Chapter 12 Myth · Superstition · Belief

An An stepped into a temple, his eyes lit up. This is a world full of sound, light, color and taste.The bell in the Taoist priest's hand rang "jingling, dingling", and he sang and said in his mouth, whispering to a vague world.The red robe on his body was dazzling like light, echoing with the dancing candles in front of the divine case. The incense burns continuously and faintly, and the blue smoke shuttles and rises amidst the crisp bells.Large ornate golden lanterns hang from the roof beams, and cigarettes are wrapped around the lanterns. In the small wing room beside the corridor, a Taoist priest in red robe and black hat performed exercises on a set of old clothes on the bed.It was a men's undershirt and shorts, both white.The worried-faced family members stood against the wall, watching the Taoist priest ring the bell and sing—he sang in a weeping voice:

"Come back! Come back! Come back!" The Taoist took a small bowl and sprayed water on the old clothes. An An held her mother's hand tightly and asked, "What are they doing?" Mom didn't know how to answer. From another small room, came the cry of a baby. An old woman with a bun behind her head held a baby in her arms, and the baby's young mother stood aside with a troubled look on her face.The Taoist priest holds a bell in his hand and keeps spinning and spinning on the baby's head... The mother noticed that the old woman's bun was oily and smooth, decorated with a row of bright yellow magnolia flowers, and noticed that the baby was tightly wrapped in a thick blanket in the bitter hot July day, and the child's face was flushed and a little swollen... …

An An raised her face and asked her mother, "What are they doing?" Mom didn't know how to answer. An An stepped into a church, his eyes dimmed. The darkness is like an iron gate, once it falls, it cuts open the two worlds inside and outside the gate. Outside the door is a sunny square.The water of the fountain rushed to the sky presumptuously, then collapsed mischievously, and splashed back to the ground.Tourists are like ducks, stretching their long necks to look around and staring with big curious eyes. The open-air cafes are full of people, adults are drinking hot coffee, and children are licking sticky ice cream.A girl with blond hair closed her eyes and was playing her violin, and a big-breasted pigeon flew over and landed on the lid case of her violin.The sound of the violin is really like a river in the forest...

It was dark inside the door. People walked breathlessly through the corridor to the altar, the only place where there was light.The sunlight, passing through the colorful glass, casts such a warm luster on the cold board.The little boy stood in the dark, looked up at the stained glass window filled with sunlight, and counted the colors.He watched it for a long time. Turning around, he saw a huge black building hanging on the wall, and he rubbed his eyes. There is a person hanging on the wall, much bigger than a real person, made of wood.No clothes, just a piece of cloth around his waist.His hands were opened wide, and his head hung down.There was blood all over his chest, which seemed to be still flowing.

An An knows who this person is. Holding his mother's hand tightly, he said in a trembling, weak voice: "Mom, is he real or fake?" In the faint candlelight, my mother said: "He was originally a real person, but this one is made of wood and is fake." "Mom," said the little boy in silence, "shall we go out? Why are they making him so scary?" Mom didn't know how to answer. Stepping out of the dark gate, the sunlight poured down, shining brightly on the little boy's hair.The music of the violin wafted from the fountain. Dad's big hand handed Ann a fat, fluffy cotton candy, pink.

Mom actually has the answer. The Taoist priest who sprinkled water on the old clothes was "calling on the soul".People in the fishing village live at the foot of the sea.The deep and mysterious sea gave them a rich life and a cruel death; the sea owes no explanation.My mother once saw a human leg on the beach in the fishing village. It might have been dark and strong, but now it was white and swollen with salt water. Who knows who that leg belongs to? It’s just that some husbands didn’t come back; some sons didn’t come back, and those who came back were only boats. People related to these husbands and sons, with a sad face, went to the temple to find the messenger in black hat and red robe, holding a boat in his arms. A bag of close-fitting clothes that my husband and son once wore.

The flushed baby had probably been crying for a day and a night.His skin may be covered with pimples, and his tongue may have a white film.Maybe he had nothing but the blankets that wrapped him so thickly and tightly that he couldn't breathe. But his "grandmother" thought he was possessed by ghosts and was frightened.The Taoist priest inlaid with gold teeth in the temple will help the children "shock".When she went out, she saved a red envelope in her bosom, not a small one, because the Taoist priest would give her a small packet of incense ash for the child to soak up milk to eat after "shocking".

The one hanging on the wall with blood streaming from his chest was supposed to be a "real" person.He touched the patient's face with his special warm and thick hands; he told the people holding the stone with his firm and sincere voice that love is more important than judgment; he used his blood and wounds to tell the weak that sometimes sacrifice is more important than life noble. Later people, those who have never seen him with their own eyes, used various materials: wood, stone, soil, plastic... to make his image, put it on the side of the road, so that drivers can see it; put it on the top of the mountain, Let passers-by look up; hang on a dark wall, and make those who repent cry.

Also makes a three year old tremble. Fill up the big hole in the sky with colorful stones, turn a big pumpkin in the vegetable garden into a glittering carriage with one finger, and transform a person into a beautiful narcissus after being submerged in the water... People say that this is a myth. Ring the bell to bring back the wandering souls, recite a scripture to subdue the ghosts, and take a lottery to determine a person's life... People say that this is superstition. Mary was conceived by the virgin, Christ walked on water, the eyes of the blind were opened, graves were broken and the dead were raised... People say this is faith.

myth.superstitious.Belief. Mom didn't have an answer because she was confused herself. An An licked the pink cotton candy in the sun. A dove flew down from the steeple of the church, with a ring of green light around its neck, and it swayed to the little boy's feet.