Father, mother and me.
The days when the three of them lived together like this seemed like a long time, but it also seemed like it was only a moment.
"Dad?"
In short, when I came to my senses again and called my father, my father was already swinging an ax and chopping firewood in the yard.
The grape trellis my father built for me in the yard when I was a child was already covered with green shade. Sunlight filtered down from above, illuminating the entire yard. The neat piles of firewood under the eaves also spoke of my father’s character.
"Drink!"
The father aggressively split the firewood into two parts, and the flying fragments passed over Xuan Ye's cheek.
"Oh, it's very dangerous. You should stay away, Xuan Ye!"
His father ran over and stroked Xuan Ye's face distressedly. It wasn't until Xuan Ye raised her face and smiled at him that he breathed a sigh of relief.
My father is always like this. Although he tells me not to be like a child, he always treats me like one.
When will he tell me, "You are already an excellent adult."
...
That's what I always thought when I was a kid.
But now I don't want to hear him say that.
No, no, no, no, no...
because......
"Listen to me Xuan Ye..." Father grabbed Xuan Ye's shoulders tightly, "Tomorrow, I will go to join the army, and maybe I will go to the battlefield."
"..."
Xuan Ye wanted to say something, but she couldn't make a sound. She wanted to grab her father, but her body couldn't move.
Xuan Ye could only look at her father blankly.
Looking at the father who just walked out of the forest at a very old age, his temples had begun to turn white and his forehead was full of wrinkles.
"You are already an excellent adult. You must protect your mother."
Finally, he said this.
My father left and got back a few bags of grain.
My mother and I were left behind.
No matter how good my father is, he cannot feed the entire village by himself. There are more and more refugees in the village, and everyone's life is getting worse and worse, including our family. As the leader of the village, he must find a way.
And his way is to join the recently popular rebel army to resist the tyrannical demon king and fundamentally solve the problem.
With the protection of the rebel army, there were no more officers, soldiers or bandits coming to plunder the land of wind, so my father also decided to follow the army on the expedition.
I remember the day the army set off to the distant land of fire. I was quite excited when I saw my father riding a big horse in the crowd, because my father was going to protect everyone. He was a great hero. I couldn’t wait to let everyone know. I am his daughter and everyone envies me.
I am the daughter of a hero.
But that feeling of yearning and pride was soon shattered by reality.
My mother was sick. She went to five doctors and diagnosed five diseases that I had never heard of and couldn’t even remember their names.
No matter how many medicines were tried, the mother's condition did not improve.
My mother's face became thinner and haggard day after day, and her beautiful hair became sparse. She often fell into coma due to high fever, and would struggle in pain at night.
Looking at my mother like this, my spirit was driven to a desperate state.
At this time, my father had not been home for who knows how many years.
I wanted my father to come back, but no matter how many letters I wrote, I never got a reply. I even suspected that my father had died on the battlefield.
But I often hear words of boasting about my father from the mouths of those who have retired from the battlefield.
He is now fighting on the front lines like a hero.
Ha, hero.
Xuan Ye will never forget that day.
The sun is shining, the weather is good, and the world has not changed at all because of my mood.
In front of the hospital bed, my mother stretched out her hand that had become dry.
Xuan Ye held her mother's hand tightly.
Unconsciously, her hands were even wider than her mother's, and she was able to hold her mother firmly.
"Xuan Ye, you have to eat well."
"Yeah, I will."
"Huh? What?" Mother looked at Xuan Ye with a smile.
"I said I would, Mom!"
"Yeah." Mother smiled and nodded.
"Xuan Ye, don't catch a cold."
"I'm in good health."
"Huh? What?"
"I said I'm in good health!"
"Um."
"Xuan Ye..."
Mother turned her attention to the empty doorway.
"Dad is back."
"Dad, he...Dad, he..."
I spoke so quietly that I couldn't even hear what I said, but my mother didn't ask me anything as usual.
I still don’t know what the disease that took my mother’s life was, but I know clearly now…
I hate my father.
I hate the person whose mother never came back to see her until she died, and I hate the so-called hero.
After burying my mother, I set off.
Passed through a jungle full of snakes and scorpions, passed through an uninhabited desert, and passed through a front line littered with corpses.
Those are places where heroes have walked, and I won’t be afraid to walk aside again.
Then I found my hero.
Snapped--
Panting with anger, Xuan Ye slapped an old man hard on the face.
The soldiers who had been making noises nearby fell silent in an instant.
"Mom will still think about you until she dies. Do you really want to be a hero?"
"..."
The old man was silent and did not want to answer.
But he seemed to have no room for excuses, so he could only remain silent.
"Speak! Have you become a hero? Have you realized your dream! You trash, scum, bastard!"
Xuan Ye dragged the old man's military uniform and kept shaking it. No matter how she insulted the old man, the old man didn't reply.
Just when she was about to raise her palm again, the old man suddenly smiled at her. It was the same hearty smile that she remembered her father always having on his face.
Only this time, there were two lines of tears on his face.
Finally Xuan Ye stopped and used the soldiers to pull her away.
ah--
Now I remembered that this was the last time I saw my father smile.
...
