections; Son-in-law, nothing will belong to the old duke after a hundred years.He may be able to live a better life than before, but at the price of not being able to see Isaac again.

But most people would not think that aristocratic families are like cages, and his move is really stupid in the eyes of ordinary people.

Isaac was visibly furious, he only knew that this stupid boy had kicked the door of Flying Stars in a daze, and he couldn't believe that Xavier, who was full of knowledge, would make such a choice.

Isaac stared at Xavier with wide-eyed eyes, grabbed his collar, and put the tip of his nose against the tip of his nose: "My life is over, it's over! Do you understand? I just want to fucking hope that your kid can fuck well Good! What about you? Buy out the future with one sentence, is there anyone cheaper than you in the world? Langdon Xavier?"

The angels looking at the magic mirror almost pressed their noses to the screen, holding their breaths--it's unreasonable not to kiss at such a close distance!

"I think they are real!" Angel A said triumphantly.

"Shut up." Angel B booed him.

Next, I see:

Xavier choked up and said sorry;

Isaac was so angry that he raised his fist at Xavier three times, each time hitting the broken wooden box next to him;

Xavier shook his hand hastily, looking at the abrasions on the skin;

Isaac withdrew his hand angrily, when Xavier looked up and stared at him with wet blue eyes—

Then, the two suddenly hugged each other and cried.

"……That's it?"

The angels turned pale with fright, and unbelievingly adjusted the progress of their lives to super fast double speed——

As a result, the time on the screen began to pass quickly.

Later, Xavier stayed in Liverpool and worked in a small local parish, privately teaching music and Latin to some children whose families could afford it.

Soon, he had his own residence, and officially moved out from Isaac's house after setting up the furniture, but he would bring something to visit his adoptive father every day. As for what to bring, it depended on what he felt the day before. What is missing.

Although they didn't live together, the two often quarreled over trivial matters, such as whether Isaac could drink on an empty stomach and smoke five cigarettes at a time... In short, life flowed slowly in peace.

For many, the chance to be a dignitary comes once in a lifetime, and Xavier has used up his luck.The rest of his life was uneventful. As a devout priest, he was never married. Although Isaac was not religious, it was the same, and he was single until his death.

Late one night, Isaac, who lived alone, died of a heart attack. His neighbors found his body early the next morning. The coroner told Xavier that he walked very fast, so he didn't have time to bear the pain of death and the savings behind him. All were left to Xavier as an inheritance.

No one knows what kind of mood Xavier was in at that time when he opened the dusty iron box under the bed, and saw that there were almost unused money in it that he had sent back over the years.Did he shed tears for this?Even if there is, at least it is not in front of others.

When everyone saw him at the funeral, he felt that this man was so calm that he was almost heartless—in the sparse mourning, his shoulders did not even twitch. As a relative and a priest, he calmly read the eulogy and raised the shovel , dropped the last handful of soil to bury the coffin.

When a person dies, he will soon die in the memory of the living.In the first year, the women who used to have fun forgot Isaac's face; in the second year, the workers who worked with him no longer mentioned his name; in the third year, a few sporadic friends came to visit the grave on the day of his death After standing in front of the tomb for less than 10 minutes, he left.

It seems that the more tears are shed at a funeral, the faster it is forgotten.This may explain why Xavier, who had no red eye circles at the time, would still often go to the cemetery to visit his dead adoptive father many years later, sometimes bringing a bouquet of wild flowers, sometimes empty-handed, and the ceremony is no longer important. his daily life.

On the tenth anniversary of Isaac's death, it was raining heavily, and there was no one else in the cemetery except the old man guarding the tomb.Xavier held an umbrella and placed a bouquet of flowers in front of Isaac's tombstone as usual.

He looked at the names and dates of birth and death engraved on the tombstone, as well as the sentence he had carved with his own hands: "Without fetters and restraints, I slept in peace and joy (1620-1677)"

It is now 1687, and Xavier suddenly felt a little sad when he thought of this.He wiped his face with the back of his hand, wondering why there were wet marks on his face even though he was holding an umbrella?

Before leaving, he leaned over and kissed the top of the tombstone. This kiss was lighter than the falling of a petal. His expression at that time could not be seen, it was completely hidden behind the heavy rain.

……

At the end of the year, on Christmas Eve, Xavier was hit by an out-of-control carriage while going out.

He was lying on his back on the road, time seemed to slow down suddenly, all the sounds were inaudible, hazy and distorted as if his head was immersed in water.There were a lot of pedestrians coming and going, the screams were endless, so many feet hurried past, but no one came up to help him, the blood slowly fainted from the back of his head, and his eyes were kept open.

He saw that the sky was blue and the clouds passing by were very light and thin, and he didn't know where he was going to swim.

"It's just awful people these days."

Langdon Xavier, a pastor, his ordinary life officially came to an end after a sigh.

The screen slowly turned off, and the angels present fell into silence.