Chapter 15 novella o

We skipped rope in the yard, two people threw the rope, and five people jumped.Not long after we started dancing, Ah'e fell down.She fell slowly, turning blue.The children gathered in a circle in great panic, and someone called A'e's father.The father was a cooper here, with an old face that had experienced many vicissitudes, and his waist was bent at 90 degrees as if broken. He looked not like Ah'e's father, but rather her grandfather.He walked up to A'e, hugged her upper body and walked home, while A'e's lower body was dragging on the ground.It seemed that the father was already familiar with his daughter's seizures and was not surprised at all.A girl who knew about it told me that Ah'e was so pitiful that she was born with this problem.From a distance, A'e looked like a corpse, dragged by the disabled father waddlingly.

We played like crazy all spring.Parents would stand on the front steps in the dark and call one of us by name, jump up and swear, and that person would slink back to dinner like a mouse.Every day.There were also those who were beaten, and the beaten children screamed with all their strength, and the parents were tired of hearing them, so they had to let them go temporarily.But I haven't seen A'e again for a long time, and her father's duck-like figure often appears. The boy Xiaozheng asked me if I would like to see A'e, my heart was pounding, and I followed him from one old house to another.We finally stopped in front of a dilapidated wooden house, Xiaozheng asked me to ride on his shoulders, and went to a high window to look inside.I saw a glass cabinet in the middle of the room, and A'e was sleeping in the cabinet. She was not asleep, moved from time to time, and yawned.I had to take a closer look, but Xiaozheng got impatient and told me to come down.

"How could she sleep in that kind of place?" I asked in bewilderment. "She is sick, that's the isolation room." Xiaozheng introduced triumphantly, "It's not because she is afraid of infecting others, but because she needs to be isolated, otherwise, she won't survive tomorrow." "Then she still jumps rope?" "It's okay to go out and exercise for a short time. I don't think it will do her any harm." He held out his palm solemnly, and I gave him two dollars. I still want to peek through the crack of the door, and the old duck is coming from afar.

"Run!" Xiaozheng yanked me. The two of us ran together, passed through those old houses, and reached the yard again. On the way, we knocked over the dried fungus that a family had dried in the patio, and scattered it all over the ground. Thinking of the girl in the glass case made me blush with a beating heart, and I wanted to confide this discovery to someone right away. Such an opportunity finally came.I invited Xi Sui to dig fern roots in the mountains. We avoided those boys and got into the dark trench.After harvesting some fat fern roots, I lowered my throat and confided this secret to Xi Sui. I also added more details, describing A'e as a python, swimming out at night to eat chickens.Si Sui immediately screamed, jumped out of the dark ditch, scattered the collected fern roots on the ground, and cried with his head in his arms.I followed behind and hurriedly apologized to her. I didn't understand how I offended her and made her so emotional.But as soon as I opened my mouth, she screamed even harder.I was disheartened, threw those fern roots and walked home sullenly.Before I got home, my mother caught up with me and severely accused me of "bullying girls".I wanted to open my mouth to defend myself, but she interrupted me brutally, threatening:

"Some things, you can't talk nonsense, just watch your tongue." Being robbed for no reason, I felt that I had fallen into an abyss, and this abyss was a mystery without a bottom.I wanted to ask Xiaozheng, but Xiaozheng also avoided me, and when he saw me from a distance, he ran away without knowing where I was going. In the evening, the adults cursed people very fiercely, and many people pointed at Sang and Huai.They scolded their children for getting involved with a thief, and said they would break their legs.I didn't dare to listen, but I had to. I felt like a rat crossing the street.All the children have gone home, and there are two women who are cursing.Seeing me listening behind the door, my mother came over and took me into her arms. Her rough, deformed hands caressed my back and sighed one after another, just like I broke into It's a catastrophe, irreversible.

"Nothing, Mom." I said unconvinced. "Of course, of course, what can it be? Good boy." Her bewildered gaze was directed at the wall in front of her, which clearly told me that a catastrophe was imminent.I suddenly hated her, as I often do, but this time, I felt that she was with the people outside.With all my strength, I broke free from her arms, causing her to almost fall to the ground. Since all the kids avoided me, I had to play with myself.I played a kind of siege game on the dirt floor, pitting warriors in two castles against each other.I shouted "Come on! Kill!", and I was very busy.I also asked the warriors in City A to dig a canal to the underground of City B, and brought the pool of sewage in the yard, so that City B was flooded with sewage.When I was concentrating on doing all this, I suddenly saw the foot of a girl wearing leather shoes trample down my castle. I raised my head in surprise and saw A'e standing on top of me with her hips akimbo.

"You coward!" she said haughtily. "Who wants you to talk, can you make sense of these things?" "A'e, A'e, they ignore me, if you ignore me again, what should I do?" I was about to cry, but I grabbed her hand in desperation. "Of course, I'll take care of you." A'e suddenly smiled. She let me grab her hand.And I, as if approved, pressed my cheek to this cold hand.Strange, as soon as I put my face on her palms, there was heat in her palms, and it was getting hotter and hotter, as if she had a high fever. Her two small eyes that were close together were flickering, and I felt that she was going to have a sudden illness. up.I hastily released my cheek from her palm.She clutched her chest with her free hand, panting with difficulty.

"A'e, A'e, you won't faint, will you?" I asked her in fear. It took a long time for her to calm down, pointing to the big rocks beside her, motioning for me to sit down side by side with her.Her hands became cold again, and her face looked ugly.I saw a few heads shaking in the door opening on the other side of the yard. Obviously, they were children on the street in front. They hid when they saw A'e and me sitting together. It was really strange.A'e glanced at me sharply and said: "I can't see anyone now, it's all because of you, you are selfish and reckless."

"I have no idea, I'm in the dark. Oh, I swear, if I knew, I'd cut this hand off." My face must have changed as I said those words.I hope that A'e will continue to speak, so that the reasons for this will be explained clearly, and the truth will be revealed.I held her hand and waited and waited, but she didn't speak, as if she was thinking about something else.I thought, what kind of world is A'e's world?She must think I'm ridiculous.Ah'e's silence was that kind of quiet silence, she obviously didn't want me to speak, it seemed that she knew in advance that I had too many questions, and there was no end to answering.Finally she stood up with a sigh and said she was going.I wanted to send her off, but she made a stop gesture.She walks like her father, much like a duck.I guessed she was going back into her glass case, and I couldn't help being terrified thinking that if she had just died beside me, it would have been a big deal.

Those days I was fascinated and always wanted to run to Ah'e's house.The door is closed, I dare not call the door, and the window is too high.I wandered outside with a heavy heart, and as soon as Ah'e's father appeared, I pretended to be playing a game of repairing the castle under the eaves.One day, after A'e's father entered the room, he and A'e were talking loudly in the room, and I heard everything outside.The father asked: "What's the matter with that wild boy outside?" The daughter replied: "Probably because he is jealous of me." Then he said some other words, which were hard for me to understand.Ah'e's voice sounded like it came from a jar, accompanied by a buzzing echo.

One day Ah'e finally came out, sick.She glanced at the castle I built with contempt, and sat down lazily on the chair. "The sun is so good, Ah'e! The tea trees are blooming! Let's go to the mountains to catch birds." I wanted to please her. "I can't bask in the sun," she said curtly. "What a pity, what a pity, how terrible it is to hide in that kind of cabinet for many years!" "You idiot, it's only interesting in the closet. I feel bad when I'm out, don't you see? The sun has turned my blood black, the pollen has swollen the lining of my windpipe, and worst of all, I can't think about it outside." Things. The things I figured out, you'll never figure out. People like you just play this old game because everyone plays it, and it's so boring," she said. go to the room. I quickly followed closely, and A'e didn't seem to object to my visit to her home.The glass cabinet is exquisite, in stark contrast to the simple and clumsy furnishings in the room.The volume of the rectangle is a bit longer than the figure of an adult, and there is a sliding door in front, and four shiny stainless steel pillars are carved with beautiful spiral patterns, standing at the four corners of the cabinet as supports.That pillar is simply a bit luxurious.A pipe was embedded in one side of the glass door, and it was connected to a small machine.A'e said that once the machine is turned on, the inside of the glass cabinet can maintain a vacuum state. "That's a wonderful situation." I bent down to look at the machine when there was a coughing sound outside.A'e immediately pushed me out and said in a low voice, "Go, go, your smell stays in the room, and my father will be furious." She pushed me hard, and I fell down the steps outside the door.Before I had time to get up, Ah'e's father grabbed me by the back of my collar. He slammed me hard onto the mud floor, causing blood to flow from my forehead. It took him more than a dozen hits before he stopped. I probably Then passed out. I don't remember how I got home that day, the blow to my spirit was far greater than the wound on my head.My mother was crying softly beside my bed, repeatedly saying that she would avenge me. "How do you get revenge?" I interrupted her impatiently. I saw her bewildered look from under her swollen eyelids. "Yeah, how can I get revenge?" she muttered hesitantly. Those were the darkest days when I lay at home, with a bereaved old woman crying outside the door all night, and I thought the end of the world was coming.One night, as soon as I fell asleep, someone touched the wound on my forehead. The person suddenly peeled off the scab on the wound. Woman's hunchback.The wound was bleeding all over my face, and then my mother appeared with an oil lamp. She struggled with me for a long time before I settled down. She refused to listen to my explanation, and insisted that I had a nightmare to open the wound. It's open.I closed my eyes, and the wound throbbed with pain.I thought, that old woman must have regarded me as her dead son, and I'm afraid she was the one who came to seek revenge.This time the wound worsened and left a large scar on my forehead. A'e arrived on the tenth day, which happened to be the day when I overcame the high fever.The girl's face was as white as paper, and she slipped to the bed, saying in multiple voices: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She whispered in my ear and asked me if someone was harassing me when I was sick.I just talked about the old woman. "Did she get the wrong person?" "No way, I think this is my father's idea." She said in a daze. "Isn't it your father's arrangement that you sleep in a glass cabinet?" I taunted her resentfully. "! Don't talk nonsense, now the two of us have become melons on a vine. It's just because you broke into my house that things became like this." When she said that, my anger disappeared.I wanted to sit up and shake hands with her, but a few heads flashed by the window. They were street children.Then I heard those grown-ups pointing and cursing again.I shivered and shoved my hands back under the covers.I saw that A'e was like a vegetable seedling that had been beaten by frost. The coat on her body seemed to be crushing her thin shoulders, and she had a painful expression on her face. "I'm going back, I can't stand the air here," she said weakly. I closed my eyes before she went out.I spent the rest of the day thinking about this question: what was she doing here?Had her father sent her?The more I think about it, the more uneasy I become.Then I thought about Ah'e's situation, and felt that she was definitely not her father's accomplice, but a tool controlled by her father.My opinion of her has always oscillated between two extremes. During the days when I was recuperating from my injuries, I secretly made a plan in my heart. No one can tell this plan, and neither can my mother.As soon as the injury healed, I ran out, ignoring the children, and ran forward alone.The strange thing is that after this, everyone stopped and looked at me, as if staring blankly.I felt a little triumphant again, and I took higher steps, as if I was riding a horse under my lap.I ran and ran, and ran to the foot of the mountain. When I hugged the big pine tree, I suddenly realized: I ran too far.The yelling and yelling of children on the street over there came faintly downwind, giving me a sudden illusion of peace.I turned around and ran towards A'e's house, and I stopped in front of the wall that was approaching her house, and I saw A'e sitting sickly in front of the house. "A'e--A'e!" I called her softly, sweating in my hands. Ah'e's eyes lit up, she immediately stood up and jogged towards me. "How dare you come here again, don't you want to live?" she said in a low voice, seriously. "A'e, I'm here to invite you. Let's run, cross this mountain, and go to my uncle's house. He will take us in. My uncle never makes a fuss. Let's run!" Unexpectedly, A'e did not express any objection, and even showed a very fascinated expression, muttering: "Over the mountain—the other side of the mountain, good idea, I have never been there before! Ha, you This kid!" She stretched out a hand and patted my head lightly, falling into fantasy again. "What are you waiting for, run, run!" I led A'e for a few steps, and she left me and ran away alone.It turned out that she was not sick at all, and she ran as fast as me, or even faster. For the first time, I saw her face flushed, as red as two flowers, and beads of sweat came out from the tip of her nose.What a miracle.We are under the pine tree again, and we are about to climb the mountain.I'm still a little worried. "A'e, are you really willing to abandon your father?" I asked. A'e laughed, saying that I was too wordy, and that my father couldn't be left behind, how could a person be without a father? "You can't leave your father behind either," she added. "Then you still come with me?" "I'm coming with you because it's interesting. You little carrot, let's go." Although I was a little depressed, I was with A'e after all, and I tricked her out. That old bastard didn't know how sad he was.We started to climb the mountain. A'e was more interested than I was, and kept asking me about my uncle. I told her almost everything I knew, but she was still not satisfied and kept pestering some details. In the blink of an eye, we were over that hill.The wind is blowing the woods, and the blue roof is like an old turtle floating in the forest. Both A'e and I were so tired that we lay on the wooden sofa panting.Uncle and aunt are both very big, moving around before our eyes like two houses.I stared at them from the bottom up and couldn't help laughing. "A'e finally escaped from the old devil's grasp." Uncle's voice buzzed in his chest. Later I sat up and told my uncle that we were going to live in his house for a long time, because A'e could no longer bear her old life.A'e was not sick at all, it was that old bastard who made her live an inhuman life.As for my mother, she would agree, and she often joked with me about sending me to live with my uncle.When I said this to my uncle, A'e kicked my feet and called me "nonsense". "What is Ah'e's plan?" As the aunt asked, she pulled A'e into her arms and let her sit on her fat lap, which was like a big sofa.This move of hers made A'e a little flattered. "I didn't plan, I didn't plan!" A'e's face flushed red. My aunt lovingly stroked the little girl's sparse hair, laughing loudly.Then my uncle laughed too, and it was like thunder was thundering in the room.I was suddenly disgusted, I didn't expect the two of them to become so annoying.Why bother to get to the bottom of it?But A'e was obviously very comfortable sitting on the "sofa". She tilted her head and fell asleep.My aunt stood up, held her under her arm like a chicken, walked into the room, and put her to sleep. Ah'e hadn't woken up yet at dinner, and my aunt said she was in a drowsy sleep and couldn't bear to wake her up.I always feel that my aunt's words have other meanings, as if she is blaming me.Shouldn't I call Ah'e here?My uncle was obviously very happy, and patted my shoulder lightly with his huge palm, saying that I was "promising" and "used such a clever trick to deal with that old devil".As he spoke, he asked me to tell him the ins and outs of the matter in detail.So I started with the boy Xiaozheng taking me to A'e's house to peek at the glass cabinet, and talked for a long time.Uncle listened with gusto, and kept interjecting, "That's brilliant!"After eating that meal for a long time, my uncle announced to me after finding out all the details: A'e and I can live in their house for as long as we like; of course, I can leave tomorrow. Yes, the legs grow on me.My aunt kept telling me: "Don't worry about A'e's illness, such a girl won't live long." That night I slept in the same room with my uncle, and A'e and my aunt slept next door.As soon as my uncle went to bed, he snored so loudly that the bed frame creaked.The moonlight was very bright, and there was a suspicious sound knocking outside the window, as if someone was coming in outside the window.After a long time, I couldn't bear it anymore, so I got up to see what happened.I was taken aback by what I saw. It turned out that A'e was knocking on the window lattice with a wooden stick. She was sitting on a branch of a tree with disheveled hair, which just reached my window. "You're crazy, you'll catch a cold like this." "I was originally a patient." "You are not sick." "You only see the surface." "I'm going to sleep." As I said that, I closed the window and lay motionless on the small camp bed.The knocking stopped, and then I heard a "Boom!", probably because she jumped down from the tree.In the dim light, the mountain on the opposite bed started to move. Uncle sneezed and asked: "Is it the goblins making trouble outside?" "It's A'e, she doesn't sleep, she sits on a tree and plays." "She's that kind of person. Leave her alone, too much and your head will explode." Uncle snored again.Slowly, I also fell asleep in that thunder.I couldn't sleep well, and I was woken up again and again by those roosters that screamed. I don't know why my uncle kept so many roosters. They would call out every ten minutes. It might be that someone came from the house. The chickens felt that Everything is out of order.Their chirping was deafening in the middle of the night, but my uncle didn't know it. Ah'e didn't come again during breakfast, and her aunt said that she "runs out all night and hasn't come back yet".The uncle lowered his head and took a sip of goat milk, then added with a smile, "She is that kind of person." After we finished eating, A'e came back when my aunt had to clear the table.She was disheveled, terribly emaciated, and staggered as she walked.She threw herself on the table, grabbed a steamed bun and started to gobble it up.Only then did I remember that she hadn't had dinner yesterday.The aunt looked at her with approving eyes and urged her to eat more.But A'e only ate half a steamed bun and put it down.Leaning on the table, she moaned weakly and said she was "I'm afraid I'm going to die." I stayed with her in trepidation.Because I called her out, if something really happened to her, I'm afraid I will be beaten to death by her father, and I will be beaten to a disability if I don't die.The strange thing is that uncle and aunt are not in a hurry, maybe they think that A'e is pretending.I knew that A'e was not pretending, and in just one day, her appearance changed drastically. The corners of her mouth drooped, her forehead was covered with wrinkles, and even the hands I was familiar with suddenly withered like an old woman. My aunt pushed me away, held A'e under her arm like yesterday, and walked into the room.I felt very resentful at my aunt's rough actions, and I was too worried about A'e. "I've seen her like this a lot, and it won't be a problem." The uncle said, "She is not as stupid as you. She was very clever and quick-responsive since she was a child. She knows what she wants. For example, this time, you You thought it was you who tricked her into coming here? In fact, she was the one who tricked you into coming here, hahaha..." He laughed so hard that he didn't want to laugh anymore, and then he said to me solemnly: "I'm going to take you to see a person today, don't be afraid when you see him." My uncle and I went to A'e's room to see her before we went out.She convulsed intermittently under the thin quilt, gritting her teeth.I was really worried about her, but my uncle dragged me out and said lightly, "It doesn't matter, the seizures in the past were much worse than this. Her kind old father's hard work was finally not in vain." We passed through one paddy field after another, and the farmers stopped what they were doing and stood there in amazement.Uncle ignored them and walked slowly like a camel.Infected by him, my little one also became arrogant and followed closely behind with my head held high.I didn't dare to ask my uncle until I finished walking the field path and arrived in the mountains: "Why are those people surprised?" "Because I seldom go out. They have a premonition that a major change is about to happen. You live with A'e at my house, and everyone in the village knows about it. Especially A'e, who ran wild all night, I'm afraid every family has visited. " Although my uncle is bulky, he climbed up the mountain very vigorously, and he was not even out of breath, which greatly admired me.The mountain breeze in late spring blows comfortably on my face, and I even picked up some pine mushrooms along the way.I almost forgot about A'e who was ill at home.At this moment, my uncle slowed down and started talking about A'e.He said that A'e was a girl who could never be satisfied. After she was born, she cried from morning to night, and no one could coax her.A'e's mother was exhausted to death by her. She died when A'e was two years old.Later, Ah'e's father made her a strange glass cabinet and let her sleep in it, and she immediately calmed down. "A'e's father was my partner when he was young. We panned for gold together. That guy couldn't endure hardships like me, and he ran back soon. We didn't expect him to have such a daughter. Your aunt and I will never I can't forget that day. At that time, the glass cabinet was not yet finished, and A'e's father was installing a pillar. The nimble little A'e immediately pushed open the glass door and climbed in, and then closed the cabinet door. We were all dumbfounded Such a girl, ouch!" We walked and walked, and the mushrooms I picked filled up the basket, and my uncle laughed at me as "only fond of petty profits".After turning over the second mountain, it was almost noon, and my uncle pointed to a small hut in the valley in the distance and told me, "It's there." I asked my uncle what it was, and he knew it when he said it. Quicken your pace out of curiosity.But my uncle didn't leave, and sat on the thatched grass by the roadside and said he wanted to rest, so I sat down next to him, probably really tired, and fell asleep as soon as I leaned against my uncle.I was in a daze and heard my uncle talking to someone, buzzing like a bellows, it seemed that the person asked the uncle something, and the uncle told him that everything was ready, there was only one small obstacle, and this obstacle was up to him to take charge.He also said other things, all very strange things.The more I tried to struggle to wake up, the more I couldn't wake up.I felt like I was in a closed basement with my uncle and me, and the person who was talking to him was separated from us by a door.Finally, I put my finger in my mouth and bit it hard, and finally woke up.I looked around inexplicably, and heard my uncle say: "This is the hut, and we have arrived." I was on a simple bed with a person lying next to me.I immediately saw a familiar look, and I was so surprised that I almost jumped up and ran away.Uncle grabbed me with his big hands and told me not to be afraid.The man was wrapped in bandages and gauze from head to toe, only one festering hand was exposed, and I saw the back of his hand was rotten to the bone.Could this person be A'e's father?Not so long ago he had the strength to beat me. "This guy can't even speak, what are you afraid of?" Uncle said again. The smell in the hut was suffocating, and it was evidently emanating from the man in front of him.I remember digging for worms down a hill once and I found a dead cat, and it smelled exactly like this.Now this living corpse was sitting on this rotten bamboo bed, his horrific hand was shaking slightly, he seemed coy and uneasy.Of course I am no longer afraid of him, I am still very happy in my heart, this is good, he can no longer control A'e, and A'e and I are completely liberated!I was so happy that my face flushed, and then I met my uncle's eyes. His unpredictable gray-black eyes obviously saw through my little plan, and there was reproach in his eyes.Later I realized that my plan was just wishful thinking.As a person, until I was thirteen years old, I was always wishful thinking when I did things, and I seldom thought carefully. After sitting in silence for a while, I couldn't bear it any longer and dragged my uncle to leave.Uncle opened my hand and scolded: "Nonsense!" He said he wanted to change the bandages for a good friend, and that's why he came here.After hearing his words, I was really depressed.Uncle changed the bandages for this man, starting with the stomach.He screamed like a pig, and I couldn't stand it.I wanted to go out, but my uncle didn't allow me.I dared not look at the man, but a fleeting glance at the horror frightened me.There wasn't a single piece of good flesh in his body, and his skin was rotten purple-black in many places, and a piece of rotten flesh stuck to the bandage that had been removed.The indescribable stench nearly made me faint.With a pair of large tweezers in his hand, the uncle helped him wash the wound with a cotton ball dipped in salt water from an earthenware bowl.No matter what strange noises the man made, my uncle was always patient and methodical.Looking at the huge back of my uncle, I felt that he was like a mountain, pressing on the poor guy who was wriggling in his hands in despair.Later, the guy's cry gradually weakened, and my uncle was still shaking his arms and doing it.By the time he wrapped the man in fresh bandages, he was almost silent. "He fell asleep at last." The uncle said, pointing to the pile of things wrapped in gauze on the bed. " Uncle smiled when he said these words, which gave me goosebumps.I suspected that the person on the bed was dead, and this suspicion became more and more serious, because after a while, he still didn't move at all.While my uncle was not paying attention, I yanked the man's foot with my hand. The stiffness of the foot frightened me.I was about to run out, but my uncle grabbed me and ordered me to stay obediently.Then he asked me to pay attention to the man's eyes.Only then did I see that his eyes were still open, and there was a frightening light in his eyes, just like the look he had when he beat me that time, and the thick bandages couldn't hide his malicious expression.At this time, although I was afraid, I was more gloating.I thought of Ah'e at home. I wondered how she was doing now. If she could recover at her uncle's house, wouldn't she have to go back to her terrible home?Looking at the situation, she will no longer have a home. Once the old guy dies, she will be completely liberated.I asked my uncle what he was doing sitting here all the time, and my uncle said it was to accompany this old friend, and that he was too lonely.I asked how this man was injured, and how he came to this hut, and my uncle replied that it was all because of A'e.Then he stopped me from asking, and scolded me for "talking too much". I stayed in that hut patiently for a long time, and the guy's eyes followed me all the time, which made me very uncomfortable.I figured if his wounds healed up he'd be blamed for not tearing me to pieces.But what does A'e have to do with all this?Judging from the timing, it was after her father fell ill for a period of time that she and I left here.Could it be that she made her father like this, and asked someone to carry him to this hut?Could it be that she came here last night? When we got home my uncle took a new lock out of his bag and locked the door of the hut.At this time, the cooper made a noise like killing a pig again. From the sound, it sounded that he would not die for a while.The uncle said that he locked A'e's father inside to prevent A'e from going in. If A'e came here again, he could only talk to her father through the door, which was good for both of them physically and mentally, because Both characters are equally crazy.Until my uncle and I walked through the fir forest, I could still hear the miserable cry of A'e's father.At this time, the energy in Uncle's body disappeared completely, and he frowned tightly, walking and resting, not knowing what he was thinking.Because I was thinking about A'e, I urged my uncle to leave quickly. I said that if he lingered like this, he wouldn't be able to get home until it was dark.When my uncle saw that I kept urging him, he became angry and said: "What's wrong with walking slowly? I let you eat the two pancakes by yourself, and you're not hungry. What's the rush? Maybe you'll meet Ah'e on this mountain when it's dark!" "A'e? How did you know she would go our way?" "That's the only way to get to her father." What was worse was that my uncle suddenly said that he was dozing off again, and while talking, he lay down on his side on a smooth boulder and began to snore.I was angry and scared, and wanted to leave him and go back alone, but I forgot the way back.It was getting dark, and the woodcutters were returning home with their firewood. They stopped beside my uncle, looked at the fat man suspiciously for a long time, and asked me all kinds of questions, so that I wished I could become a piece of wood. Stone, they looked at me hesitantly, and left us with the firewood.After walking a short distance, they put down their load and came back again, grabbed my shoulders and shook them, asking me, "What the hell are you doing here?" The three of them surrounded me tightly, as if they were going to eat me .Their noise did not bother my uncle at all, and he continued to snore heavily on the stone.Seeing that they couldn't get anything out of my mouth, these people pushed me violently. I hit the trunk of a big pine tree and fell to the ground with stars in my eyes.Those people were afraid of getting into trouble, so they ran away quickly.I slowly got up.I was so angry that I kicked my uncle with my feet. I kicked him several times, but I couldn't wake him up.Fortunately, my aunt's voice sounded in the woods at this time, and I quickly agreed.The aunt stamped her feet, and angrily slapped the sleepy bug a few loudly, only then did the uncle wake up.He touched his hot face aggrievedly and asked what happened. "A'e has gone back, you old trash, you can't figure out anything!" "Bah! It's unbelievable that she just left like this? You don't even want your father?" "Of course I'm gone! Who told you to meddle in her business? I told you, she has big ideas! What are you messing with, my God! Your sister came this afternoon too, and she said she wanted to It's okay, we don't want a son, let Alin be our son, but I don't want her son. No matter how I look at it, I think he looks like a little hooligan. Think about it, how dare you abduct a girl to our house Come!" Suddenly both of them turned their anger on me.My aunt said that my mother wanted to "get rid of the burden" and make her and my uncle's life uneasy in their later years; my uncle also sighed, sat on a rock and cursed my mother, and asked me to promise to leave immediately tomorrow morning.The situation became like this, of course I couldn't stay for a day, so I immediately agreed to uncle.As soon as I said that I agreed to go home, both of them heaved a sigh of relief at the same time. With the support of my aunt, my uncle struggled to climb down from the boulder, then leaned on her, and limped on the way home.At this time, the moon had come out, and the backs of the two big guys in front of me became hazy, much like injured big black bears.I thought of my uncle's energetic appearance when he went out in the morning, and the energy with which he changed the bandages for A'e's father later on. I didn't understand how he could be in such a shape after a day.And my mother, who actually didn't want me as a son because of my running away, the connection between me and her was so fragile.They groaned and gasped as they walked, and finally wept.The uncle told while weeping. He talked about the miserable life of A'e's father, his little dream, his ability to endure pain, and his unchanging determination.I don't fully understand my uncle's passion, but under such moonlight, with such tree shadows swaying around, and such dead leaves crackling under my feet, thinking of the future, I can't wait to cry.I tentatively howled a few times.As soon as I cried, both of them stopped crying, stopped and turned around, looking at me curiously.So I immediately shut up.Uncle looked very disappointed. "Cry, cry!" he urged. 可惜我哭不出了，也不知道舅舅到底从我身上期望些什么，又因为这种暧昧不明而烦躁起来。 回家的路走了很久很久，到家时已是深夜，那些雄鸡听见我们回来就发疯地乱叫了一通。坐在油灯前喝稀饭时我才记起，我将那一篮松蘑扔在山上了。难怪舅舅嘲笑我"专爱蝇头小利"。喝完第二碗稀饭的时候，我听见灶屋里有响动。 "是野猫吧？"我问。 "是阿娥回来了。"舅妈若无其事地说，"她想走回头路，她什么都想得出！" 我走进灶屋。看见阿娥在油灯下削莴笋，那是为明天的早饭准傅摹０⒍鸬耐贩⑹岬谜?整齐齐，衣服也很干净，和早晨那副样子完全不同了。我走过去挨她坐下，帮忙一道削。 "阿娥，我看见了你父亲呢！" "不要提他，我不喜欢别人对他说三道四，你并不了解情况。"阿娥柔和而坚决地说。 "你不走了吧？" 阿娥不回答我的问题，双手灵巧地挥动着，一会儿就把莴笋全削好了。她用簸箕盛着莴笋去洗，她的样子就像一个熟悉家务的村姑，我简直看呆了。阿娥回过头来朝我一笑，露出她的蛀牙，然后对着房里撅了撅嘴说： "什么时候了，你还不去睡，舅舅要生气了啊。" 这是在舅舅家的第二夜，已经是下半夜了，雄鸡的报鸣一声接一声。我虽然累坏了，却一点睡意都没有。我听见阿娥一直在厨房弄得水响，她哪里有那么多东西洗啊？听着阿娥弄出的响声，我心里又有了希望，于是开始策划一些稀奇古怪的事，那些事里总是两个主角：我和她。我们跑呀跑的，撇开了她父亲，扔下了我母亲，连舅舅舅妈都不要了，后来阿娥跑不动了，我就背起她跑，我成了大力士，跑过一座山头又跑过一座山头，要是她抱怨，我就连她也扔下，一个人跑，这一来她就会央求我带上她……或者我们根本不跑，爱住在谁家就住在谁家，她父亲管不了她，我母亲也管不了我，舅舅也拿我们没办法，那些小孩更不敢朝我们瞪眼，大人们也不敢指桑骂槐。如果阿娥还是想睡在玻璃柜里，那也很好，我要把她的玻璃柜搬到院子里去，让她晒晒太阳。我想到第五个方案的时候天就亮了，舅舅如雷的鼾声平息下来，他一翻身就坐起来，问我看见阿娥没有。我回答说阿娥在厨房里洗菜呢。 "你上当了！"舅舅吼道，"你这个痴呆，她看她父亲去了！" 我连忙趿上鞋到厨房一看，果然阿娥不在。夜里是谁在弄得水响呢？ "我说的没错吧？"舅舅洋洋得意地说，"这个小家伙心计很深的。幸亏我将门锁上了，要不然啊，她会将她父亲身上的绷带拆得乱七八糟的，那种神经质的发作我们都领教过，那都是因为她爱父亲爱得太深啊。" 早上我在餐桌上吃饭时差点被一口玉米糕噎死，我心不在焉，吃得太快了。好不容易缓过气来，一抬头看见两个男孩站在门口，他们是老屋那边的男孩，居然跑到这里来了。我朝他们一瞪眼，他们立刻隐藏起来。舅舅也看见了他们，他说： "阿林的举动真是牵动了众人的心啊！" 舅妈好奇地起身到外面去看，我听见她在和那两个人说话，说了好久她才进来。 "他们不是找你的，是找阿娥，你去和他们说说啊。"舅妈看也不看我说。 我来到外面，那瘦高个子走拢来告诉我，阿娥回不去了，她的房子已经被愤怒的家长们拆掉了，那玻璃柜也被砸了个粉碎，家长们边砸还边说："让她去做野鬼。"他的目光闪烁不定，似乎很不情愿地讲出这些话，而他的同伴则站得远远的不过来，冷冷地斜睨着我。末了他要我转告阿娥，千万不要回去，家长们正在到处找她。我想告诉他我和阿娥不怕那些大人们，我们偏要回去，看他们又敢拿我们怎么样。但我没说出口来，这男孩一副冷淡样子，好像认为阿娥的事同我不相干，他只是要我帮他转个口信罢了。我请他们俩进屋，他们坚决不肯，另外那个男孩已经爬到树上去了，正在向远方望。事情变得复杂起来了，不知道这两个孩子还要呆多久，万一阿娥回来了，他们会如何样对她描述家里的事。 舅舅见我愁眉苦脸的样子就笑起来。 "树上那两只猴子在威胁你吧？我帮你把他们弄走好不好？" 他说着就走到那棵树下，拍着巴掌要两个男孩下来，他告诉他们阿娥去她父亲那里了，还向他们指点那条路该如何走。舅舅这种举动搞得我激动不已，我在旁边高声叫喊说没有那么一回事，阿娥根本没去那种地方，她正在房里的床上躺着呢，她病了。两个男孩听我这样说，立刻一前一后溜下来，焦急地喊道："阿娥！阿娥！"并且就要往房里冲。 "阿娥在她父亲那里。"舅舅拦住他们严肃地说道，"照我指的路走就可以找到。" 这个时候我真是恨舅舅，我用力拽他的衣服后襟，把他的罩衫都拽坏了。眼看那两个心术不正的家伙一溜烟跑过了小山坡，很快消失在视野外。我愤愤地从地上抓了一把泥沙，摔到舅舅身上。舅舅拍打着衣服。问我为什么要生这么大的气？让阿娥早点知道家里的情况不是应该的吗？ 我无聊地到处溜达了一会，就蹲在那条沟边上等待事态的发展。沟里有只老螃蟹，住在一块大石头下面，去年我来舅舅家就同它熟悉了。我看见它爬出来，张望了一会，又慢慢地缩进去了。我动了动石头，它就不再爬出来，而是一声不响地呆在它的阴暗的巢里。我想不出这种情形已经有多少年了。可以肯定老螃蟹一定是十分自信的，它伏在巢中，不但听见地面的响动，也听见地底的变迁。它的背上有种奇怪的花纹，大概记载了它经历过的重大事件。那会是一些什么样的事件呢？它的古老的家族一定是在对面山上的山涧里，什么原因使得它移居到了有人的地方呢？ 当我沉思着螃蟹之谜时，舅舅和舅妈正并排坐在灶屋里抽烟，两个人用的都是那种很长的竹竿烟斗。我走进灶屋，被烟呛得咳起嗽来。他们都不理我，似乎要让我意识到自己所犯下的错误。我在灶屋里站了一会儿，怏怏地来到舅妈的卧房里。我看见床上摆着阿娥的一个头饰，是一个牛骨做的眼球，那是阿娥天天戴着的东西。窗台上有一个铁匣子，我打开紧紧盖着的盖子一看，竟是一匣子泥土，泥土中央有一粒刚刚发芽的种子，这情形给我一种很怪异的感觉，我就让盖子敞开，使这粒种子可以透一透气。窗台上还有两个新鲜的泥土脚印，大概是阿娥的，我想像着她夜间就从这里跳进跳出的。我正要离开，又被房里一种骚响吸引住了，我弯下腰去看床底下，看见了阿娥。她的双手被反绑在背后，满脸沾着灰尘，正在床底下扭来扭去的。"阿娥！阿娥！"我沉痛地唤道，一边钻到床底下去解救她。但是阿娥不需要我的帮助，她用脚狠狠地踢我，踢得我无法挨近她，只得沮丧地爬出来。 "阿娥，我们离开吧。"我蹲在那里向她哀求道。 "走开！！"她大叫，痛苦得要发狂了似的。 因为害怕，我暂时退出卧房，我焦急万分，将耳朵紧紧贴到门上细听。阿娥的脚暴躁地踢得床板"咚咚"作响，很远都可以听到。舅舅和舅妈却安然在灶屋里抽烟。他们为什么要将她捆起来，她又为什么不准我解救她？我就是想破了脑袋也想不出这里面的关系。从前我一直以为最难理解的人是阿娥，现在看来恐怕应该是舅舅。昨天夜里我还给舅舅取了个绰号叫"熊老爹"，熊的样子看上去又笨又温顺，其实随时可以吃人。他颇有心计地，缓慢地安排好每一个细节，很可能是为着那最后到来的、嗜血的快乐呢。想到此处我怒不可遏地向灶屋冲去。 "小家伙干吗这么激动？"舅舅冷冷地说。 "把阿娥放出来，不然这屋里就要出事。"我一个字一个字地从牙缝里挤出来这句话。 "原来这样。好嘛，好嘛，我这就去放，你以为你是什么人？啊？" 他和舅妈猥亵地相视一笑，两人同时放下烟斗，朝卧房走去。 阿娥听见他们进去就移到了床外边。舅舅弯下腰一把将她提起来，舅妈拿了一把剪刀"咔嚓"一声就将缚着她双手的布条剪断了。阿娥扑到舅舅怀里大放悲声，那情形很像受了委屈的孩子向父母撒娇。舅舅的大手抚摸着阿娥的头，任凭她将脸上的灰都擦在他身上，口里一迭声哄着她说："好啦，好啦，没有阿娥过不去的河嘛。" 舅妈也附和说："阿娥就是心狠，什么都做得出来。" 阿娥哭完后就去洗脸，洗完脸回来样子显得轻松了好多。再过了一会儿她简直就高兴起来了，一边帮舅妈腌萝卜一边口里还哼起了歌。我实在没法知道她心里想些什么。 舅舅坐在碗橱后面的阴影里。我走过去轻声问他为什么要捆阿娥。 "我们担心她要自残。那样两个小流氓，什么事干不出来？他们肯定已经踢开门，把我的老朋友抛尸野外了。我从他们眼里就看出了他们的决心，这种事迟来不如早来。" "阿娥就不管她父亲了？" "我们不是将她捆起来了么？她在床底下滚了一天，痛不欲生呢。刚才你母亲来过了。" "来干什么？"我警惕地问。 "来送你的衣服。她真是个一辈子泡在苦水里的女人。周围那些人都仇视她，她一直努力巴结他们，我想最后她总会达到目的吧。" 舅舅陷在久远的回忆中，眼睛眯得细细的，打了两个大大的哈欠，抱怨说真是困死了，就去睡觉去了。我突然也很想睡，到这里来之后我还没好好睡过呢。我晕头晕脑往舅舅卧房里走，阿娥在过道里将我拦住了。我问她有什么事，她说她心跳得厉害，估计她父亲已经出事了，那两个"冒失鬼"（她就是这么说的）要了他的命。我睡眼矇眬地说："你刚才不是很高兴嘛，还哼歌子。"她立刻脸一沉，说我太不懂事，八辈子也长不大，她本想在一些事上依靠我，现在才知道看错了人。又说我好比一只猪，吃了睡，睡了吃，对身边的大事一概没有感觉。她的一顿呵斥没有赶走我的瞌睡，我简直睁不开眼了，干脆就在过道的一个木箱上倒下便睡。这一来她更生气，跺着脚抓了一只鸡毛掸来抽我的腿，那东西抽起来并不十分痛，我就一边打鼾一边听她的数落，我将她的话全听进去了。梦中看见舅妈将她弄走了，舅妈说的最后一句话是"不要指望白痴会开窍"。 一醒来我就觉得很后悔，我不该惹阿娥生气，我辜负了她对我的信任。很多狗在外面发疯般地叫，我刚才就是被它们叫醒的。我急忙去找阿娥，她不在家里。舅妈在我身后冷冷地说："要利用别人了就来找，这种人最卑劣。"我看着外面暗下去的天色，心里难受得厉害。我刚才不该睡觉的，难道就一刻都忍不住了么？要是我拼命忍一忍，阿娥也不至于对我如此失望吧，我真是缺乏意志力啊。我想到外面去找阿娥，但是舅妈不准。一吃过晚饭她就扔给我两个筛子，叫我筛米。 我在油灯下三心二意地筛着米，筛几下又停下来去听外面的动静。还是那些狗在叫，再就是山风发出的"呼--呼--"的声音。 舅妈走过来抓起一把我筛过的米看了一下，大声嚷嚷： "怎么筛的，米里尽是糠！你在欺骗我们呀！你这个寄生虫！" 我实在忍无可忍了，就将筛子往地下一扔，也冲着她大叫： "我不干了！我要走！这里简直是个牢房，你，还有舅舅，你们是魔鬼！" 我一叫，舅妈愣了一愣，忽然一点气都没有了。她将我拉到油灯下打量起来。这时舅舅也来了，两人交换着目光，叹着气，坐下来抽烟。我重申我要走。舅舅慢慢摇着头，问我有什么打算。我说去找阿娥。"然后呢？""同阿娥一起回家去。""想得倒好！！"他们两人异口同声地说。我不想再理他们，就转身想往卧房里去拿我的衣服。 "哪里跑？！"舅舅的大手将我一拦。 我发现舅妈也显出了仇视的样子，她手里紧握着一根棍子，好像马上要冲过来抽我一顿的样子。我本能地抱住头，蹲在灶台下面。他们俩迈着沉重的脚步走出厨房，然后又将厨房门"咔嚓"一声锁上了。接着房里什么声音也听不到了，只有远处渐渐息下去的狗叫声。在这个绝望而古怪的时刻，我突然想起了母亲，我记起舅舅告诉我说母亲今天来过了，如果她不是为担心我而来，那是来干什么呢？生平第一次，我怀疑起母亲来。她会不会同现在的事有关呢？既然我一点都不曾懂得舅舅，也许我同样不懂得她？他们兄妹俩到底是什么样的人呢？我是在母亲愁苦的目光和唉声叹气中长大的，她于无言中告诉我，我的出生是一件很不好的事。从我记事起，我就一直在反对她的这种结论。起先我小心翼翼，避免犯错误，我这样做的时候却看见母亲的眉头并没有展开，言谈中反倒流露出认为我是先天体质孱弱，因为怕死才这样谨小慎微，完全不像个小孩。那时候，我常常在半夜被她的啜泣声惊醒。她坐在我的床头，像幽灵一样盯着我，弄得我浑身发抖。终于有一天，我下定决心解放自己，我不再顾忌，想干什么就干什么，甚至连母亲的教导也不放在心上，时常还有意违反，做些出格的事，比如跳进泥塘把一身全弄脏，躺在外面装死人吓唬过路的人等等。我越放纵自己，母亲越悲哀。有一次她竟对来我们家的亲戚说："这孩子对噩运来临有种天生的预感。"当时我刚好从外面玩耍回来，听到了这句话，我脸都白了，只觉得呼吸不畅。当天夜里我想了整整一夜。到了早上我终于忍不住去问她，我说我必须知道我是不是真的一生下来就有种致命的疾病？如果有，应该告诉我，而不是隐瞒，这样我就会注意照顾自己，防止疾病发作，这也是她做母亲的义务嘛。母亲平静地从梳妆台前转过脸来，对我的猜测矢口否认，还责备我不该走火入魔，胡思乱想，她说要是都像我这样成天去设想一些没影的事，那还活得下去吗？虽然她说得很诚恳，但她为什么愁眉不展呢？我又怀疑是不是她自己有大难临头了，我密切观察了她好久，没有发现什么苗头。日子平静地过去，我确定下来母亲还是在为我苦恼，这种没来由的担忧真是惹恼了我，我后来就更加胡作非为了。和阿娥的事就是在这种冲动下做出来的。我以为母亲会追到舅舅家来指责我一通，或者是不许我同阿娥来往。结果呢，情况要严重得多，她伤透了心，为了这点事就不要我这个儿子了。是不是她本来就想摆脱我，现在正好有了借口呢？她在心里头抱怨了十三年，现在我终于自己走了，她松了一口气，这种情况不也是很有可能的吗？或者是她一直在默默地促使我出走--用她那种惹怒我的表情，而舅舅，也早就同她有过某种约定？总之因为孩子一次小小的出走就同他断绝关系，这种轻浮的举动不像她做出来的，会不会是舅舅他们骗我？这样一个日夜为我担忧的母亲，她的举动肯定有另外的理由，不会像舅舅说的那么冷酷。当然舅舅之所以要那样说也有他见不得人的理由吧。假设她匆匆跑到这里来，对舅舅他们说不要我了，然后又匆匆回去了，那么这种离奇的举动一定是一连串事的后果。现在细细一回忆，恐怕是我刚接触阿娥她就起了尽快摆脱我的念头。莫非我是她身上的一个毒瘤？莫非阿娥的出现是对她的致命打击？ 油灯已经灭了，有两只母鸡发出一高一低的两种鸣叫，彼此呼应着。我躺在灶角的柴堆上，可以听见舅舅房里传来隐约的鼾声。又等了一会儿，我就站起身去推窗户，没想到窗户上是固定的、打不开的木格子，我推了好几下它都纹丝不动。我又去踢门，踢了好久，脚都踢伤了，房里还是一点动静都没有。情急之下我叫起了"妈妈"，我叫呀叫的，喉咙叫嘶了才停下来，这时发觉四周出奇的寂静，连那两只母鸡都不出声了。把身上的力气全发泄完了之后，我就倒在柴堆上入睡了。朦胧中听见开门的声音，一个黑影慢慢朝我移过来。我闻见了阿娥的气味，她轻轻地在柴堆上坐下来，然后就开始哭。 "阿娥！阿娥！"我搂着她的肩膀唤道。 "你知道我是谁？" "谁？！"我毛发竖立。 "我是你姐姐！我的父亲，也是你的，他今天死了！" "阿娥！阿娥！"我猛摇着她，就像摇一棵小树。 后来我听见她在呻吟，呻吟当中夹着绝望的喃喃低语："他死了，他死了……我却还活着，这是怎么回事？当然，我已经知道了该怎么办。" 一盏油灯突然在门口亮起，舅舅和舅妈衣装整齐地出现了。舅舅拍着手说： "好哇，好哇，兄妹终于团圆了！这样的大团圆什么时候发生过？这不是世界奇迹吗？我的天！！" "下一步该去妈妈那里了。"我不好意思地说。 我刚说了这句话阿娥就气愤地从我臂弯里挣脱出来，一连朝地下"呸"了好几声，看她的神气恨不得给我几个耳光。 "你得罪她了，"舅妈说，"阿林真是一点都不聪明。" "阿林的确有点蠢。"舅舅也说。 "你们到底想干什么？"我不顾一切地嚷起来，"为什么要折磨我？是想告诉我什么深奥的道理吗？那为什么不说出来，要设下这重重的圈套？这一切，让人既不能动，也不能逃，这是为了达到什么样的目的？就算那个人真是我父亲，我也决不把他看作父亲，他一直想要我的命，他……" 我还没说完阿娥就跳起来，"啪啪!"给了我脸上重重的两巴掌。她的力气真是惊人，瘦瘦的手掌像钢鞭一样。我差点被打晕过去，抱着头在地上滚来滚去，我的两边脸都麻木了。 阿娥的抽打令我想起她父亲，那一次，他也是这么毫不留情，这么下死力揍我，这两个人打人的方式真是太相像了。疼痛中听见舅舅和舅妈在议论，他们称赞阿娥，说她有她父亲昔日的派头，将来恐怕会是"女中豪杰"。我还在地上呻吟，他们就一齐出去了。 门又被他们锁上，四周黑洞洞的，连月光也没有了。我竭力要在柴堆上入睡，我想，我要是睡着了，也许这一切就是一场梦。可是我偏偏睡不着，一边脸肿了，一颗牙也松动了，口里还出血。我想到那个最大的疑点：一个长期有病，睡在玻璃柜子里的女孩，哪里来的这种过人的力气？难道她的病是假装的？或者是服从她的古怪意念的东西，要它来就来，要它走就走？我不是亲眼看到过她晕倒，她在自家门口发病吗？更不可理解的是，她之所以下死力打我是为了她父亲（或我父亲），这位父亲和她究竟是个什么关系，和我母亲又是怎么回事呢？我通过这两天发生的事得出结论：这些人决不可能告诉我前因后果，他们就是要蒙住我的眼让我瞎闯，这是他们的一种冷酷爱好。那么明天天一亮，我还是回家去问妈妈吧。虽然母亲也好像同他们是一气的，我却还是认为十多年里头她对我的牵挂不会是出于假心假意，只要我缠着她，逼她讲，她总会讲出来的。我又想起阿娥同我住得不远，怎么会十多年里头我一次都没见过她，而那天跳绳时一见了她，她就把我的生活彻底改变了呢？当时确实有种不可思议的激情在支配我的行动，也许那就是血缘在起作用？这位父亲我倒是常看见，他是箍桶匠，所有的人都找他修过木桶，在我的印象中他并不凶，他修桶时我们小孩都喜欢围着看，他也不生气，垂着眼干他的活。我没见过他女儿，也没听人谈起过，直到那天她来跳绳，然后晕倒。别的孩子一定是知道她的，只有我一个人不知道，所以我才有那种新奇感，迫不及待地要搞清她的情况。如果说这是一个阴谋的话，那么从我生下来阴谋就开始了。不然为什么我从未见过阿娥，一见她就被她吸引，接着那位父亲就把我往死里打，接着母亲就做出那副听天由命的样子，再接着阿娥又做出同我同病相怜的样子，引诱我做出了出走的事？本来男孩子是不怎么跳绳的，可是我那天却跳上了瘾，现在回想起来也十分奇怪。不过我之所以想离开阿娥，还是因为这两天发生的事。我发现阿娥根本不是那种弱小的女孩，有时候，她是十分凶残的，舅舅也说过她父亲是被她弄死的，这毕竟令人害怕。父亲是看出了阿娥凶残的本性，才把她带走，两人生活在一起的吧。而像母亲和我这样的人，在他眼里才是真正的残废。 我越想这些事，脊梁骨越发冷。我又一次去推那窗口的木格子，推了几下，靠左边的部分居然松动了，再用力一拔，两根榫都拔出来了。我又捣鼓了一阵，在窗口弄出一个大窟窿，然后登上条凳，从那窟窿翻出窗外，拔腿就跑。跑到小山头，才放慢了脚步，这时天已经开始亮了。 我怀着忐忑不安的心情进了我们的镇子，一眼就看见那边街上的孩子们围着一个东西。走到面前，才看清了他们围着的，正是阿娥睡觉用的玻璃柜。一个小男孩睡在里头，柜门关得紧紧的，边上那根管子已经拔掉了。男孩闭着眼，看上去像死了一样。所有的人都在屏住气看这个男孩。没人注意到我。我正要走开，忽然发现母亲也在小孩们当中。她那种样子我从未见到过：她不修边幅，头发乱得像鸡窝草，手里抱着一个小女孩，她正让她可以从别的孩子头上去观察那玻璃柜，另外一名男孩扯着她的衣裳哀求，求她让他也可以饱饱眼福。我从人群里挤过去，挤到母亲身边，轻轻地唤道： "妈妈！妈妈!" "你？"她掉转头，用空着的那只手竖在嘴上说，"嘘--不要出声。" 我等得厌烦起来，就一个人先回家了。 家里还是老样子。我倒在自己的床上就睡，刚睡了不久就被叫醒。是妈妈领了那群孩子进来了，这些小孩到处钻，乱翻，将茶杯一个一个扔到地上打碎，一个男孩还在我房里的地上撒尿，我将他推出门，他就大哭，一头扑到母亲怀里。乱哄哄地闹了一阵，他们才各自散去。 "妈妈怎么会和这些小孩搅和在一起的呢？"我厌恶地皱紧眉头说。 母亲显出兴奋的样子，四处张望了一下，转身关上房门，放低了声音说： "这是一条捷径啊，我想出来的，你懂不懂？和小孩们搞好了关系，那些大人就拿我没办法了。我干得很有成效。但是现在你回来了，我本来以为你不回来了的，这一来我的工作又有障碍了。我们要齐心协力，总会有办法。" 那种哀伤的、我看了十几年的表情从母亲脸上彻底消失了，她像变了一个人一样，她变得有生气了，还隐隐透出强烈的目的性。听到母亲说这些话，我心里又觉得安慰，毕竟，她还没有抛弃我。