I once visited a place where the winter was always very cold.
It was winter when I got there, and the snow fell intermittently. The old snow was still unwilling to melt, but the new snow covered it. They were piled up in layers, drowning out all the sounds that did not belong to this season.
In the midst of the pure white, stood a small wooden house. Behind the wooden house is a vast forest, without a single leaf, only tall and sharp black tree trunks like huge thorns. They are very tall, I don't know how many times higher than the cabin, making it look even smaller. The black treetops point directly to the sky. Only clouds as white as snow are moving slowly in the sky. The sky itself is also white, and the only boundaries between it and the clouds are blurry outlines. Together with this lifeless forest and this simple and plain house, the scene in front of me is like using a black pen to scribble on a white paper.
There were some white animal bones around, whether they were thrown out of the house or leftover after being eaten by jackals. They were all in pieces, but they were all clean, with no trace of red at all, and most of them were buried in the snow. I walked into the painting and approached the house outlined with lines. The house wasn't exactly rundown, but it looked old. There was air leakage in many places in the house, and the snow on it seemed like it would collapse at any time. White smoke rose from the chimney, thin and invisible. Birds chirping could be heard in the house, but how could that be possible? The door was unlocked, so I walked in and found that it was just a kettle that was about to boil, making a hissing sound.
The furnishings in the room are very simple: a set of old tables and chairs, a bed with a thin mattress, a large cabinet, and a simple stove and stove. Next to the stove is a cracked wooden cutting board, with a rolling pin, a sharp knife, and two pairs of bowls and chopsticks neatly placed on it. Dry firewood was piled directly in the far corner. There are no other walls in the house to serve as partitions, and everything is packed into this square, twenty-square square shape. There was a woman waiting for the water to boil by the stove. When she saw me coming in, she just raised her head and glanced lightly. I saw nothing but numbness in her face.
She is a very young woman, and her beauty can be seen even without dressing up. In such a cold winter, she wore three layers of clothing, each layer was too thin and as light as herself. The first layer was made of cotton and linen underwear, which were a little dirty. They were probably rarely changed and washed - maybe there was nothing to change into. The second layer is the coat, and the third layer is just a blanket, maybe wool, which looks the warmest.
The woman was not surprised by my arrival. She poured the boiled water into a bowl, just one bowl, and pushed it in front of me. Then, she slowly poured hot water into a wooden basin next to the bed, which was already less than half full of water. Since it's not steaming, it should be cold water. The girl rolled up her sleeves, poured the pot into the basin with one hand, and fiddled with it with the other hand to test the temperature. There were some scars on her bare arms. It was unclear where they came from. They might have been scratches from thorns or burns from charcoal fire. If she was the only one living here, she must have done it accidentally. Her limbs were pale and slender, as if they had not seen the sun all day long. Pulling her out to stand on the snow, she might blend into the snowy scene.
After testing the temperature, she pulled an arm out of the unfolded quilt and wiped it with a soaked handkerchief. It turned out that there was another person lying on the bed, looking like he couldn't move on his own. That hand was also very pale, whiter than the girl's, it could even be said to be as white as gray. But judging from the condition of his skin, there are no wrinkles or marks, so he is probably a young man. I didn't drink the water, I just walked to the edge and watched the woman cleansing the man carefully.
"He's sick," she said proactively before I could ask, "very sick."
"What kind of disease is it?"
So I asked her, but she didn't look at me and continued busy with her hands. After wiping one arm, she lifted the quilt, pulled the man to sit up, and wiped the other hand. I saw it was an equally young male. His hair is medium-long and very soft, probably because someone takes care of it every day, or maybe because he doesn't move around while lying on the bed. His face didn't look dirty, but the girl wiped it clean for him. He closed his eyes tightly, his eyelashes were thick and long, and he was a handsome man.
"A disease that cannot speak or move."
She just said that.
I stopped disturbing her, returned to the table, and drank some water. In this weather, even in a house with closed doors and windows, the hot water will cool down very quickly. I just waited until she was done with all the work. Fortunately, the man's body could not be called strong. It may be related to being sick in bed, or he may be so slender from birth, so it is not so laborious for the woman to wipe herself up. I wasn't always looking at them, that would be rude, so my eyes wandered around the room. It's really too spacious here. Except for the table and chairs next to the stove, the other half of the house is empty, as if a space was deliberately created. There are some brown marks on the ground. I don’t know what kind of dirt they are, but they can’t be wiped off. They must be very poor, and they may have pawned their previous belongings.
The woman finished her work and poured the water into a larger bucket. It’s not easy to get water in winter, so you should save it for other things. She slowly moved to the table and sat opposite me, leaning on the bed. Her eyes were dull, she didn't look at me, she just looked away blankly. The line of sight seemed to penetrate the wall and project onto the pale snow-colored sky and earth.
"You are also here to find the treasure."
Her voice was soft but firm. I shook my head and said, no. Only then did she look at me, but her expression was still very numb. She stared at my eyes for a while, then slowly looked away.
"I don't believe it. People who come here come here to go through the woods behind the house to find the legendary treasure."
"I've heard this rumor." I told her sincerely, "Are you talking about a magic weapon left behind by the evil god of the South a thousand years ago? But I'm not here to find it."
"Then what are you doing here? Well... you are alone, and it really doesn't seem like you are here to risk your life. But there is nothing here, it is deserted. No one has ever made a conclusion whether the legend is true or false. People gather in groups If a man comes here, he will chase me and ask questions. If a man comes, he will always think of being frivolous with me."
She spoke calmly, her tone neither sad nor happy, which made people feel distressed.
"...You only have two people living here?"
"As you can see."
"I heard that less than ten years ago, there was a village here. But when I arrived here, the other houses may have been demolished, and the traces were buried under the snow. I only saw your family."
"Well, it's because it's haunted or something. Ever since rumors spread that there are magic weapons in this area, every house has been uneasy. It's like being cursed. From house to house, some people are seriously injured, some are sick, and some even die unexpectedly. They couldn't stand it anymore, so they moved out one by one. We had no place to go, so we stayed here. As you saw... we were not spared."
I nodded and glanced at the person on the bed. He lay there quietly, not easily noticed in the low light. But once I knew there was someone there, I could easily spot that pale and peaceful face. He seemed to be smiling lightly, making people feel comfortable, but leaving the suffering to others.
"He is yours..."
"My brother." She paused, "Although we are only less than a quarter of an hour apart in age, he has always taken care of me like a father. He can be regarded as the backbone of the family."
"You two's father..."
"Our biological father died before we were born. The idea of being destitute is nothing new wherever we go. You know this village is remote, so we can't expect my brother to take me... He knows that someone always wants to occupy our house and take us away. After driving him out, he set up many traps around the house in advance. If anyone really broke in, he would fight others with a knife. Even though we were young at that time, children were the most desperate when they started to attack. Those people eat I went back with a broken head and a bloody head. I didn’t dare to say what caused the trouble, but everyone knew it. As time went by, no one dared to provoke us anymore... But we were still not welcome. It didn’t matter. , I originally thought that as long as we live together until we grow old and die, that’s not bad.”
"But the 'curse' happened?"
"But the 'curse' happened. I had hoped that if it happened to us, I would be the best choice. That way I wouldn't have to hold him back anymore. But he beat me and wouldn't let me say stupid things - —He had never hit me, so I was afraid and stopped talking. When my mother was still alive, he swore to us in front of my father’s grave that he would treat me well and protect me all his life, and he would never Doing things that hurt me. Maybe my father was angry because he broke his promise...who knows."
I asked: "You didn't think about leaving this village - when the mutation just started? It was because you didn't have money..."
"If you don't have money, let it be that way." The woman said calmly, "The main reason is that I have nowhere to go. It's the same everywhere. Think about it, two children have no place no matter where they go, so they might as well stay I am now in a stable position. I will be stuck in this position for almost the rest of my life..."
I was silent for a while, unable to say any more. Presumably many people who are as busy as me have asked about similar topics before, and she must have said it many times without getting tired of it. After that, I asked one last question.
"What's your name, please?"
"Tao Zhu." She pointed to the bed again, "His name is Tao Ji."
I stopped talking and didn't know what else to say. I looked at the bottomed water in the bowl. There were some black and small impurities in it. This was the reason why I didn't drink it completely. After all, she poured the water directly in and never washed the dishes. But having said that, it’s best not to waste precious water in a place like this. How dirty can a commonly used bowl be?
"I said you are old and young, but you have been asking for a long time, but you still haven't told me what you are here for. If you are not here to hunt for treasures, what else can you find in this place where birds don't lay eggs?"
"I'm coming to find you."
Miss Tao Zhu said so, and I told her so. After hearing the answer, she opened her eyes wide with surprise as I expected. In that moment, the numbness was lifted, but there was no joy either.
"What are you doing with me?" she asked.
"I'm here to take you away," I told them, "to take you to a place where you can be cured. I'm not proficient in medical skills, but I can lead you and your brother to find a reliable doctor. You can..."
"I won't leave." She suddenly turned cold, "I don't believe you. Besides, I know that my brother's illness cannot be cured."
"There are ways. If you are sick, find someone to heal you; if you are possessed by evil spirits, find someone to exorcise the devil. I'm here to help you."
"Impossible, you just want to lie to me just like them!"
Tao Zhu suddenly became angry. The moment she stood up, the stool hit the ground and made a loud noise. She continued shouting:
"People like you just want to trick me into leaving, trick me into selling myself, and separate me from my brother!"
"...I won't do that."
But no matter what I did, what I said, or how I tried to appease her, she refused, and just pretended to be chasing away the guest.
