Another year after the Spring Festival, the children went out to work in big cities one after another, and the grandchildren followed their parents reluctantly and went back to school.
Ye Hong waved goodbye, said a few words to his children, and gave red envelopes to the juniors. After experiencing this parting scene, Ye Hong stayed at the door of his house for a long time without moving.
"Honey, what are you thinking about?"
Ye Hong, who was already over seventy years old, used his other hand to gently pat his wife who was holding his arm.
"Nothing, let's go back!"
"My children have grown up and become sensible, and my grandchildren are so well-behaved. I don't know what you are still worried about."
"Yesterday, the guy from Lao Zeng's house next door asked me to go to the supermarket to buy groceries today. He said there was a discount in the supermarket today and I had to go check it out. You can go for a walk by yourself. I shouldn't be back until later."
Seeing his wife leaving in a hurry, Ye Hong didn't say anything. No change in expression could be seen in his turbid eyes. He took steps and staggered out of the house.
Ye Hong did not go to the neighbors to play chess this time, nor did he go to the senior citizen activity center. Instead, he walked aimlessly on the street, watching the people coming and going on the street in an endless stream, young people rushing around, everyone... They are busy with their own affairs, the children are full of vitality, and the young girls who exude youthful vitality are ignorant of love.
Suddenly, Ye Hong seemed to have discovered something, and he stopped staring in one direction. Ye Hong's cloudy eyes suddenly seemed to be bright, showing an expression of disbelief, which was surprised and excited.
There happened to be a young couple in that direction, both fifteen or sixteen years old, choosing products in front of a shop. Ye Hong walked closer unconsciously and immediately attracted the attention of the two people.
When the girl saw Ye Hong coming over, she stood there for a long time without moving or buying anything. She kept staring at her, her lips trembling but not speaking, thinking that Ye Hong had Alzheimer's disease and couldn't find her way home.
It felt unnatural for Ye Hong to keep staring at her, and the girl was kind, so she asked:
"Grandpa, are you lost? Do you need my help?"
Ye Hong's lips trembled slightly and his hands trembled uncontrollably. He wanted to say something, but he never knew how to say it. He seemed to be trying to remember.
The young man next to him saw Ye Hong's body shaking non-stop, looking like he was about to collapse because of his weakness. He was so frightened that he immediately took half a step back, pulling the girl to follow him.
"Uncle, are you okay? Don't touch porcelain! We are still students and have no money!"
Being pulled by the young man, the girl suddenly became unhappy and frowned, "What are you doing! Grandpa is so old, how can he be a cheater!"
"If you're not afraid of 10,000, you're just afraid of the worst! No one can tell these days that he is just a cheater! Bao, we'd better mind our own business." The young man stopped the girl, not wanting her to come into contact with Ye Hong. He really wanted to Protect the girl.
The girl didn't agree with the boy's words very much. Seeing that Ye Hong's eyes couldn't help but shed tears at this time, her trembling hands raised slightly, and the words finally came out of her mouth, the girl decided to help Ye Hong.
"Wonderful...wonderful..."
"I didn't expect you to be such a person! Don't stop me! Otherwise we will break up!" The girl pushed the boy away, as if she was dissatisfied with the boy's behavior.
Then the girl stepped forward to support Ye Hong and asked caringly: "Grandpa, what did you say? Can you say it again?"
"Wonderful...wonderful! Wonderful..."
Ye Hong wanted to touch the girl's face with his trembling hands. Seeing this, the young man became extremely annoyed and pushed Ye Hong away. Unexpectedly, Ye Hong was old and his feet were unstable, so he fell to the ground.
"What are you doing! You are crazy!"
When the girl saw that Ye Hong fell to the ground and was pushed down by her boyfriend, she was so shocked that she couldn't believe it and was extremely angry.
The young man was also impulsive. Unexpectedly, he pushed Ye Hong gently and fell down. He immediately panicked and quickly defended himself.
"I...I didn't mean it! It was...it was him! Yes! It was him! He fell down on purpose! I just touched him lightly! He was just touching!"
"I didn't expect you to be such a person! I really misjudged you! Can't I see that you pushed me down? Go away! Let's break up!"
The girl was very disappointed with the boy and pushed him away angrily. She quickly stepped forward to help Ye Hong up who fell to the ground.
"Grandpa, are you okay? I helped you up. Are you injured anywhere?"
Ye Hong woke up instantly when he was pushed down by the boy. When he looked at the girl again, he kept shaking his head.
"No...no! No! You're not!"
"What not? Grandpa, what did you say?"
The girl was confused. She didn't understand a word Ye Hong said. Before she could help Ye Hong up completely, she saw Ye Hong running away in a panic, stumbling into the crowd looking very unsteady.
"Hey! Grandpa!"
The girl saw that her shouting did not make Ye Hong look back, and she was very surprised by Ye Hong's behavior. He lowered his head and saw an object falling where Ye Hong had fallen. When he picked it up, he saw that it was an exquisite little man carved from wood.
"Is this what the old man dropped just now? What a beautiful doll!"
At this time, the young man came closer and said to please: "Bao, what you just said was angry, right? Look, that uncle is fine."
"Am I lying? Break up! You treated an old man like this today. Fortunately, he is fine. You might treat me like this in the future!"
The girl was still angry, so she threw away the boy's hand and left angrily. The young man wanted to chase him, but he hesitated for a moment but still didn't catch up.
Ye Hong stumbled all the way, lost his mind, and came to a park unknowingly. The green trees in the park are lush and full of life. There are not many people in the park at this time. No one will pay attention to the extra old man on the tree-lined path.
Ye Hong felt tired from walking, so he sat down on the lawn by a lake, panting heavily and looking up at the endless sky.
There were only a few sparse clouds in the sky, and the rolling clouds reminded Ye Hong of a lot.
Although I can’t remember the dream that I had decades ago, and many of its contents have been forgotten, I can only remember the appearance of one person, as if she really existed.
When I woke up from the dream, I clearly remembered the content of the dream, but as time went by, I forgot more and more, and after all, I couldn't remember everything about the dream.
In the past few years, when I dream back at midnight, I always dream about the girl named Miaomiao. I dream that she is crying and shedding tears, and my heart is very painful. And it has become more and more frequent recently. It seems that whenever I close my eyes, the girl's appearance will keep flashing in my mind.
Ye Hong didn't understand why he was so heartbroken and why she always appeared in his mind, but he always felt that this girl named Miaomiao was very important to him. How could he forget why she was important to him? What's the deal with her?
In addition, Ye Hong always felt that he was missing something important, like a machine missing a part or a teacup missing a corner. It could be used normally but it was always awkward and unnatural.
There is also the habit of looking at the wrist of his right hand. Even Ye Hong himself doesn't know why he has this habitual action, nor does he know what is special about his right wrist, so he always stares at it.
"So you are here! I finally found you, grandpa!"
Ye Hong looked up at the sky and was trying to remember why. Searching his memory, a pretty face suddenly blocked the sky. He was panting heavily, as if he had been running for a long time without rest.
Seeing that pretty face, Ye Hong immediately recognized who it was. It was the girl he mistakenly thought was Miaomiao just now. The main reason was that their appearance was really similar. He only had hallucinations when he was in a trance. Misidentified person.
Now that people were looking for him, Ye Hong had no place to put his face and said with shame:
"Little girl, I'm sorry, I was in a trance just now and I recognized the wrong person. I'm really sorry!"
The girl shook her head and didn't care, and asked: "Grandpa, can't you find your way home? Do you need my help?"
Ye Hong waved his hand to show that he didn't need it, and said caringly to the girl:
"You are a good girl. I can see that your little boyfriend is very interested in you. Cherish him and don't miss the person beside you who cherishes you."
After sighing, Ye Hong couldn't help but wonder in his heart. He didn't know why he said these words, and he couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. Why did he feel such a bad feeling.
"Yeah! Grandpa, I can do it. Grandpa, is this something you dropped? I just picked it up where you fell." As she said this, the girl handed the exquisite little puppet she picked up to Ye Hong. .
After Ye Hong saw the little puppet, he first touched himself and found that the little puppet he had been carrying close to him was gone. He had indeed dropped it.
"It's mine! Thank you!" Ye Hong quickly took the little puppet and wiped it with great care to make it spotless.
Seeing that Ye Hong was so caring aroused the girl's curiosity, so she asked:
"Is this puppet very important to grandpa? Does it have a story?"
Ye Hong wiped the puppet with his hand and was speechless. He didn't know how to tell the girl.
The girl saw Ye Hong looking at the puppet in her hand without saying a word for a long time. The workmanship of the little puppet was so exquisite. It looked like it had been carefully carved and made with great care. The shape of the little puppet was still that of a woman, and it was probably that of an old grandfather. companion.
"Is this puppet what grandma looked like when she was young? Grandma is so beautiful. It must have special meaning to you, grandpa!"
Ye Hong smiled bitterly and shook his head, feeling bitter in his heart.
"...I don't know what it means to me. I don't even know if she has really existed in my life. Maybe...as you said, she is very important to me! It's just that... ……I do not remember……"
Ye Hong wanted to know the relationship between the girl who kept appearing in his mind and him, and why she always appeared in his dreams, so he carved the puppet based on the appearance in his mind. Unexpectedly, this thought would last for dozens of years. Years later, the girl appeared in his dreams more and more often, and the puppets he carved became more and more delicate, down to the hairline.
Since the girl is willing to listen, Ye Hong just thinks that there is a listener who can let him express his depression and doubts. Over the years, he has told people more than once that he always has the same dream and the same person. Everyone took it as a joke and no one believed it.
After the girl listened to Ye Hong's story, she really didn't believe that anyone could have such a bizarre dream, but she still comforted Ye Hong and persuaded Ye Hong to be more open-minded, maybe it was just his own random imagination.
"I didn't expect that I would still need a little girl like you to enlighten me when I'm so old. Maybe I'm really old and confused!" Ye Hong couldn't help but sigh.
Then he said with a smile: "You have been chatting with me, an old man, for so long, and you have listened to me say so many long-winded words. Old man, I will not waste your time in vain. Seeing that you like this puppet, I will carve one for you! It can be regarded as your companionship. My reward for this old man’s nagging.”
The girl was very happy to hear that Ye Hong wanted to carve a puppet for herself. Then she found a piece of wood, took out a knife, and carved a puppet for the girl in her likeness on the lawn by the lake.
