Chapter 2 Chapter Two

No matter how many years have passed, I will never forget that day. It was just halfway through my second summer vacation in Osaka.That day, Naoyuki and I moved a large washbasin to the front of our house, planning to hold a launching ceremony for the plastic model boat we had just finished. An old motorized tricycle was parked at the entrance of the alley. It was rare for a car to drive so deep into the alley, so we naturally looked over there. I saw Chunzhi and his parents sitting in the back, and Chunzhi's grandmother and a man he had never seen in the driver's seat, their expressions were distorted in pain.The moment I saw that expression, I just felt a sudden tightness in my chest.

"Ah yo... ah yo..." Grandma stumbled out of the car and sat down at the entrance of the alley, slamming her skinny hands on the ground and crying.Chunzhi's father jumped out of the back seat and picked up a horizontal object from the car.That thing was wrapped in a white sheet, slender and slender, like a huge silkworm. Chunzhi's father walked past my house holding the thing carefully.A child's foot was exposed through a gap in the sheet, the toes and heels were chillingly pale. Chunzhi, who was following behind him, saw me and stopped. "Xue Xiong, Tianhao died this morning." Chunzhi said, blinking his eyes that were red with tears.

When I heard that sentence, there was only a buzzing sound in my head.Because I just thought Tianhao was staying at home as usual. "His condition suddenly deteriorated and he was hospitalized three days ago." I looked at the back of Chunzhi's father. Chunzhi's father buried his head countless times, rubbing his cheek against his son's head through the bed sheet. "Only you are willing to play with him, thank you, the funeral will be held later...you must attend." I couldn't say a word, I just stared at the model ship floating in the basin.Probably because the glue was not applied properly, the hull was flooded and half sank.

The grandmother cried, making people worry that she would go to that world with Tianhao because she was too sad.If it weren't for the mother of the two brothers supporting her, she might not even be able to stand up.The two burst into tears and walked unsteadily towards the alley. "Why not put it in the coffin? It's disgusting!" The aunt who lived diagonally opposite heard the commotion and ran outside to see, and threw out such a sentence in disgust. I still remember it vividly. That night, my parents and I went to Tianhao's wake. That was the first time I attended a funeral. Looking back now, Tianhao's funeral was very different from the funerals I attended afterwards.

After the shoe workshop was cleaned up, a simple altar was set up. Tianhao lay in front of the altar, but he was not lying in a coffin, but on a bedding.His face was covered with a white cloth, and there were several toys lined up beside his pillow, all of which looked like bargains that came with buying snacks.The altar is actually a folding square table with incense, candles, fruits and several plates of Korean dishes on it. As soon as he stepped into Tianhao's house, he saw smoke curling up in the room, and the fragrance was stifling.Although it was halfway through August, the temperature was still high, and it was estimated that the remains would decompose quickly.I think that burning so much incense is probably to cover up the smell, which should be the original intention of offering incense.

There were many people gathered at the wake that I had never seen before.At Tianhao's feet, several relatives' women sat in a row, and they cried non-stop during most of the vigil.There was sadness in their cries, like a song. I clasped my hands together with my parents, but I was absent-mindedly thinking about where Tianhao went... The brothers Chunzhi and Tianhao were born in Japan.They can't speak a word of Korean, and they are no different from Japanese children in appearance.Especially Tianhao, it is said that he even found Korean food too spicy to eat. Can such Tianhao really cross the sea and go to the paradise of North Korea?If he went, could he really be happy in a place where he couldn't understand the language?Or is it that the Japanese god will take him to the Japanese heaven?No, maybe there is neither Japan nor North Korea in heaven.The people who died lived happily ever after in the same place - how nice it would be.

Thinking of this, I suddenly felt dizzy for a while, and then felt more and more uncomfortable, and vomited after returning home.The ceiling slowly rotated overhead, and it was extremely difficult to even get up. "Xue Xiong, you have a severe fever!" After taking the temperature, my mother yelled.At some point, I had a fever that reached nearly forty degrees Celsius. I was immediately sent to a big hospital near my home and stayed in the hospital for two days.Thinking about it now, maybe it was the first time I directly witnessed the death of someone I knew, and it took a huge impact on my body and mind.

Later I heard that during the period of semi-consciousness, I kept repeating: "Tianhao, remote control tank..." The remote control tank was bought by my parents for my birthday about a month ago, and it is the latest toy.It is said that when my mother put the tank next to my pillow, she was very worried whether Tianhao would take me to another world. When I had a high fever and my consciousness was hazy, I couldn't remember whether I had dreamed about Tianhao at all.However, I can remember the reason for saying that very clearly. A few weeks ago, I committed a crime.Together with the children nearby, I discriminated against and bullied Tianhao.

It was the day after my birthday.It had been raining since the morning, and three or four children from the neighborhood came to my house to play, including Naoyuki. As I said before, my family conditions at that time undoubtedly made the children in the neighborhood very envious.One of the two rooms on the second floor of the house is my own, filled with toys and books of all kinds.I am afraid that among the children in the alley, I am the biggest "capitalist".Naoyuki and other children dream of coming to my house to play. We played for a while, Tianhao suddenly came.It was the first time he came to my house, so I couldn't help being a little surprised.

At that time, Tianhao's face was ruddy, and he was wearing a sleeveless sweatshirt. He looked like an ordinary child.Looking back now, it was probably the last moment of light before the candle went out. "I'm here too, little brother!" Tian Hao said with a friendly smile.I sneaked a glance at the faces of the children around me. Fortunately, they seemed very confused, because most parents told them not to play with the cobbler's children at the end of the alley.But out of fear of his elder brother Chunzhi, no one dared to blatantly drive them away. At that time, the focus of our conversation was the birthday present I just received-a remote control tank.The simulated shell made of plastic is connected to the remote control through a wire.The remote control can control the tank to move forward and backward, and the turret can also rotate, of course, it can also rotate left and right as you like.The body is about the size of a weekly manga magazine, which is very attractive to children.

Everyone is rushing to play, so they can only take turns.According to the order determined by the outcome of punching, each person can play for twenty seconds.But because we don't have a clock, we can only count from one to twenty together. This is where the discriminatory treatment is shown.While Naoyuki or the other children were playing, everyone counted slowly.But when it was Tianhao's turn, he counted quickly in less than five seconds. Looking back now, I wish I had been tougher back then.After all, it was my room, my toys.If you want to play here, you have to treat Tianhao as a friend—if I say so. But I failed to do so.In the end, I just looked at Zhixing's faces, acquiesced in their actions, and failed to protect Tianhao. Finally, Tianhao realized the fact that he was not popular.He smiled at me as usual and said, "I'm going back today. Let's play together next time." Although his voice was very clear, his eyes were slightly moist, none of which escaped my eyes.Although there was a dull pain in my heart, the ignorant me nodded my head against my conscience at that time. That was the last time I saw Tianhao. Although I don't remember it at all, did my heart go back to that time in the haze of high fever?In the dream, did I deeply repent for my sins? About a week after Tianhao's death, something strange happened.I almost got pneumonia and I just had a fever and was recovering. "what sound?" When I was sleeping at night, I was suddenly woken up by a loud noise. It sounded like a motorcycle engine roaring in my ears. Sleeping on the second floor, I rushed downstairs in a hurry.Dad and the others woke up too, and the lights were on in the room. "What happened?" "Next door! The people next door are chanting sutras." That's right, it was indeed the sound of drums and bells and chanting from the house next door.But unlike what I heard every morning, the voice was very rapid and frantic.I looked at the clock, it was just past one o'clock in the morning. Opening the small window in the kitchen and looking out, I saw a row of lights in the alley lit up one by one. "What time are you now?" "What are you doing!" Residents poked their heads out of the windows and yelled at my neighbor.As if they hadn't heard the abuse at all, the sound of beating drums and bells and chanting sutras continued. "What's the matter, it's so late!" Finally, Dad went out in his pajamas to meet the neighbors.I ignored my mother telling me to sleep, and followed my father out the door.The other residents also gathered together one after another with gloomy and dissatisfied expressions. The man who opened the door was the host of the house next door. He was a painter in his forties, his face was as pale as paper, covered with cold sweat. "When I got up to relieve myself in the middle of the night, I saw a child outside the window on the second floor." The host next door said in a trembling voice.Everyone present was a little puzzled and looked at each other with puzzled expressions. "It's true...it was a child who was looking in the room from the window, still smiling, and then turned somersault like a monkey, and he didn't know where he went." "You are old, what are you talking about in your sleep?" "I didn't talk in my sleep. I can't be wrong. It's the child who died in the shoemaker's house a few days ago." The moment Tianhao was mentioned, everyone present fell silent. "The face is pale and pale, just like the moon." When I heard the word moon, I couldn't help but look up at the sky.Similarly, the adults present all looked up in unison. at this time. As if waiting for this moment, something, something invisible to the eyes, ran along the roof of the neighbor's house.As agile as a cat, but much bigger than a cat. However, there is nothing there. Obviously there was nothing, but the tiles on the roof sounded from near to far along with the melody, as if fingers were slid across the piano keyboard. "Ghost!" After a moment of silence, someone called out stiffly.The people present screamed as if they had received a certain signal, and fled back to their homes.