winter in greenland

Dan looked shocked: "But..."

A very faint smile appeared on the corner of Ralph's mouth: "You want to say Mia?" He leaned back, his eyes fixed on the beams: "Maybe it's time to end it."

"What happened?"

Ralph was silent for a while, and then slowly opened his mouth: "About half a month ago, when I was passing by the square as usual, I saw Mia and... I remember it was a colleague of Jason's before. He bought a pair from me. bouquet of roses, I saw them in front of the church..."

He made a gesture and didn't continue talking.

After the initial surprise in Dan's eyes dissipated, he said hesitantly: "So, Mia agreed?"

Ralph turned the cup in his hand: "Maybe, I'm far away, so I can't quite hear what they are saying."

Dan didn't know how to comfort him. After being silent for a while, Ralph spoke first: "Actually, I've been thinking a lot these days. Maybe Mia... Maybe she doesn't need my protection for a long time. I do These are just for myself, I have been reluctant to let go, I want to see her more, that's why I stay by her side all the time."

Dan shook his head. "You know it's not like that, Ralph."

Ralph didn't speak for a while. He raised his head and drank the wine in his glass. He turned to Dan and said, "Thank you for being here. It's actually nice to have someone who can talk."

"You also know that Mia has returned to Belfast?" Dan's voice was very soft.

Ralph nodded: "I know. I also went the day they went to the port, and that person... was with her all the time."

He bought himself another glass of wine, and touched Dan: "That's fine, there must be an end to all of this. I've been watching her for so many years... Finally, she can find another person, she can come out, and she can start again Becoming... how should I put it, free. I'm happy, really. Maybe she won't be truly free without those of us around her, reminding her of the past all the time."

"What about you? What do you plan to do in the future?"

"I haven't thought about it that far for the time being, let's go to Svalbard to work first. As for after the end... let's talk about it. The world is so big, there are places to go."

"So you decided to be a mercenary in the future?"

"A mercenary is pretty good. Anyway, I don't have any other specialties. I signed up to study classical music in college for a few months before, and now it seems that I am not that material."

……

A few days later, Dan saw Ralph off at the port.

Seeing the back of his former comrade-in-arms wearing the camouflage again and climbing up the gangway with the weapon bag, Dan suddenly felt an indescribable sadness.

Ralph used to be the captain of their combat team. If he hadn't applied for retirement but stayed in the army, he might have been a major now. Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, he would end up on the job of employing The way of soldiers.

No one knows how far this road can go, whether we can see the sun the next day after tonight.

Before leaving, Ralph gave him a key.

"I originally wanted to give this to Mia, but now it seems that there is no need for it. I will send the address to your mobile phone later. It is a small piece of land I bought at the beginning of this year. If you have a chance, you can take Mia there Look, if there is no chance... You can handle it at your own discretion, the relevant documents are all there. That place is meaningless now."

After watching their boat disappear into the distant headland, Dan's cell phone beeped, and it was the address sent by Ralph.

After thinking about it, he rode a bicycle and headed towards that address.

The address given by Ralph is not difficult to find. In fact, it is not far from the farm where he works, just turn a small hillside."73 Kobtawala, Delphinium Manor" read crookedly on a roadside sign.

It is said to be a "manor", but in fact this place is not that big.Surrounded by a fence as high as half a person, some unknown vines climbed up and down on the fence, with small white flowers blooming sporadically. On the right hand side is a blue tool room.

Dan opened the fence gate with the key Ralph had given him, and what he saw was a blooming larkspur, lavender mixed with sporadic white, with green stalks undulating in the summer breeze. , the petals trembled slightly, like swallows fluttering their wings.

For a brief moment Dan was in a trance, and a certain image was evoked in his memory - it was a summer evening long ago, in Belfast.

It was Mia's birthday that day, and Jason had to add a class temporarily and couldn't get away, so he asked him to help buy a bunch of delphiniums. He almost ran all over the flower shop in the city, and finally bought a bunch, handed over When I gave it to Jason, I was a little puzzled: "Others send flowers as roses, but you buy such unpopular flowers?"

Jason took the bouquet of flowers almost cautiously, and smiled at him: "Rose is just a rose, and this delphinium is Mia's favorite flower."

He raised his eyebrows: "Oh? Is there anything else to say?"

Jason explained: "Mia once said that this flower looks like a swallow, which represents freedom, and she also wants to be like a swallow, so that she can see the world freely."

He rubbed the goosebumps on his arms half-jokingly: "All right, all right, let's go to the restaurant, it's already 6 o'clock, you can't be late on this kind of day."

……

free.

What can I do to keep you?

"I give you the streets of poverty, the sunsets of despair, the moon of the shabby suburbs.

I offer you the sorrow of a man who has looked long and long at the lonely moon.

I offer you the memory of a yellow rose I saw one evening many years before you were born.

I offer you the loyalty of a man who has never had faith. "

I give you...freedom.

Dan went all the way back to the urban area with a heavy heart, the phone rang in his pocket for a long time before he realized it, he picked it up a little slow, it was Xia Zuo.

"Hey Dan, our quarantine is over, come out for a drink if you're okay? I'm leaving tomorrow."

Xia Zuoyue's place was in a tavern near the Old Port. When Dan got there, he seemed to have had a round of drinking, and the glass in front of him was half full.

"Hey, it should turn out alright?" Dan walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

Xia Zuo looked haggard, and the stubble on his chin hadn't been shaved. He nodded, "It's the best result among the predictable results. In the result of the responsibility determination, Fitch was not the main person responsible for the accident, plus the follow-up treatment The comparison is appropriate, and there will be no major problems."

"What about the compensation? Have you negotiated with the insurance company?"

"This is not our responsibility, but the contract signed by the passengers before boarding the ship contains insurance clauses, so it is not a big problem."

Dan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, you said you were leaving? Where are you going?"

Xia Zuo shook his head, his eyes a little dazed: "Old Fitch was overwhelmed by this accident, I don't think he will want to go to sea again in a short time. I heard from him at noon today that his daughter will come to pick him up in a few days , They will probably go to the central part to live for a while, I remember he has a hut near Lake Leiga. I, probably find a new boat and continue to do my old job. "

Listening to his tone, Dan frowned slightly: "Xia Zuo, do you have something to hide from me?"

Xia Zuo laughed: "What can I hide from you? Don't think I'm so fragile."

Dan looked at his expression, still a little uneasy, Xia Zuo put his shoulders carelessly: "Okay, shouldn't we celebrate tonight? Not only will we survive the catastrophe, but we will also save the day!"

Dan helplessly stabilized him: "How much wine have you drunk..."

It was almost 4 o'clock in the morning when Xia Zuo was finally sent back to his residence.Before he knew it, it was approaching the end of July, and it had been almost a month since he returned to Reykjavik. The eruption of Katla Volcano has gradually subsided, and the atmospheric visibility is still very poor. The air traffic control over Iceland has not been cancelled. Compared with previous years, the number of tourists here has decreased by about half.

August still has no news.

The days seem to be stretched to infinity.

He did not sell the flower field left by Ralph, but hired an experienced flower farmer on a nearby farm to take care of it.

The contract with the "Moby Dick" was voided. During this period of time, he was also happy to be leisurely. He drove the light green boat to go fishing every day, and occasionally took a few individual tourists to watch whales off the coast. The uneasiness is always lingering.

"Dan? It's so early today?" The voice of the port administrator, Sacco, woke him up from his contemplation. He looked up and found that he had unknowingly walked to the old port.

"Morning, Uncle Sacco." He greeted Sacco with a smile.

"Oh, look at your smell of alcohol, where did you go to have fun last night?" Uncle Sacco winked at him.

Dan shook his head: "It's Xia Zuo, their review is over."

Hearing this name, Uncle Sacco's original bright smile disappeared, and he sighed: "So you also know?"

Dan was a little strange: "Know what?"

"Their licenses have all been revoked. Xia Zuo didn't tell you?"

Dan couldn't react for a while: "Revocation? License?"

Sacco's face was full of regret: "Yes. Although there was no major accident and the insurance company was responsible for the compensation, the steamship company always had to find someone to take responsibility. Including old Fitch, several of them sailed All licenses have been revoked. What a young man, he will never be able to go to sea again for the rest of his life."

It was only after Sacco finished speaking that he noticed the dazed look on Dan's face, and was a little surprised: "Why, Xia Zuo didn't tell you?"

"...No, he just said that Fitch might go back to the central part with his daughter, and he's going to find a new ship to do his old job..." Dan felt a lump in his throat halfway through speaking, and stopped talking.

Sacco sighed: "He probably doesn't want you to worry. It's a pity that he's leaving in a few days."

"Where is he going?"

"Probably back to his hometown? He is from Norway. I remember hearing him mention it before. It seems to be near Stavanger. I heard from him that he seems to have bought a boat ticket for next week."

Dan was silent, with some pity in his heart.

It was a cloudy day when Xia Zuo left, and with the volcanic ash in the atmosphere, the ever-changing sky seemed a bit dim.

Dan didn't tell him in advance, and after confirming the specific time with Sacco, he waited directly at the port, so that when Xia Zuo saw the familiar figure, he thought it was because he was dazzled:

"Dan? What are you doing here?"

Dan had a faint smile on his face: "Are you going to leave without saying a word?"

Xia Zuo had a rare embarrassment on his face: "No... I thought it was a farewell at the tavern that day..."

Seeing his rare look of being at a loss, Dan sighed in his heart, and stepped forward: "I know everything."

Xia Zuo laughed a few times: "Ha, haha, Sacco told you, right? Really, I should have told him not to tell anyone else."

"Xia Zuo, are we friends?" Dan's voice was a little heavy.

"That's not what I meant." Xia Zuo scratched his head in frustration: "Oh, forget it, it's all here." He walked forward and gently hugged Baodan: "Of course we are friends. Very happy." Nice to meet you."

The hug was so light and quick that Dan only had time to say "bon voyage" before he was a few steps away.

Dan's eyes moved, but he didn't catch up after all.

He understood Xia Zuo's pride.

Maybe we won't see each other again in the future, so farewell is enough.

The author says:

Plus is coming~

This chapter should be eaten with Yo-Yo Ma's "Looking For You" (From "Cinema Paradiso")