Chapter 2 Death
Chapter 2 Death
After graduating from university, I didn't continue my studies due to my own circumstances and tuition fees. I then chose to work for a private company. Seeing that my uncle's hair had turned quite white and he was also supporting my younger cousins' education, I wanted to do my best to help them. Even though my uncle disagreed, I still took out one-third of my monthly salary and transferred it to my uncle's bank account as a way of repaying him for the care he had given me over the years.
My work goals are very clear: to earn money and save money to buy myself a home. Imagination is always wonderful, but reality is cruel. Apart from daily expenses, I save everything else to avoid wasting time and money. I never date.
Despite being 25 years old and being pressured by my uncles and aunts to get married, I don't want to find someone. The biggest reason isn't that I don't want to find someone, but that I haven't met the right person. My colleagues around me aren't doing well after getting married; they're like complaining wives every day. This isn't the life I want.
Finally, at the age of 28, I bought my first house, a two-bedroom apartment, with a down payment of 35 yuan, which almost used up all my savings. But I don't regret it. That afternoon, I bought my mother's favorite dishes and my father's favorite wine, and took a car to their graves. The rows of neat tombstones housed people who were missed by others. Because my parents were there, I was never afraid to come, even though it was empty except for a gravedigger at the entrance.
“Dad, Mom and Xiaoxiao have come to see you…” Even though they have come many times, I still can’t help but get teary-eyed and shed tears.
"I have some good news for you. I bought a two-bedroom apartment in the city. Now Xiaoxiao will have her own home. Even if Xiaoxiao doesn't get married and lives alone, Mom and Dad, you will still support me, right?"
Every time I come over, I have so much to say to them. Before I knew it, the sun was setting again. I looked at the sky and realized it was getting late. "Mom and Dad," I said, "every time I come over, I complain to you. Are you doing well? Do you think Xiaoxiao is useless? I'll come to see you again next time. You have to take good care of yourselves over there."
I wiped away the remaining tears on my face, straightened my clothes, and reluctantly left, returning to the city.
Life is busy every day. People come and go, each with their own things to do, and they don't have much time to pay attention to you. So don't overestimate yourself. Recognize that you are just an ordinary person. Don't meddle in other people's business. Do what you think is right, and be responsible for your actions. This has been my style of doing things for the past few years. I'm clear-headed about life, which is why I don't have any true confidants or friends over the years. All I have are colleagues with whom I have a relationship of mutual benefit.
I thought I would continue living this way until I retired normally, and then use my retirement pension to travel around the world and see different scenery. The change came too suddenly, and I still can't figure it out.
In the year I turned 30, I worked diligently every day, came home, ate dinner as usual, took a walk, took a shower, lay in bed and scrolled through my phone. Suddenly, I felt a sharp, throbbing pain in my heart that got worse and worse. Before I could even call 120 for help, I lost consciousness.
I can't understand how I, an ordinary working person who goes to work and leaves work on time every day and has never done anything immoral, could suddenly develop a heart condition. Even if I have a congenital heart condition, it shouldn't have taken my life without any warning signs.
God has been so unfair to me. Did He think my life was too comfortable or too happy? I don't even know if anyone will find my body after I die. Luckily, I wrote my will at the China Will Registry beforehand. All my property will go to my uncle's family after I die. It will be hard for my uncle, who is already so old, to have to bury his child. I hope that after my uncle finds my body, he will bury me next to my parents, so that our family can be together again.
I've long since become indifferent to life and death, so watching my body lying lifeless on the bed as a spirit didn't make me particularly sad or cause me to lose my mind. Perhaps there's nothing or no one in this world that I cherish, and death is indeed a kind of liberation.
I turned and walked to the window, wanting to see if my soul could pass through. I looked up and saw a very bright star twinkling. I wondered to myself, what time of day is it? Why are there so many stars in the sky? And the moon is exceptionally round and big. Just as I was about to crash into it, a beam of light suddenly enveloped me, and I couldn't move. Before I could react, I was sucked away by a suction force, and then I lost consciousness.
--------
squeak... squeak...
Two or three mice scurried about on the straw-covered ground, groaning in pain.
I slowly opened my eyes. The sunlight was shining in, and it took me several tries to open them completely.
The first thing you see is a stone statue of Maitreya Buddha. The four round wooden pillars next to it have faded to grayish-white. Looking up, you can see wooden beams. There are a few holes in the roof, which is why the sunlight is shining in. The straw under you is laid out relatively neatly. There is no dust on the ground and no cobwebs on the Buddha statue, which means that this place has been cleaned. This is obviously a temple.
I patted my throbbing head. "Where am I? Wasn't I dead?"
When I raised my right hand, I noticed a deep scratch on my slender arm, the blood on it had congealed and was covered with green grass juice. No wonder it hurt so much. Then I looked at the gray clothes I was wearing, covered in pudding. These weren't my hands, and I didn't have clothes like these. Had I fallen on hard times in the underworld and shrunk? Before I could even process what was happening, a sudden throbbing pain shot through my head.
I saw a village submerged by floodwaters, with dilapidated houses and trees everywhere, and the sounds of crying and shouting. A little girl was clinging to a piece of driftwood, calling for her father and mother. Her voice was hoarse from shouting so much. She had been drifting in the water for an unknown amount of time, and her consciousness was slowly fading. Finally, she was stopped by a large rock. The little girl used all her strength to climb onto the rock, and only then did she stop drifting on the water. Later, she met an old man dressed in the same clothes covered in pudding, who carried her back home. This girl's name was Xu Xiaoxiao, and she was ten years old. She used to have a happy family, but the flood made her an orphan and displaced...
After watching these clips, I was moved to tears. It felt like I had experienced it myself. We have the same name and the same shallow ties with our family. Your parents must also want you to live a good life. Now that I have come into your body, I will live a good life for you and for myself. I dare not say that I will achieve great things, but at the very least, I will live a peaceful, healthy, and happy life.
nucmednet