Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The Fog Child

There was a thick fog outside the window, and I couldn't see anything.It never recedes all year round, and from the day I came, I couldn't see anything but fog. A long time ago, it was also a foggy night. I was walking alone on the street. Did I get off the night shift?Or is it back from a game with friends?It's been so long that I don't remember.I only remember those fogs, they floated up from every corner of the street, like balls of cotton wool, gradually merging in everything, gradually blurring the vision.The night was very deep, and the surroundings were so quiet that no sound could be heard, only the sound of my own footsteps, but after being wrapped in fog, even the sound of these footsteps became dull.I took out the flashlight to illuminate the road—the fog was so thick that the light from the flashlight could only reach a distance of one foot ahead.It was gray all around, and the mist stuck to the skin, cold and damp.

I was already a little scared, but at this moment I heard a low cry.Like a child crying.I couldn't help being terrified, and quickened my pace to move forward, but someone grabbed the skirt of my clothes.My heart was pounding.Looking down, a dirty little hand grabbed my clothes, and the rest of my clothes were covered by thick fog. "Who?" I asked, shining a flashlight.A boy's face appeared vaguely in the mist, his face was stained with tears, and he sobbed and said, "I can't see the way clearly." I was a little annoyed, but I couldn't leave him alone, so I took his hand and asked : "What are you doing out so late?" He said that his family lived nearby, and he just came back from playing at a friend's house.I usually take this road, and I arrived in two minutes. I didn't expect it to suddenly fog up.

"It's really two minutes away?" I asked.He nodded vigorously. "Then I'll take you back." I took him by the hand and let him lead the way.He wiped away tears and smiled. All the way, he held my hand tightly.I stumbled and followed him, feeling that the road under my feet gradually became rough.The flashlight shone around, but I couldn't see anything, and I didn't know where I went.I asked him with some unease if he was coming soon, and every time he said he would be there soon. Two minutes passed quickly. One after another two minutes passed. We are still walking.Not feeling right, I stopped.Everything around was covered by dense fog, and the wind was blowing from the right, making it cold to the bone, but it couldn't blow the fog open a gap.The wind brought the smell of moss and rotting water, and it was blowing in the wrong direction—I was familiar with this road, and on the right was a row of closely connected buildings, from the street to the end of the street, without any gaps in between.Even when the wind is raging, the shelter of these buildings is imperceptible—unless the wind blows from the left.Although we have already passed the building where my house is located, we have not turned the corner, so we must still be on this street.Then the wind cannot blow from the right.

As if to prove my idea wrong, the wind on the right side was softer and colder, making a low whimpering sound, which froze half of my body.I shivered, feeling as if I was not walking in the city, but in the wilderness.This smell is not the smell of the city ground, but like the smell of those dead corners of the city that no one cares about, decadent, green, and lonely.I shone the flashlight to the right, and the fog was like milk, and the light of the flashlight was very weak.I took a few steps to the right and stretched out my hand.My fingertips were blown cold by the wind, and I didn't feel anything. I was very flustered, and walked forward a few more steps——still didn't feel anything.This is very abnormal.We have been walking on the sidewalk, and we can touch the wall of the building after a few steps to the right, but there is nothing there now... and the bottom of our feet is getting more and more bumpy, and it is sticky when we step on it, not the smooth and smooth one I am used to The sidewalk looks like mud soaked by rain.I squatted down, and sure enough, I smelled the smell of mud. I lowered my head as much as possible, and in the faint light of the torch, I saw that my feet were covered with mud. The ground under my feet was indeed not a pavement that was repaired for walking in the city. There are pits everywhere, and piles of black mud are piled on the road. From time to time, one or two black, elongated animals that can't be said to be loaches or earthworms pop out of the mud piles, and then burrow into them.

"Where have we been?" My heart beat faster and I couldn't help shivering. "Almost there." He said calmly.I turned the flashlight and leaned closer to his face, and saw his dark eyes, and my heart seemed to be submerged in icy water.It should have been no more than 15 minutes since I met him just now, and I have been walking in a straight line. In any case, it is impossible to leave the street I am familiar with—even if I turn a few more turns, I can’t find such a muddy road nearby way. "The ground is full of mud. Is it like this near your house?" I asked, quietly trying to pull my hand out of his palm, but he held it very tightly, and his palm was dry and cold. No matter how hard I tried, he was always firmly held by him. catch.

"Yes," he lowered his eyes and smiled sadly, "it's always been like this." I was so close to him that I could almost touch his nose, and even in this thick fog I could see his face clearly.His face was fair and thin, but his facial features were neat, with a few gray mud marks on his forehead, his hair was messy, and there seemed to be a lot of dandruff.His body exuded a smell of grass and sweat. The white sweater on his upper body seemed to have not been washed for a long time. There were stains everywhere, and a circle of black dirt had accumulated around his neck.It seemed like a normal kid, but how could a normal kid lead me down a road that didn't belong in this city?I tried my best to open my eyes to see him clearly, but the fog became thicker and covered his face again——the fog seemed to emanate from his body, and it was occasionally blown away by me and his breathing, but More often, it is always wrapped around us in an endless stream, like a big white cocoon.

He was still leading me forward, I stood still and refused to take a step, I was very hesitant.He pulled my hand hard and looked back at me, wondering if it was because of the mist, but there was no surprise or puzzlement on his face, as if it was natural for me not to take a step.I tried my best to illuminate his face with the flashlight, but it became more and more blurred. I only felt his hand tightened suddenly, and his sharp nails clawed at me. He whispered nervously: "Oops! Run!" I still didn't run.He was too thin to hold me at all, so he simply leaned against me, clinging to my trousers, grabbed my wrist holding the flashlight, and turned off the flashlight.

It was pitch black all around. I was about to question him, but the voice in my ear made me swallow my words back.Countless footsteps came from all directions. In the darkness, I could clearly feel that many people were approaching. I could hear their heavy panting and excited laughter. Their bodies smelled of sweat and the sour smell of not taking a bath for a long time. , and a peculiar smell—a smell that only children have.Yes, these are just children, but what kind of children are they?Their laughter was abnormally excited, and countless pairs of hands with sharp nails grabbed my arms, shoulders, thighs... every part of my body was clinging to the sharp little hands, and they pulled me in all directions, as if To tear my body apart.

"Go away, you all! She's mine! Mine!" the little boy I knew first yelled hoarsely, trying to break off my little hands.I tried to break free too, but those hands were too many.The fog was so thick and the moisture sealed my nose that I felt like I was going to be dragged into the bottomless mist and drowned by these kids. Later, they let me go—they fought each other hard, at first there was the muffled sound of fists, and then there were all kinds of horrible sounds, the sound of falling to the ground, screams, and the crisp sound of bones breaking The sound... The smell of blood permeated the air, and at some point, a hand was holding me tightly, and the familiar voice of the little boy whispered in my ear: "Run!"

This time I didn't hesitate any longer, and ran after him and stood up.We stepped on a few soft and weak bodies on the road, and the owner of the body screamed at our feet.I wanted to stop to see how they were doing, but the boy ordered sternly: "Run!" and there were dense and hurried footsteps behind me, I couldn't care about anything else, and followed the boy in the dark run.I couldn't see anything, it was pitch black, and I didn't know if there were traps or obstacles in front of me, so I let him run wildly while holding my hand. Just when my strength was exhausted and the running seemed to be endless, a little firefly light appeared in front of me.His eyes had been lost in the darkness for too long, and when he first saw the light, he shed tears involuntarily.There is no other purpose after that, light is the only end.Without the boy's traction, I ran with him in the direction of the light in tacit understanding.

The light was getting stronger and stronger, and the outlines of buildings were faintly visible around. It wasn't until I was less than half a meter away from the house that I realized that I was standing in front of its door.Light came out from the open door, and the inside of the door was brightly lit, without any fog getting in, as if it was another world.Looking in from the gate, you can see the golden yellow wooden floor that reflects the light very softly, a row of cloth sofas showing half of the silhouette, and a one-person-high bar counter on the right-hand wall, on which there are various Cups and teapots, and a few other things.A few dolls and a few toy cars were thrown on the floor.I looked around—the outline of the house was still shrouded in mist, and I could not make out its appearance. "Come in." The boy had already walked to the door and took my hand hard. I looked back and looked at the way I came, and the endless darkness spread behind me.It was dark and foggy, and I had no choice but to follow him in. Behind the door is a spacious hall, four long sofas are placed in a circle in the center of the hall, two walls are floor-to-ceiling windows, the curtains are drawn tightly, and there is a straight wooden staircase on the other wall, leading directly to the second building.Toys and food wrappers are everywhere on the ground. There are three children sitting on the sofa. Before we came in, they were scrambling for some food. When they saw me, the three children suddenly stood up, surprised and happy looking at me.The three children were about the same age as the boy next to me, no more than 8 years old, two girls, one boy, two girls with disheveled hair and messy braids, one of the girls had round eyes, and cake crumbs stood at the corner of her mouth , the other girl has a pair of slender eyes and a round nose, and she is still chewing in her mouth.The boy was dark-skinned, bowed his head shyly, and his long eyelashes formed curved shadows under his eyes.The clothes on them were dirty and old, and the round-eyed girl's sleeves were even missing, revealing a large and thin wrist.They all stared at me eagerly, as if expecting something.My gaze involuntarily fell on the food that the boy was holding in his hand - this is what they were grabbing before - a hard steamed bun and half a piece of not-so-fresh bread. "Are you the new mother?" the round-eyed girl asked. "What?" I was taken aback. "You don't have a mother?" The three heads shook their heads simultaneously. "Can you be our mother?" The boy next to me raised his head and looked at me, his eyes full of begging. What an absurd request!I shook my head slightly. "Look how small we are...we need mommy to take care of us," the boy continued to plead. "Let your father find a new mother, I'm going home." I was a little impatient.The room was so dirty, I felt tired after walking for so long, but I couldn’t find a place to sit down—the sofa was covered with black handprints and muddy footprints, and there were traces of snot and saliva everywhere. Hearing what I said, several children burst into tears.I was a little at a loss, and murmured to persuade them not to cry, but their crying became louder, with tears streaming down my face.In the end, the boy I knew first sobbed and said: "We don't have a father either." He saw my surprised expression, as if he knew what I was going to say, sobbed a little embarrassedly: "What I said at the beginning is lying to you of." "Then who do you live with?" I faintly felt something in my heart, and the fear rose again - I thought of the countless little hands in the fog trying to catch me... "Only us." The boy said, "Only us." He pointed to himself and several others, "I am number 1, they are number 2, 3, and 4." He pointed to the round-eyed girl and Another girl, finally pointing to the shy boy. "What's your name?" I was surprised when I heard No. 1 and No. 2, but I quickly understood it to mean the eldest, the second, the third, and the fourth. "Number one," said the boy. "Number two," said the round-eyed girl. "Number Three," said the girl with the slender eyes. "I'm number four," whispered the last boy. I was a little dazed and wanted to ask something, but couldn't say it.The lights in the house are very bright, but they can't dispel the thick fog outside the window at all. The fog is still so thick... I seem to see wisps of faint fog floating out of the house... Maybe I'm wrong. "These names indicate the order in which we came here." Number One seemed to understand my doubts. "After staying here for a long time, you will know that the names have no meaning at all. Have you decided to be our mother?" I still shook my head: "I'll leave when the fog clears." "If you don't become our mother, you won't be able to leave here." Number One said, and he looked at me understandingly, "You will understand slowly." They stopped talking and sat quietly on the sofa playing with the broken toys in their hands.Number Two scrubbed a Barbie doll with a broken leg with a piece of toy soap. It—there was genuine sympathy and concern in those eyes, as if the doll was really her child.No. 3 is busy making a small boat out of paper, No. 1 is looking at me expectantly, No. 4 is holding a piece of plasticine, and staring out of the window—out of the window, close to the glass window, there are layers of thick fog covering the sky, freezing The gray seems to last forever, and apart from that, nothing else can be seen.I picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. I didn’t know which channel it was on the screen, and the logo was not displayed. At first I thought the TV was not turned on, but then I found that the dark gray all over the screen was the TV program—the gray was active, they It is thick and viscous, but the distribution is not uniform. It drifts, merges, and disperses on the screen.