Promised period

In the early morning of the next day, Song Ke stepped on the bus to go home.

After a whole night of insomnia, he fell asleep in the car instead, perhaps because he would see his father soon.He felt relieved and sad when he thought of his father.

The taxi was bought by my father with financial compensation after he was laid off, and he drove his own car with great care and care.As a result, in the eighth year of driving, there were problems one after another. First, a thief stole the car, smashed all the glass and drove it to a far place to sell, and later encountered unreasonable customers. There was no evidence at all. Said that he lost his wallet in the car, and there was a total of 2 yuan in it.

I remember that it was snowing that day, it was very dark, and other people’s homes were already watching the news broadcast, but my father came back from the snow, wearing only a dirty cotton coat that couldn’t be thinner, and the sleeves were covered with engine oil. .

"The car was impounded." Dad's face was blue with cold.

Song Ke wanted to ask what happened, but there was one thing she had to say right away, because he didn't even go to the bathroom for three hours, and just curled up on the chair in the living room waiting for his father to come back.

"Dad, there was a box at the door when I got home." His lips were pale, trembling slightly and inconspicuously, "There are 2 yuan in it, and a knife that is so long."

He has only held a pen since he was a child. For the first time, he used two hands to gesture the length of a knife because one hand was not long enough.The sharp knife with the length of the forearm is so sharp that it is frighteningly sharp.

That night his father told him that the only way to go was to move.Song Ke didn't want to move because she liked this place very much, but her father started packing things to take away overnight.

They moved once when they were very young, and they first lived in a bungalow in a chemical fertilizer factory.Later, the chemical fertilizer factory was restructured, and Song Guangyuan, who was already a father, was laid off. He drove day and night for three years before moving into the building with his son, because it was closer to the school.

At that time, he was in charge of all the big and small matters in the family, but he was careful and cautious. Although he made money while taking care of Song Ke's daily life, he took care of everything in an orderly manner.The neighbors next door also know that the man surnamed Song is both a father and a mother, and he often helps the father and son in their daily lives, so that they don't let them live too carelessly.Being poor is inevitable, but they were very poor and happy until the night when the accident happened.

In the end, Song Guangyuan fell ill before he could move. He was overly frightened and didn't last long.

Until now, Song Ke didn't know who and in what way her father had been intimidated.

After his father left, he dreamed many times, and what he dreamed was the busiest time for driving in winter.At that time, my father got up early before dawn, fried an egg, and broke the boiled corn into two, leaving half for his son and half for himself.When Song Ke was woken up by the alarm clock, her father was already putting on her coat, and she had put on the cotton knee pads she made from old socks on her knees. She had applied medicine to her hands for frostbite, soaked goji berries and jujubes in the huge thermos cup, and filled the cup to the brim. boiling water.

Dad asked him to check the schoolbag by himself: "Bring the lunch box and water cup, I will pick you up at the school gate in the evening."

He hadn't fully woken up yet, so he put on his hat and scarf in a daze, hung up his schoolbag and went downstairs.The dark old staircase is very narrow and steep, and the walls are covered with small advertisements for unlocking.Dad walked in front, and he followed behind, lighting a small flashlight with two AA batteries in it.

The car was frozen downstairs all night, and it was like an ice cellar when I first got in.Dad went in first to turn on the air conditioner and told him to wait outside.The lights inside were turned on, and the yellow-and-white taxi gave off a warm orange glow. He stamped his feet outside, rubbed his hands, and waited obediently.

When the car was warmed up, my father poked his head out and called him: "Come on, son." He cheered in his heart, but on the surface he looked like a sensible adult, and after getting in the car, he wiped the foggy windshield without saying a word.At that time, Dad laughed, patted his head, and smiled with emotion and heart.

I always dreamed that my father forgot to pick me up that night and didn't say hello in advance.After evening self-study, he waited and waited at the school gate until he was about to miss the night bus before leaving rubbing his hands.There were only three people on the last bus. After inserting coins, he sat in the corner of the last row, feeling a little scared while listening to music.

There is no feeling of anger, because I know that my father will not throw him at school for no reason, and if he does not come to pick him up, something must have happened.But because I didn't have a mobile phone, I didn't know what happened, so I had to hope that my father just forgot.

As a result, before I got home, I saw that the lights were not on upstairs, and the fear in my heart became more obvious.Going upstairs and hurriedly taking the key to open the door, he called, "Dad?" There was no echo in the empty room.

What about daddy?

He put down his schoolbag and ran downstairs again, standing at the entrance of the dark corridor and waiting stupidly, a small white mist floated in front of his eyes every time he exhaled.At that time, he was already wearing glasses, he had grown tall but not gained weight all day long, he was as thin as a bamboo pole, and looked like the most stupid and withdrawn bookworm.He poked and waited, wearing the thick gloves his father had made for him, unstitched and re-tucked with cotton, so they were extra warm.

After waiting for a long time, I saw a taxi in the distance, yellow and white.He hurried over: "Dad!"

The car stopped in the snow and turned off the engine. Dad opened the car door and walked towards him. He forgot to take the most precious big water glass.He was in the dark, and couldn't see his father's appearance clearly. He only felt that his face was pale and his steps were a little staggering.At that time, he clearly recognized that it was his father, but the fear in his heart was still at its peak, and he ran over to support his father.

Dad's hands are not only cold, but also slippery and wet.He looked down and saw that it was covered in blood, and he was so frightened that he couldn't even utter a word.But Dad calmed down, squeezed his hand tightly and said, "Go upstairs quickly, go upstairs with Dad quickly."

It wasn't until he entered the house that he asked, "Dad, where are you hurt? Is it serious?"

Unexpectedly, the first thing Dad did was to go to the toilet to wash his hands.Not only his hands, but also the knee pads on both sides were covered with blood, bright red in color, but instead comforted him: "This is someone else's blood."

That night, the father and son slept on the same bed for a long time, and Song Ke held a hot water bottle in his arms.Dad told him little by little what happened that night, because when he was a man, he kept nothing from him.

"You can't tell anyone about this, you know son?"

He nodded slowly, feeling terrified and bewildered. At first he didn't understand why he couldn't tell anyone, but after listening, he understood everything.

A taxi driver knows best where to rest. That night Song Guangyuan parked his car on a secluded side of the road, wanting to sit for half an hour before picking up his son from school.In the middle of the night, the small town was cold and silent. He closed his eyes, put down the car seat, and put his legs on the front gear. He was about to fall asleep in a daze, and was awakened by a sudden brake and a bump.

It was the muffled sound of the front of the car hitting the body, there was no scream, maybe it was too late.

After several seconds of reaction, Song Guangyuan slowly lowered his legs and turned his head to look out the window.Lying in the middle of the road was a young man in school uniform with a ponytail and a big schoolbag. He was probably a girl. His legs were still twitching in pain as he was lying on the ground, apparently he was still alive.

It was a glossy and pitch-black long car that hit the person, before it could turn off the engine, it stopped beside it as if stunned.Song Guangyuan's throat tightened, his right hand touched the cold handlebar, and the people in the car got out just before the door was opened.

I couldn't see his face clearly from a distance, but he was very thin, with a suit and leather shoes, and shiny leather shoes, but his right foot was not very comfortable, and he was leaning on a kind of thin metal crutch in his hand, which rustled in the snow. Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk.

He crouched down beside the girl, his cane held in an upraised hand.

That hand was so thin and thin, the wrist was white and thin, and the cuff of the sweater was dangling empty, trembling, like a pleading, like the last bit of strength to survive.Song Guangyuan couldn't hear them talking, and didn't even know if they were talking, but he felt out of breath just looking at them.

Under the streetlight, the man turned sideways, and the shadow blocked the girl.He was silent for a moment, then raised his head and looked around.

Song Guangyuan only got a glimpse of that person's face, with a very vague and vigilant expression.That person didn't notice Song Guangyuan either, because he didn't make a sound.If he could get out of the car and ask a question at that time, maybe the rest of the matter would be fine.But he didn't, because of a moment of timidity, and he didn't know how many people were sitting in the opponent's car, and whether they were opponents.Besides, the most important thing at that time was to call 120, saving people was the most important thing.

Seeing that the man returned to the car again, walking fast and anxiously, Song Guangyuan was relieved.I thought that person was going to get the phone, but I didn't expect that a few seconds later, the two headlights of the car flicked on.

Hearing this, Song Ke immediately became alert, and asked her father urgently in the dark: "Is he going to run?"

"No." Song Guangyuan turned his head to the side.Song Ke turned over and asked nervously, shaking her arms, "After that, did he run away?"

Song Guangyuan was silent for a while, and then he felt a chill. The window in the room was not closed tightly, and there was a leak.So he turned his body back to his side, held his back to block the cold wind outside, and pulled Song Ke's quilt up again.

"He didn't run away."

He just restarted the car, stepped back two meters and then accelerated suddenly, hitting the little girl on the ground.The whole process was repeated twice until there was no more movement from the little girl.

After Song Ke listened, she was stunned for a while, staring at her father in horror.Dad hugged his immature body in his arms and said hoarsely, "Don't be afraid."

Dad didn't talk about the rest, but Song Ke had vaguely guessed that the blood on his body belonged to that girl.

"Father..." Song Ke's eyes were red, "Is she dead?"

Song Guangyuan didn't let him ask again, but said: "Dad is a useless person, don't imitate Dad, you must stand up immediately when encountering such things in the future."

Song Ke had no choice but to stop asking, but couldn't sleep that night.

The next day there were rumors in the school that a girl in the second year of junior high school was hit and killed on the way home. The driver wanted to escape, but then he probably knew he couldn't, so he returned to the scene and surrendered himself.After a period of time, Song Guangyuan tried to inquire about it, and also drove the car to the police station and squatted there. When he got home, he couldn't eat or sleep.

Song Ke asked, "What happened?"

I don't know why, since that night, Yun Yun came to their poor home and refused to leave for a long time.Dad was roasting by the fire, with an ugly and remorseful face: "It's not that person that the police caught."

"what?"

Dad still just said: "It's not that man that the police caught."

He always remembered the crutch, but according to the girl's parents, the murderer had no inconvenience in his legs and feet.

Song Ke had nightmares for several days in a row, and then slowly let go of the matter.But Dad didn't let go. From then on, he always only drove for half a day, and refused to say what he was doing for the other half day.Song Ke was very worried about her father, but she didn't even know what was going on, so she could only secretly open his drawer when her father was away, and saw a large pile of anonymous petition letters that had not yet been sent.

"Dear leaders, I am an ordinary taxi driver in this city. I have a life-threatening matter that I would like to report to the leaders. At around 23 o'clock in the evening on the 1.7rd of last month, I saw a scene with my own eyes on xx Road. In a car accident, a black Audi knocked down a female student from xx Middle School. The driver not only failed to rescue her in time, but also injured her twice. The Audi hit her at least three times. It was very dark at the time, and I couldn’t see the license plate clearly. But I'm sure it wasn't the driver who was arrested, I can vouch for my personality. The driver is about 1.8 to [-] meters tall, very thin, and has a disabled right leg..."

The letter was written incoherently, and there were many typos in it, because my father's education level is not high.The piece of paper at the end was wet with tears, it was not Song Ke's.

"It is not easy for an ordinary family to raise a student. I hope that the leaders can uphold justice for the students who died in vain, and bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible."

Song Ke has never known what kind of mood her father wrote these words, and why she didn't go to the police station to report the case.Maybe Dad went there long ago, it was useless, so he didn't tell Song Ke.

But he could guess how regretful his father was, hating himself for not stepping forward to save the student that day.

Song Ke once quietly went to the funeral banquet of that female classmate. During the banquet, someone played and played, and the people present were talking and laughing, eating and drinking, and it was as lively as a red event.

Is there really anyone who can't let go of this thing like Dad?He couldn't help wondering.But before leaving the banquet, I heard a few relatives talking, saying that the child's mother had cut her wrists twice after the accident, and the family watched day and night to prevent her from thinking of a way to die.

One said: "Give me another one."

Another said: "It's not this doll anymore."

Yeah, no one can save this one.

Back home by bus, from the afternoon to the dark, the dusty past has been replayed countless times in Song Ke's mind.

Unscrewing the door of the house, he walked into the room in a daze, and took out an old schoolbag that had been used for many years from under the bed.

It was the entrance gift given to him by his father when he entered junior high school.The dark blue waterproof fabric looks outdated, but it is very strong, and it has been with him year after year, avoiding wind, rain, and snow with him.It was his favorite present, and the most expensive present Dad had ever bought.Normally, his father would be reluctant to throw away a torn sock.

The report letters were contained in the schoolbag, and the letter paper had turned yellow.And the 2 yuan, his father didn't let him move until his death.

In fact, there is no need for the money at all.

In those years, Song Guangyuan's body was very overdrawn, and it was common for taxis to run for twelve hours a day, and he suffered from liver and stomach problems.The doctor in the small place didn't know how to treat him, so when he asked him why he suddenly felt unwell, he couldn't say it was because he was scared, he had to say that he stayed up all night.Song Ke asked for a long vacation to stay at the hospital, commuting to and from the payment office and laboratory office during the day, and guarding the corridor at night.Because Dad slept in an extra bed, he was never able to live in the worst eight-person ward.

At night, Song Ke slept beside his father's bed, surrounded by sound of snoring, but he still woke up often.

He often dreams that his father is gone, and he will be left alone in the house forever, and he will never hear his father's voice again.In the silent corridor in the middle of the night, he didn't even dare to cry, for fear that the uncles and aunts next to him would hear him and teach him that he was an ignorant child, which would only worry his father.He gritted his teeth and endured, the back of his hand was bleeding, his heart was like a heavy stone, he couldn't push it away, he couldn't run away, he had to grit his teeth and bear it.

Finally one day my father left.I was still talking to him before going to bed, and coughed up a mouthful of sputum after a few words, and I lost my human appearance, with my cheeks sunken deeply.There is nothing to say, just say: "No regrets..."

Just like that, he passed away in the middle of the night.

The last three words his father left him were no regrets.