stay together, down

After a long and exhausting dream, Lin An woke up very early.She walked out of the door and saw the tall trees in the courtyard, with some withered leaves on the branches, which appeared barren under the blue-gray desolate sky.She stood beside the railing, the wooden floor under her feet glowed cleanly under the faint light of the morning.Lin An lowered her head and stared at these lights for a long time, she felt dizzy, sleepy, dull, like this autumn scene, desolate and empty.

Lin An heard a vague sound coming from downstairs, she walked downstairs following the sound, and stopped in front of a closed door.The sound stopped suddenly, and after a while, the thin clanging sound resounded again.Lin An hesitated, his head was still a little dazed, and he suspected that it was his auditory hallucinations, but he didn't feel much fear.

She stretched out her hand, and with a little force, pushed the door open.The people inside the door looked over with vigilance at the same time.

If it was before, Lin An might be able to recognize this dark-skinned person with prominent features, Vincent, that is Finn.But now, she only saw a man with a miserable face, with his hands strenuously raised above his head, his wrists were bound by chains and handcuffed on the stairs, and there was still an obvious trace of blood on the corner of his mouth.The whole person is like a string that is stretched and tense, and it will break at any time.

Lin An was taken aback, she paused in place, then suddenly turned around and ran out.She ran fast, as if she was chasing a man-eating beast.A black shadow flashed past, Lin An couldn't stop, and slammed into it.The other party was calm, and when Lin An ran to her, he accurately and swiftly stretched out a hand to pin her neck.His breathing was blocked, Lin An's eyes widened, and he looked in horror at the black-clothed man with a sullen face in front of him.

He seemed to have realized that the little thing under the sharp claws was really small and pitiful. He pushed her feet off the ground with a little force, her cheeks flushed and she struggled with her arms and legs.His rounded eyes looked even bigger, fine tears were smothered from the lack of oxygen, and his gloomy face was reflected in the wet pupils.

Under the gaze of these moist eyes, he gradually relaxed the strength in his hands unconsciously.

"Stop! Klaus!" Another figure followed, knocking away the arm that was holding Lin An's neck like an iron claw.

Lin An was out of breath, took a step back hastily, and looked at the man in front of him in surprise.One is unrestrained and the other is well-dressed.It's Klaus, and Elijah.

Elijah frowned insignificantly, looking at Lin An's eyes full of guard, this was really not a happy start.Elijah said as calmly and gently as possible, "You may not remember me, but trust me, Ann, no one here will hurt you."

Lin An looked at the man in front of him, he was familiar with the small movements of straightening his sleeves, and said uncertainly: "Elijah?..."

Elijah's slender and elegant fingers paused on the gorgeous cufflinks, and he raised his head in surprise, "You remember me!?"

Lin An nodded, then shook his head again.She seemed to recognize the man in front of her, but she couldn't really think of anything related to him.

"Then do you still remember, Klaus?" Elijah hesitated, looking at the man standing beside him, "My brother, Klaus Michaelson?"

Lin An quickly adjusted his eyes and glanced at the man opposite, while Klaus was also looking at Lin An, his scorching eyes paused for a long time on the large scars on the girl's neck and wrist, especially the naked/exposed left arm , from the inside of the elbow, all the way to the wrist, and it is integrated with the scar on the wrist, ugly and shocking!

Sensing Klaus' gaze, Lin An bent his arms behind his back.Lin An has also discovered the scars on his hands, but he can't recall when and how these injuries were caused.

Lin An withdrew his gaze and shook his head with certainty, "I don't know him." Lin An said.

Klaus's pupils shrank suddenly - this was a very strange feeling, and he didn't know the little girl in front of him, but hearing her deny without hesitation, it was like being stabbed in the heart by a tiny needle point for a moment.The pain had just emerged, and he was about to follow the pain to think about it, but it suddenly disappeared, as if all this was just his unreasonable imagination.

The complicated thoughts only happened for a moment, and Klaus stood there calmly.

Elijah was silent for a moment.He heard the girl's slightly disturbed voice asking, "You called me 'Ann' just now? Is that my name?"

……

The ancestor Elijah, who had always been indifferent and wise, showing no signs of emotion or anger, finally showed his astonishment.It seems that this is what Hong said, the unpredictable result of forcibly interrupting the spell.

Esther's spell catches up to Rebecca hiding with the baby, and Elijah is forced to leave New Orleans to keep them safe.Lin An stayed in the mysterious world after waking up.

Lin An may also be a mystery to Klaus, but he can easily ignore and overcome it now, and it has nothing to do with right or wrong, but Lin An has nothing, and the road to walk is too narrow, so the back will inevitably be lonely .

Elijah left in such a hurry that he didn't have time to explain everything.Klaus asked Lin An to wait in the room. He said, if you are not obedient, you will be locked on the stairs like that man.

Lin An has been quietly waiting in the room.She opened the closet and changed out of her nightgown.Elijah said that this is her room. It is strange that all the clothes in the closet are a little loose on her body, but they are all simple styles and colors that she likes.

Lin An lingered at the door of the room for a long time. It was a rather large house, but at the moment it was as quiet as if there was no one there.She was a little bored and wanted to go for a stroll, but she was worried about bumping into a scene like the early morning.Then, of course, there's the childlike intimidation from Klaus.As for the man who was locked in the house, Lin An never asked, he seemed to understand in his heart, and seemed to think that such things were common.

She didn't even delve into the obvious gaps in her memory, like other conscious decisions in her body.Lin An was content to be passive.

She just waited quietly in the room, the sunlight moving along her fingers little by little.Lin An held the book in his hands and gradually collapsed on the big soft bed.

The footsteps above his head finally stopped, Klaus sat quietly on the large sofa in the living room, and the tall bonsai placed in the corner of the living room cast a tree shadow on the thick carpet.Elijah's cautious words echoed in his ears repeatedly before he left: "Klaus, promise me that you will keep this girl safe." Elijah said, "Trust me, Klaus, you don't want her Hurt."

Klaus stood up a little impatiently, and turned to the "prisoner" who was waiting for him—maybe he would also become his ally against Esther. Finn walked, but stopped at the stairs, and then turned suddenly. Turning to the room where Lin An was, he appeared in the opened door in an instant.

Klaus slowed down his pace as he breathed lightly into his ears. He saw the little girl, like a white and tender flower, quietly perched on the bed curtain.Her face was buried in straggly black hair, making it difficult to see clearly.An open book slid down the left arm.

Klaus walked over to pick up the book, and looked down at the page Lin An turned to.It's a poem by William Blake, "The Poison Tree."

"I'm full of anger at my friends,

I spoke my anger,

The anger stopped abruptly.

I am full of anger against my enemies,

not stated,

Anger spreads and grows.

day and night with my tears

pouring out anger in fear,

With smiles and gentle false tricks,

shining with anger,

Anger grows day and night,

until a shining apple emerges.

My enemies shall see its light,

He knows it belongs to me.

When night falls over the garden,

He came quietly and tried to steal it.

In the morning I was delighted to find,

My enemy lay dead under the tree. "

This is his book.Klaus frowned, because he saw that the blank space of the page was filled with messy notes by someone. The strokes were immature, ugly, and in Chinese.Glancing at the oriental doll lying on the bed safely, Klaus looked at it patiently, and it seemed to be a little poem.

"I hope,

every moment,

Both are as beautiful as colored crayons.

I hope,

Can draw on the beloved white paper,

draw clumsy freedom,

Draw the next one never will,

teary eyes.

a piece of sky,

A feather and leaf of the sky,

A pale green night and apples.

I want to paint the morning,

draw the dew,

All smiles in sight.

draw all the youngest,

Love without pain.

……

I am a wayward child,

I want to blot out all misfortunes.

I want to be on the earth,

painted windows,

Let all eyes accustomed to darkness,

are used to light. "

These scribbled notes are all over the pages of the book, surrounding the original "Tree of Anger", as if they intend to cover everything with this innocent and beautiful "hope".

On a pitiful corner of the page, the pen repeatedly wrote: "Get used to dark eyes, get used to light."

Seeing this, Klaus slammed the book shut with a bang, which woke up the person holding the book and Lin An who was sleeping.Before Klaus realized what he had done, he had already rushed out of the room in an instant, and his almost embarrassed figure stopped in the living room downstairs, only to realize that he was still holding the book of poems in his hand.

Listening intently, the girl on the bed babbled vaguely, turned over and fell asleep again.

Klaus couldn't laugh or cry, and suddenly realized that his behavior just now was like a shameless peeping, and he was still in his own home...

Lin An woke up again, but there was still no one around, and the sun was already hanging leisurely on the west side.After calling the Wu Zang Temple, which was as empty as this mansion, three times, Lin An finally stepped out of the room with a wry smile.

Like a small animal waiting to be fed, Lin An thought for a moment in frustration, and finally felt that it was not wise to blindly search for food in this strange mansion, so he turned and walked onto the street.

At about three or four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was occasionally covered by thin clouds, and strands of divided light shone down from the zenith. New Orleans, the "Happy Capital", is still bustling in the evening.Lin An shuttled through the alleys full of street artists, and suddenly stopped in front of a street artist surrounded by a crowd of three or five.

Lin An didn't see the painter's appearance, she didn't even notice the landscape painted on his huge canvas, she was just attracted by the non-stop flying brush, and she vaguely remembered such thick ink and color, and such a writer.Lin An was enthralled.

A hand suddenly blocked his eyes and swung it up and down.Lin An turned around and saw a strange face, a young and handsome man.Lin An saw his short and neat hair, which was dyed orange by the twilight of the sunset, and looked at her with a smile in his light brown eyes.

"Little cat," Lin An heard him say, "Did you forget your glass slipper?"

Lin An lowered his head following his gaze, and only then did he see his bare feet. After walking all the way, the two light black and gray stains on the white feet were really distinct.Lin An shrank back subconsciously, but was held by a pair of big hands.

Lin An struggled a bit, and the man's hand patted her calf gently, "Don't move!" He warned.

Lin An didn't dare to move anymore.She saw this man who appeared suddenly, squatting down in front of her, lifted one of her feet, wiped it with a snow-white silk towel, and then slipped it into a small black patent leather boot.Unlike her generally loose clothes, this shoe was just right.

He put on her other foot, stood up, and introduced himself. "Hi," he said, "you can call me..." The man paused, then went on, "Cole...you can call me Cole..."

Lin An chewed the name between his teeth, "We may have known each other before," Lin An explained embarrassedly, "but now I..."

"It's okay," Cole interrupted her, "just start remembering now."

Lin An nodded, looked down at the pair of patent leather boots on his feet, which were warm and comfortable, and then looked up at the man standing beside him.Finally, he looked at the painter on the street again.

"Do you want to try it?" Cole suddenly asked enthusiastically.

"What?" Lin An asked.

Cole lifts his chin in the direction of the street artist painting.

Lin An laughed and shook his head, "I don't know if I knew how to draw before." Thinking of Cole's proposal, he asked doubtfully, "Did I know how to draw before?"

"You'll know if you try it." Cole grabbed Lin An's hand and walked towards the painter surrounded by the crowd.

The enthusiastic and generous painter generously shared tools, and Lin An held the paintbrush in his hand, and the streets of New Orleans fell silent for a moment.Inexplicably, a familiar clear voice sounded in her ears, like herself, "You should draw a picture for me, you have never drawn for me"...

But who?Who did she ask to paint for her?

Lin An turned to look at Cole, behind him was the sunset, his face was reflected in the sunset, Lin An couldn't see clearly, but there was another more vivid and clear face in front of her.

The oil brush dipped in paint falls on the canvas, and the brush sweeps lightly and skillfully, as if it has its own consciousness. It knows every path and shadow, and it is unconsciously clear at the moment the brush stroke falls, and it is just right to outline perfect image.Part of the loopholes in the mind, heart, and memory can be repaired and supplemented in this way.

The clouds are erratic, and the sun is sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

After Lin An finished writing, Cole walked up to take a look, and was slightly surprised.The kitten put the paintbrush and stood in front of the easel. Its fair face was the same as before, except for a new ray of childishness between its eyebrows, which made it look whiter, cleaner, crisper and more delicious.

Lin An was also looking at Cole, his eyes constantly switching between the canvas and his face. "You look different." Lin An said.She drew Cole's face, not the body of the human wizard he had reborn to occupy.

Cole put his big hand on the top of Lin An's head and rubbed it, "We are all changing, as long as we are always aware of what has changed, what will never change."

Lin An looked at his sudden heaviness with a half-knowledge, and Cole showed a light smile again, and patted the top of her head, "The painting is very good." He praised, staring at the portrait again in the sunset.

He is looking at the eyes of the person in the painting, a pair of eyes that flaunt temptation and danger...

The author has something to say:

Another short poem in this chapter is an excerpt from Gu Cheng —— "I am a wayward child".

This chapter is just before the May Day holiday, I wish you all a happy holiday!