Xiaolan looked up at the sky.
The wind and rain have stopped.
The ground was covered with mud turned up after the heavy rain, and every step I took, I felt as if a hand reached out from the ground and grabbed my ankle.
The moon appeared, but there were no stars. The air was filled with the smell of rotten soil dug out by heavy rain. She walked in the fresh rotten smell under the moonlight.
After being rejected, Xiaolan became a person again.
Should she go home? She thought, after all, she only knew these two places were related to her. Although the house was clean, there might be some clues left behind.
She didn't think too much, or even deliberately recall the way she came. It was as if she was being pulled by some force, walking on a road that she should not be familiar with yet.
I don’t know what time it is, and I didn’t see any pedestrians along the way.
It turns out that the night here is so long. Thinking of the incomprehensible look in the aunt's last greeting in the morning and Uncle Song's eagerness to get rid of herself, she felt that it was actually quite good to walk at night like this, at least she didn't have to feel other people's feelings. Strange look.
In the blink of an eye, Xiaolan arrived at the gate of the community. She couldn't remember which door or building her home was, but she seemed to remember her steps and walked straight into the depths of the community.
It was pitch black everywhere, the trees, bushes on both sides, and even the street lights that gave off a faint light gave people the impression of darkness.
She took one step after another, as skillfully as if she had walked countless times before, but this familiarity did not bring her anything related to memories.
She looked at the street trees, the old bricks on the ground, and the short buildings with similar shapes. She didn't feel nervous about being hit by the memories. If she had to say she had any emotion, it was mainly at a loss.
Entering the building, it became even darker.
When she passed by the aunt's house in the morning, she stopped.
Although her aunt was also wary of herself, she was very kind. She thought so, and leaned over to take a sneak peek at the cat's eye. As expected, it was a dark hole. She turned around and quickly walked up the steps, deciding to go down and ask again after dawn.
Saw the closed door.
The door looked locked and she didn't have the key.
Did she lock it when she came out in the morning, she thought as she walked up the last few steps.
Putting his hand on the rough handle covered with dust, Xiao Lan twisted slightly, followed by the harsh noise caused by the friction of rusty metal. The "creak" sound was amplified in this dead silence. Lan paused guiltily for a few seconds, feeling as if he had woken up the residents of the entire building.
"Gah!"
Considering that opening the door slowly would probably be noisy, she quickly opened the door a small crack this time, turned sideways and got in, and quickly closed the door with her back hand.
Before the noise could fill the air, Xiaolan had already closed the door tightly and walked to the middle of the room.
The light in the room was dim, and Xiaolan realized that the sky was gradually turning white. The faint light in the early morning filtered through the window, revealing everything in the room to her.
It was all said and done, but in fact all that was left in the living room was flying dust, and there was at least a wooden bed in the attic.
Xiaolan looked around in the dim light before the sun rose. In addition to the small stairs leading to the attic, there were four doors in the house. They were all open now, and the door panels had been removed.
My room, my parents’ room...
She recalled what was behind the four doorframes, her little body swimming among the raised dust.
Empty...empty...all empty.
She looked at the room full of pipes that seemed to be the bathroom, and wondered in surprise, had even the toilet been removed?
What happened?
If this continues, she won't even be able to say with certainty that this is her home.
The downstairs had been tidied up so thoroughly, but the wooden bed in the attic, which seemed to be still intact, was still there.
Xiaolan was startled and inspired by her own thoughts.
The remaining wooden bed in the attic may be a clue left by his parents or others. After all, the downstairs is empty, so it's not really necessary to pry open the floor.
With this thought in mind, she stepped onto the stairs below the attic again.
The little head gradually poked out from the stairs. The sky was much brighter than before, and the skylight in the attic was also very bright. Although there was no longer the feeling of being awakened by the sun, the light still illuminated all corners here.
Sure enough, there is still only one bed?
She hoped that she had missed something important yesterday, but the attic was too small, and it seemed that there was still only an empty hard bed.
The hard bed had no headboard, and naturally no bedding or sheets. It only had a simple white-painted metal bed frame and neatly arranged wooden boards on the bed frame.
She first leaned over and looked into the four legs of the hollow bed frame. The light hadn't fully shone in yet, but she could vaguely see what was wrapped in the narrow pillars.
Xiaolan was excited and anxious. She stretched out her fingers to hook the thing hidden in the pillar.
bumped into!
The touch was fragile and thin. Xiaolan used the friction of her fingers to drive it up little by little. As more parts appeared under Xiaolan's fingers, the smooth and slightly greasy feel made her feel a little chilled.
This familiar cheap touch...
Sure enough, she looked at the rolled-up snack wrapper in her hand and fell into deep thought. If she insists on saying that this is a clue, it can be explained, but...it is just that it is difficult for her to understand what is hidden behind this piece of wrapper.
Even so, Xiaolan folded it carefully and put it in her pocket.
She changed her target, squatted down and stuck her head under the bed.
The wooden boards were arranged neatly and closely. Xiaolan stretched out her hand and knocked on each board. The dust raised made her unable to open her eyes. In addition, the sunlight in the early morning was not enough to shine under the bed, except for the dust on one end. and board scraps, she found nothing.
While sneezing, she patted the old surprise on her head and shoulders. She felt that she had only made herself more embarrassed so far. Could it be that this bed was really forgotten when she moved?
There is a double bed that is neither big nor small, and the quilt and mattress are gone. There is no reason to leave a removable bed frame, not to mention that even the toilet has been removed.
She sneezed again and simply sat on the bed, hoping to sleep first. Now her thoughts were messy and complicated, and she was even a little angry. She attributed this mood to lack of sleep. Although she was not sleepy, she was not tired. Tired, but she needed rest.
The simple little bed creaked loudly, which frightened her so much that she immediately jumped up from the bed.
Otherwise... lie on the ground for a while?
Xiaolan thought so, and already crouched down to sit on the ground. His wandering eyes swept over, and through the light from the skylight, he suddenly saw something under the bed, lying on the ground that was blank just now.
Was it an illusion of light? She moved to the left.
The small flaky thing was still lying quietly under the bed.
She almost rushed over, ignoring the debris and dust under the bed, and leaned over to take a closer look.
Putting her hands around, wanting to touch but not daring to touch, Xiaolan stared curiously at the object in front of her.
The sun had risen at this time, and the skylight let in the dazzling and warm sunshine in the morning. The light washed away the haze and the storm the night before, and also illuminated a photo in front of Xiaolan.
An old little photo.
The photo showed a timid little boy wearing overalls, about seven or eight years old, with downturned eyebrows. The boy's right hand seemed to be held by someone, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth.
Xiaolan gently picked up the photo and put it in the palm of her hand. When her head hit the bed board, she remembered that she was still lying under the bed. She quickly grabbed the photo and got out, sitting on the bed and bathing in the sunshine to observe carefully.
The photo only shows the boy's palm, but it looks like there is another half.
The sun shone warmly on Xiaolan.
Xiaolan held up the photo and looked at it under the sun. The light coated the photo with a golden frame. The boy's whole body seemed to be glowing. Looking at the golden old photo with rough edges, the corners of Xiaolan's mouth were unconscious. rising.
Ah, the sun is so warm.
At this moment, Xiaolan believed for no reason that the other half of the photo was herself, her childhood self.
Then, finding this boy's identity and who he really is is no longer a secret.
"Dong dong dong!"
While he was thinking hopefully, there was a knock on the door.
Xiaolan was startled, and for a moment she didn't realize where the sound came from.
When she realized that someone was knocking on the door, before she had time to wonder who was knocking on the house that was said to have been empty for a long time, a woman's soft call sounded outside the door.
"Xiaolan, are you in there?"
