Chapter 3 Ye Ying and the Magic Flute

Whenever the cherry blossoms wither and the branches grow tender leaves, I always think of the story told by the old lady. About thirty-five years ago, my father was still alive at that time, and he said it was a family, but my mother gave birth seven years ago. I was thirteen years old when my mother passed away, leaving my father, me and my sister to live on each other. .When I was eighteen and my sister was sixteen, my father went to a small town of more than 20,000 people on the coast of Shimane County to serve as the principal of a middle school. Because we couldn’t rent a house, we lived in a lonely temple in the suburbs near the mountains. I rented a separate living room and two rooms, and lived there until my father was transferred to the middle school principal in Songjiang in the sixth year.

After I came to Songjiang, I got married in the autumn of the year I was twenty-four. Considering the social situation at that time, it was considered a rather late marriage.His mother died young, and his father was a stubborn pedantic character who didn't care about worldly things at all.I know very well that if one day I leave this family, all the operations of the family will stop, so even if many people come to propose marriage at that time, I don't want to get married and abandon this family.At least, I have to wait for my sister to recover before I can relax. My younger sister is not like me. She is very beautiful and has long hair. She is a very good and lovely child, but her bones are very weak.In the spring of the second year when I moved to the city with my father, my sister passed away at the age of eighteen.What I am describing now is what happened then.

A long time ago, my sister knew that she would die soon. She was suffering from a serious disease such as kidney tuberculosis.When it was discovered, the left and right kidneys seemed to have been eroded by insects. The doctor told my father very clearly that my sister only had a hundred days to live, and she seemed helpless.So one month passed, two months passed, and when the 100th day was approaching, we could only keep silent and didn't want my sister to be stimulated in any way.My younger sister doesn't know anything, but she is very energetic. Even though she lies on the bed all day, she still sings, talks and laughs cheerfully, and acts like a baby to me.In another thirty or forty days, she was going to die. This was an all-too-clear fact.Thinking of this, I feel as if a big stone is stuck in my chest, and my whole body is in pain like being pierced by a sewing needle. I am going crazy.March, April, May, and in the middle of May, I will never forget that day.

At that time, the mountains and plains were covered with fresh green, and the weather was so warm that people wanted to be naked.For me, the dazzling emerald green made my eyes sting, and I walked sadly on the wild path alone, thinking wildly, with my hands on my waist.Thinking, thinking, all the painful things circling in my mind almost made me unable to breathe.I suppressed the pain and kept walking.Boom!Boom!Sounds that seemed to come from ten trillions of soil came continuously from underground in spring. The sound was far away, but the area was vast, like the pounding sound of a huge taiko drum beating in the depths of hell, which can be heard endlessly.I don't know what that terrible sound is?All I know is that I'm going crazy.At this moment, the body became stiff, and suddenly, there was a loud cry, the center of gravity was unstable, and he fell down on the grassland, crying loudly.

It was only later that I realized that the terrible sound was the cannon of Japanese warships at sea during the Russo-Japanese War.Under the order of Admiral Dongxiang ①, they are fighting fiercely at sea to annihilate the Russian Baltic Fleet in one fell swoop.It also happens to be at this time, and this year's Navy Memorial Day is coming soon.Under the city on the coast, people who live in the city probably have never heard such a terrifying sound of cannons in their entire lives, right?I don't know much about this kind of thing, because I can't stand just thinking about my sister's illness. My whole body is about to collapse, and listening to that sound makes me feel like an ominous hell taiko. I sit on the endless grassland I lowered my head and covered my face and wept until dusk came. I stood up and went back to the temple where we lived in a trance like a walking dead. (①Togo Heihachiro, together with Nogi Nozomi, is known as the God of the Japanese Army. In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, he served as the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, which smashed the Russian Baltic Fleet.)

Sister and sister called me.At that time, my sister was very weak, and she couldn't get up all the energy. She seemed to vaguely know that she had not many days to come, and she no longer made trouble with me unreasonably and acted like a baby to me like before.The more this is the case, the more sad it is for me. Sister, when did you receive this letter? I felt a sudden shock in my chest, and I clearly realized that my face turned pale instantly. When did you receive it?The younger sister asked casually. Just now, while you were sleeping.You slept while laughing, and I secretly put the letter on the pillow, don't you know?I came back to God and said.

Ah, I don't know yeah.The younger sister smiled palely and beautifully in the dark room when the night was low. Sister, I have read this letter, it is so strange, how can someone I don’t know write to me. How can you not know?I know very well that the letter was signed by M. From T's man.This man, I have never seen him.Five or six days ago, when I was tidying up my sister's closet, I found it from the depths of the corner drawer. There was a bunch of letters tied with green ribbons hidden in it. I knew I shouldn't do this, but I couldn't help it. Curious to take it apart.There were nearly thirty letters, all of which were signed by M. Letter from T's man. M． T's name was not written on the envelope, but clearly written in the letter.There were many senders' names written on the envelope, and those were all the names of my sister's friends.My father and I never dreamed that my sister would have so many correspondences with strange men.

This is called M. T's person must have deliberately asked his sister for the names of many of her friends, and then sent letters with those names one after another.I speculated like this, and at the same time, I was very surprised at the boldness of the young man. If the strict father knew about it, what would happen?Although I was trembling with fear, I still read the letters one by one in chronological order. I couldn't help but feel inexplicably excited and interesting while reading. Sometimes I read a person giggling, and finally even I felt that I had opened up a vast world. world.

I had just turned twenty at the time, and I had many unseen pains of being a young woman.Reading these more than 30 letters is like drifting with the tide in a turbulent river valley, and I finished it quickly.When I read the last letter that came in last fall, I jumped up, and it felt like a bolt from the blue, maybe worse than I imagined.I was so shocked that I almost couldn't stand still.The love between my sister and that man is not out of sincerity, but is becoming more and more ugly.So, I burned the letters angrily, and burned all of them without leaving one. M． T seems to be living in a castle town, and he is a singer with little income. As soon as he heard about his sister's illness, he was despicable and planned to abandon her. He wrote cruel words such as let us forget each other in a calm tone.He doesn't seem to have sent a letter since then.If I keep silent and tell no one as a lifelong secret, my sister will gradually wither away like a beautiful young girl.No one would know how much I struggled in my heart. When I learned the truth, I felt even more pitiful for my sister.That kind of pain, if it is not for puberty girls, they will not understand, it is a purgatory on earth.As if I had encountered a tragic encounter, I felt quite painful. At that time, I really felt that I had become a little abnormal.

Sister, please read it to me.How this happened, I do not understand at all. I hate my sister's dishonesty from the bottom of my heart. Can I read it?I inquired about my sister's wishes in a low voice, and the fingers that took the letter from my sister trembled in bewilderment.I know the contents of the letter without opening it.But I must pretend to read the letter without knowing it beforehand.This is what was written in the letter, and I glanced at the letter roughly: Today, I want to say sorry to you.The reason why I have endured not writing to you until today is because I lack self-confidence.I am poor, I have no talents, and I am really incapable of giving you anything.All I can give you are words, even if there is nothing false in them.Only words can prove my love for you, other than that, I can't do anything, I feel so disgusted with my powerlessness.

I can't forget you all day, no, even in my dreams, but I can't give you anything.That pain makes me want to separate from you.Seeing you getting more and more unfortunate, my love is getting deeper and deeper, which makes me feel guilty and can no longer get close to you, can you understand?I'm not saying this to trick you.I want to say that it is out of my sense of responsibility for justice.But I was wrong, obviously wrong.sorry!To you, I'm just a guy who wants to be perfect and fulfill his own desires.We are lonely and powerless, and we can do nothing else, so I now firmly believe that at least upholding honest words is the way to live in a truly humble and beautiful way. I often think that within the scope of my ability, I should continue to work hard to practice it.No matter how small it is.Even if it is the gift of a dandelion, I believe that it is the most courageous and manly attitude to give to the other party without shame.I won't run away anymore, I love you. Every day, every day, I'll write songs for you, and then, every day, every day, I'll whistle to you outside your fence.Tomorrow at six o'clock in the evening, I will whistle this "March of Warships" for you. My whistle is pretty good.Right now, that's all I can do.Don't laugh at me, no, please try to laugh at me.Please live on.The gods must be watching over us somewhere.I am quite sure.Whether you or I are God's darlings, we will surely have a happy marriage. wait wait when the flowers bloom this year Peach Blossom White peach blossoms are dyed red I will work hard and everything will be fine.See you tomorrow then. M． T Sister, I know!The younger sister murmured in a clear voice. Thank you, sister.This letter was written by my sister, right? I was in a state of extreme shame, and I really wanted to tear this letter into thousands of pieces, pulling my hair in pain and fidgeting is probably the feeling.The letter was written by me.I can't just sit back and watch my sister's pain.From that day on, every day I would imitate M. T's handwriting, until the day my sister died, I tried my best to write clumsy Waka, and then at six o'clock in the evening, I secretly hid outside the fence and gnawed it to her. shameful!I also wrote clumsy waka, so embarrassing.I have never felt like this in my life, and I can't respond to her right away. Don't worry, sister, I won't mind.The younger sister's voice was surprisingly calm, and she smiled holy and beautiful. Sister, have you seen the letters bound with green ribbons?That's fake.Because I was so lonely, I started to write letters in the fall of the year before last, and mailed them one by one, and then sent them to myself.Sister, don't do stupid things, cherish your youth.Since my illness, I have gradually understood this.It feels so dirty to write to myself alone!so miserable!How stupid!It would be great if I could really fall in love with a man boldly, I really want him to hug me tightly.Sister, so far, let alone lovers, even ordinary men have never talked to each other.The same goes for my sister.But my sister is different from me. You are smart and clever.Ah, death or something, it's so annoying.My hands, my fingertips, my hair are so pathetic.Death or something is really annoying!irritating! Sadness, fear, joy, shame, all kinds of emotions came to my heart, I didn't know what to do, I pressed my face to my sister's thin cheeks, and could only gently hug her with tears in my eyes.At this time, ah!I heard it, low and far away, but it was indeed the whistle of "March of Warships".The younger sister also listened attentively.Looking up at the clock, it happened to be exactly six o'clock.Under the unspeakable horror, the two sisters hugged each other tightly, not daring to move, and an incredible march came from the depths of the cherry blossom forest in the courtyard. I believe that gods exist, for sure.On the third day after that, my sister died of illness.The doctor leaned over to visit and said: "It's so peaceful, it must have passed away long ago."However, I wasn't surprised then.I believe all this is God's will. Now as I get older, I have a lot of material desires, and I feel very ashamed.Faith seems to be a little weak.That whistle, maybe it was my father's masterpiece, I always have such doubts.Maybe my father came back from school and eavesdropped on our conversation in the next room. He felt so unbearable that his strict father decided to make up the only white lie in his life.I've thought about it, but I know it's never going to happen.If the father is still alive, you can ask.Fifteen years have now passed in an instant since my father passed away.No, it must be the grace of God. I would rather believe in the grace of God, and the thought of it reassures me.When you get older, remember not to weaken your beliefs because of the increase in material desires, and you should take it as a warning.