black.
This is pitch black.
Li Zheng still couldn't see anything with his eyes open.
This is a small utility room, so small that it can only accommodate one person, and it is difficult to even turn around.
Li Zheng has been here for about dozens of minutes. The intense discomfort hit Li Zheng from all directions like a tide, and the thick darkness seemed to bring him back to the endless silence after the earthquake and mountain shaking in Qingshan Town seven years ago.
"Son, you must remember...Mom will always love you..."
In the darkness, my mother's gentle voice came from another world.
Li Zheng was trembling all over, and tears couldn't stop sliding down his cheeks.
"Son, you have to be strong and live strong..."
Those were the last words left by my mother.
Li Zheng clenched his teeth and heard a rattling sound.
This was the most painful scene in his memory.
That year, Li Zheng was trapped under the rubble for four days and nights.
Relying on the remaining water in a deformed rice cooker next to him, he miraculously survived until he was rescued.
The whole family was eating when the accident happened, and the disaster struck instantly without warning.
At the critical moment, each of his parents put their heads on both ends of the dining table, risking their lives to carve out a small living area for Li Zheng in the ruins.
Since that day, Li Zheng lived a heavier life than many people.
His life was exchanged from the hands of death with the lives of his parents, and he will always carry the lives of his parents on his body.
Four days later, Li Zheng, who was in a daze, finally heard footsteps on the ruins, and actually heard someone talking.
He excitedly gathered his last strength and shouted towards the corner: "Mom...Dad...someone is coming..."
There was no response from the darkness, only deathly silence.
The cruel fact is before us, my parents are gone...
He wanted to cry, but he didn't even have the strength to cry. He could only sob in his throat.
Maybe God couldn't stand it anymore and finally left him a glimmer of hope.
Li Zheng's weak cry attracted the attention of rescue workers.
"There's someone down here!"
Someone shouted on the ruins, and people from all directions quickly gathered around.
That day, dozens of people spent most of the day excavating non-stop, and the five-story old building collapsed into hundreds of tons of cement and steel bars.
The structure of the ruins formed after the collapse is very unstable. If you are not careful, it will cause a secondary accident and the rescue will fail. Therefore, heavy machinery cannot be used and can only be excavated by manpower.
time is life.
Life is a command!
dig!
Those dozens of soldiers on the ruins just do what they say!
shovel.
Iron drill.
Even the hands...
From morning to afternoon, more than 20 tons of cement and steel bars were removed, and finally the trapped Li Zheng was seen.
Li Zheng, who had struggled to hold on in the darkness for four days, felt that the whole world was so dazzling that he subconsciously blocked his eyes with his hands.
Through his fingers, he vaguely saw several figures in camouflage uniforms, excitedly turning their heads and shouting at people not far away: "The child is still alive! Still alive!"
It turned out to be the People's Liberation Army.
There's help!
Li Zheng finally couldn't hold on anymore and fainted.
…
Scenes from that year flashed through my mind.
In the utility room, Li Zheng's breathing became more rapid.
He began to hallucinate, and the four walls came to life and were squeezing towards him from different directions, trying to crush him into pulp.
After the earthquake, Li Zheng became restless even when taking the elevator and had a strong desire to escape.
The psychiatrist diagnosed this as "claustrophobia", which is a psychological illness and a psychological stress trauma caused by being hurt in a specific environment.
There is no specific medicine for this disease. You can only take some anti-anxiety drugs orally and use some psychological and behavioral training to slowly come out of the shadows.
Over the years, Li Zheng has been fighting against this psychological barrier. He feels like a trapped warrior who must break the shackles binding his soul on his own.
Systematic desensitization, shock therapy, exposure therapy, cognitive therapy...
As long as it helps his condition, he will try it.
"I can……"
He took a deep breath to drive the hallucination out of his mind, then raised his wrist with difficulty, and the watch screen lit up.
The numbers on the timer were beating, and 51 minutes had passed.
The previous record was 40 minutes, and this time I broke my own record.
The doctor told him that as long as he could stay in a small, dark, sealed environment for an hour without collapsing, then the desensitization would be considered successful.
Just need to hold on for 9 more minutes...
Li Zheng opened his mouth like a drowning person, sucking in a few gulps of air.
He slowly allowed himself to relax and slowly leaned against the wall. A picture from that year appeared in his mind——
Li Zheng, who had just recovered from a serious illness, was standing on the side of the road. Military vehicles full of soldiers passed by on the road in front of him. He slowly raised the cards in his hand.
On it is white paper that has been pasted, and a line of bold italics written with a red marker pen - When I grow up, I want to be a soldier too!
