Embers of Embers

Chapter 731 Nightmares abound
As night fell, the world fell into endless darkness. It was not a good night. Thick cumulus clouds blocked all the stars. When the boy looked out the window, he could only see deep darkness, and the sky and the earth were connected. Being together blurs the boundaries.
It seemed that at a certain moment, the cabin had been separated from the real world and was dragged into a void and chaotic space.
Looking back, the boy didn't pay too much attention to the outside world. No matter how dark and cold it was outside, this small cabin was still warm and brightly lit.
Holmes moved the dining table over, and next to the bed on the lower bunk, the boy and Watson sat together. Holmes moved two more chairs, one placed towards the door, and the other was covered with He sat down.
Waves of aroma hit his face, and the boy couldn't help but drool. Holmes's cooking skills were very good. It seemed like magic to the boy. Those dirty wild vegetables would always turn into delicious ones in his hands. delicacies.
Because a guest came, there was an extra set of dishes and chopsticks on the table, but this guy seemed to be late. Everyone could only endure hunger and wait for his arrival.
"The fence is almost ready. If we cut down some trees in the next few days, it should be enough." To pass the time, Holmes talked about the current situation of the small family. "I got some seeds that I can plant. some vegetables."
"You'd better cut down more trees. Winter is coming soon and it should get very cold in the forest," Watson suggested. "I saved a small amount of money before. Do you want to see what I need to buy?" ?”
"Well, there shouldn't be much money to spend at the moment. Basic food, clothing, housing and transportation can be guaranteed."
Holmes thought about it carefully. After stabilizing, he realized that they could no longer live on the streets and live in a state of no fixed abode. They needed to get on the right track and survive in an upright manner.
"A new life..."
Holmes sighed, his eyes softening.
Not long ago, he was messing around on the streets of Feilengcui, beating his head to pieces with other people. In the blink of an eye, he had a place he could call home. Although it was small, it could at least provide shelter from the wind and rain.
"I used to think that this kind of life was very far away for me, but I didn't expect it to become so close and easy to touch."
Listening to Holmes' words, the boy didn't feel much. For him, nothing had changed. He was still with his friends, and that was enough.
"By the way, have you thought about what to do next?"
Holmes looked at the boy and asked him suddenly.
"Do...what?" The boy didn't understand.
"It's just like work. People need to be busy. If they are idle, they will become useless. What's more, we don't raise idle people here,"
Holmes explained to him.
"I am now a qualified hunter. I can catch some prey every day. I also have some part-time jobs and can make some small money."
Pointing to the shotgun hanging on the wall, this is where the rabbit meat on the dinner table came from today.
Hearing this, Watson also said to the boy beside him.
"Like Holmes, I found some part-time jobs in the city. Although I didn't earn much, it was enough to make a living."
"Ah? When did it happen?"
Hearing this, the boy was startled.
"Just a few days ago, when I took you to Feilengcui." Watson recalled.
Hearing this, the boy also remembered what happened a few days ago. They had lived a stable life. Hearing that Watson was going to the city, the boy also begged her to take him there. Faced with the boy's pleading, he did not The only solution was for Watson to take him with him.
Maybe it was because of the priests. They were a little bit nervous about this familiar city, but they still went here for the sake of life. The boy didn't know that Watson was going to find a job, but he just heard her say that she had something to do. , and left the boy by a garden.
"We are no longer wanderers. We can no longer live a drifting life like before. You need to have a goal and a direction to move forward."
Holmes suggested that in the past they might have been able to rob bread from shops and plunder the only resources on the streets with other homeless people, but it is different now. They have to live uprightly and use upright means to survive. With.
"I……"
The boy's voice was hesitant. He probably understood what Holmes meant, but if he was really asked to choose what to do, he couldn't figure it out.
He has always felt that he is a very simple person with an empty mind. In Watson's words, it is called innocence, in Holmes's words, it is stupidity.
The boy likes this, it makes life easy, he doesn't have to think about so many complicated things, he just needs to follow these two people.
A simple and small wish.
"Can I... stay here for the rest of my life? Help you with something? Like building a fence, cleaning up, cooking... something like that?"
the boy asked tentatively.
"You don't want to leave this cabin, and you don't want to leave this forest, do you?"
Holmes was not angry and continued to ask.
"Think about it, for example, some things you like, some things you want to do, these are all things that you need to leave here to do."
The boy thought carefully and tried to remember what he liked. He remembered the day when he and Watson went to Florence, sitting in the garden.
It was a garden close to the seminary. You could often see smiling students and priests among the flower beds. Most of them were about the same age as the boy, talking and laughing as they walked past the boy's eyes.
He also saw those swaying skirts, amidst the ups and downs of chuckles, and the beautiful ankles walking on high heels...
It must be said that at a certain moment, the boy felt a slight difference. He was in the midst of prosperity, but he was incompatible with this prosperity. He could not integrate into it, and had no chance to integrate into it.
He thought of Oscar's words, if he had another chance to choose, what kind of life would he live?
If he leaves with the priest, the boy will become a priest, and he will become a part of this prosperity. Maybe...maybe he can integrate into this world?
But this would undoubtedly give up the present moment. He looked at Holmes and Watson, shook his head, and said nothing.
The yearning in his heart only lasted for a moment and then disappeared, the boy said.
"Well, I don't have anything that I like too much, and I don't have anything that I want. If I must have something, I would rather be with you all. I don't want to leave here, this cabin, this forest."
he said seriously.
The boy knew that he would encounter good things when he left here, but he would also encounter troubles accordingly. He didn't want his simple thoughts to become more complicated. If possible, he even hoped that the present moment could be set for eternity. In such a situation, There seems to be nothing wrong with sleeping in eternity.
Hearing the boy's answer, Holmes fell silent, while Watson reached out and rubbed the boy's face vigorously.
"If that's what you want, that's fine. Just be happy, right?"
She doted on the boy and approved of all his requests. The boy was also happy to do this. He felt like a lazy turtle who just wanted to hide in his shell for the rest of his life.
The darkness outside the window became deeper and deeper, and the windows were gradually covered with a thin layer of ice mist, as if winter was coming, but all this had nothing to do with the boy. He was hiding in the hut with his friends. , enjoying the delicious food and feeling the warmth of the fire.
There were knocks on the door, and the conversation of several people stopped.
"It should be him."
Holmes got up and walked to the door, ready to open it.
Only then did the boy realize that he seemed to have never known who would come to visit. Who was the mysterious guest?He doesn’t know, friend?But the boy’s friends are already here?
While he was thinking, the door had been opened, and the cold wind rushed in, making the boy shiver. Then he saw the tall figure. He was talking and laughing with Holmes, closed the door, took off his coat, and hung it casually aside. , and then sat in the seat prepared for him by Holmes.
It was an old man, with gray hair and a crazy beard, almost connected together, like a lion's mane. He had an unstoppable smile on his face, and when he laughed, his eyes narrowed into slits.
"He... he is?"
the boy asked quietly.
"Oh, you don't know yet, this is Lorenzo, Mr. Lorenzo Medici," Watson introduced the boy, and then whispered in his ear, "The cabin we live in belongs to him. "
"what?"
The boy was confused, but Lorenzo just laughed and said, "It's okay, it's okay."
"What... what's going on?"
The boy was a little dizzy. He didn't understand why this place became the property of the old man in front of him. He looked at other people for help.
"This hunter's cabin was built when I was young, but then I got old and had no strength to chase the prey. My eyes were also blurred and I couldn't see the sight clearly. Then I gave up hunting, and this place became deserted."
The old man said slowly.
"I almost forgot about this place, but once I got up and wanted to come back here to have a look and look back on my youth, I discovered you."
"Are you here to ask for these?" The boy was alert.
"How is it possible? I've become this old and I can't live this kind of life." The old man patted his thigh and said with a smile.
"Mr. Medici came here because I invited him. After all, he built this place," Holmes said.
The old man nodded, glanced at a few people, and said kindly, "The abandoned land has been revived, and there is still a group of reliable young people. It seems that it really makes people feel the beauty of life."
He noticed something, looked at the shotgun hanging on the wall, and asked in surprise.
"Is that it?"
"Ah."
Holmes nodded in affirmation, stood up, took down the shotgun, and handed it to the old man's hand.
"I really miss it... This is a shotgun given to me by a painter friend of mine. I thought I lost it, but I didn't expect it to be left here."
His old and turbid eyes were full of nostalgia for the past, and his rough hands gently brushed the wooden butt of the gun.
"It looks really nice, I've become an old man but it's still brand new."
"I found it in a box, wrapped in fabric, and it was basically fine except for some rust in some places," Holmes said.
"Well, this gun is quite old. My friend said it was a good gun. In fact, it was just a gun he bought randomly. He even painted some messy things on it to pretend it was expensive."
The old man looked at the delicate lines carved on the gun. They extended in a complicated manner, like snakes crawling on the gun.
"No way, he is a poor painter, but his skills are not bad."
"Do you want to take it back?" Holmes asked.
The old man caressed the body of the gun, his eyes were deep, he enjoyed the reunion with his old friend, and then shook his head.
"No, no, it's a gun. It should be used for hunting, not hanging on the wall to rust. You can keep it."
Holmes took the shotgun with respect and looked at the fine and delicate lines on it.
"Winchester."
The old man said suddenly, and Holmes was a little at a loss.
"what?"
"Its name...probably, that's what my friend called it at the time."
The old man said to himself that all this happened a long time ago, so long that the memory has turned yellow and the face is blurred.
"Young people, you must always be enthusiastic. You can't become a numb old man like me."
The old man said sadly.
"I finally saw it again. I thought I would be very excited. No, I should be very excited, crying with joy or something. But my mood was calm, only numb. I know that this gun carries a lot of good memories. , that is very important to me, but now that I see it, my heart doesn’t feel a single ripple, as if all this has nothing to do with me, it’s just another person’s experience.”
He sighed heavily.
"It's really sad."
As the old man spoke, the atmosphere in the room fell into a stagnant silence.
The boy felt a little cold. He grabbed the quilt on the bed and wrapped it tightly around him. The fire swayed slightly and he could hear a slight sound, as if something was spreading. Then he saw the frozen window.
For a moment, the world seemed to be swallowed up by disorderly madness, and even the seasons were out of balance under this strange force. Winter came overnight, soaking the cold, leaving only this hut, which became the last pure land to resist the cold. with evil infestation.
"What about you? Child, are you sure you want to do this?"
The old man looked at the boy and said meaningfully.
The boy didn't understand what he was talking about, but soon he felt that something was coming. In this dark night, another uninvited guest was coming.
He looked at the others with panic in his eyes, but they seemed to feel nothing and kept a vain fake smile on their faces.
There was a noisy knock on the door, as if a monster was knocking on the door. With its impact, the entire cabin shook violently, darkness invaded, and waves of vague murmurs came from the deep end.
The boy couldn't hear the voice clearly, but he instinctively knew what the voice was calling. It was calling a name, a name that had long been forgotten.
"no no……"
The boy covered his head and murmured to himself. Seeing this, Watson hugged him, bringing him the only warmth he could get.
"No, I don't want to leave."
He muttered, like a naughty child, refusing to wake up.
The night is extremely long, as if it will never usher in a golden tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)