Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 68: Can’t you say what you said in the past now?
Mr. Yanke's grave is located outside the city of Linville, in a cemetery in the suburbs with a beautiful name, Itney. The incomplete data left over from the Genesis period show that this ancient name probably means "eternity". The ancestors used it to refer to death, and later it was used by the believers of the Death Prayer Society, who built the largest public cemetery in modern times, collecting and burying the bodies of the dead for free.

Perhaps out of fear of disturbing the rest of the deceased, the steam train route did not pass through here, so Linger and the other two had to take a horse-drawn carriage to Etney Cemetery. As the wheels rolled over the cobblestone road, making a rumbling sound, Alice looked out the window and saw a building with a gray-black main tone, which attracted her attention.

Its architectural style is very delicate in many details, with a solemn texture. It should be a religious building such as a church, but the overall atmosphere is very depressing. Whether it is the cross-shaped main hall, the side halls guarded by several spires and buttresses, or the towering bell tower, or the stained glass windows with painted images, the colors are extremely dim and low, and the gray-black surface faintly exudes a cold light, which is extremely solemn.

Occasionally, one or two monks in black robes could be seen entering and exiting the side door. Both men and women wore black turbans and very unique bird-beak masks, revealing only a pair of eyes. Most people who came and went in and out of the building had sad expressions, and their deep sobs were like those in a dream. Alice seemed to see hearses and coffins placed in the courtyard, which was creepy.

"Hey, Lingge!" She tugged at the sleeve of the young man next to her and asked in a low voice, "Is that the crematorium?"

"..."

Lingge was speechless for a moment, then told her the correct answer: "It is the bone-sacrificing church of the Prayer Society for the Dead."

“It really is a church.”

Alice muttered, "Why does it look like a crematorium?"

Linger continued calmly, "Because it does have similar responsibilities. It provides free cremation services for poor people who cannot afford it, and finds a peaceful place for them in the Etney Cemetery. Even for the homeless and beggars on the street, their affairs after death are all taken care of by the Prayer Society, which has nothing to do with the Kingdom's Public Utilities Department."

Alice subconsciously slowed down her pace, and Metien also held her breath. Only Lingge's expression remained unchanged. He walked through the aisle between the stone forests with steady steps, and brought the two girls to Mr. Yang Ke's tombstone. He bent down slightly, placed the white forget-me-not in his hand in front of his tomb, and whispered:
"Mr. Yanke."

When the Eterni Cemetery was built, the relatives of the first dead buried there planted these oak trees themselves. Today, they have grown into towering trees. When the wind blows, there is a sound of waves flowing slowly, washing a soul that has been soaked in the world for a long time. In those long-standing songs, perhaps you can hear the whispers of the dead.

Alice listened with great interest. When Linger finished his last words, the carriage just stopped outside the iron gate of the cemetery. Today was a sunny day with a slight rise in temperature. The cemetery was sunny in the afternoon, but there were not many people. After all, it was a working day, and not every living person could spare the time to recall and remember the deceased.

"The believers of the Prayer Society for the Dead pray for the innocent dead here. They are also the managers of this cemetery, treating the ashes buried under every inch of land equally, regardless of their identities in life. Therefore, many people are afraid of those who pray for the dead wearing bird-beak masks, but they also respect them. Of course, there are more of the former. There is a data to prove that, apart from the relatives who come to mourn the dead, the flow of people in the Prayer Society for the Dead has always been the lowest among the seven major churches of the gods."

His eyes moved away from the solemn but depressing church and slowly fell on the gate of the cemetery not far away. He casually mentioned some related anecdotes: "The total area of ​​Etney Cemetery exceeds that of the Municipal Square. It is the largest public building in Linville. It is said that when it was still in the project establishment stage, someone wanted to buy this land to build a factory and had bribed the city government officials, but was rejected in the end and the official was dismissed."

Many times, the separation between life and death is not the cessation of heartbeat, but the cruel reality.

Walking along the quiet and peaceful stone road, we were surrounded by a dense oak forest. The view above our heads was completely blocked by the dark green leaves. Only a few white-gold rays of light stubbornly squeezed through the gaps between the branches and leaves, and fell from the tips of the branches, forming transparent beams of light, swaying on the ground covered with thick fallen leaves, creating flickering spots of light.

After walking forward for about ten minutes, a gray-white stone forest suddenly came into view. Cold white stone tablets stood one by one. The cold and dead tone was incompatible with the surrounding oak forest, and it was hollowly isolated from the whole world.

He paused for a moment, then retracted his gaze: "Life and death are both things that people fear, but we fear the latter far more than we respect the former."

"Metien and I are here to see you."

As if infected by the solemn atmosphere lingering here, Alice, who was always lively and lively, also restrained her temper and stayed where she was to accompany Metien. She watched Lingge register his information in the reception room at the entrance of the cemetery, and then took a bunch of white forget-me-nots from the hands of the silent prayer believers. She turned around and waved to the two of them, then took Metien's little hand and chased after them.

It is said that some people regard these oak trees as the sustenance of the dead in the world, but when they walk into this forest, they often drown themselves and cannot recognize the appearance of their loved ones.

……

There is an epitaph on the tombstone: His years rest here.

The person who left this epitaph hoped from the bottom of his heart that the respectable man was just asleep. Perhaps one day he would wake up and say to himself on that sunny afternoon in his memory: "I had a very long dream..." Unfortunately, reality is a rationalist.

The afternoon breeze blew gently, and you could hear the sound of the waves standing here. There were birds singing and squirrels chirping in the woods, which slightly alleviated the dull and serious atmosphere here. After placing the flowers on the tombstone, Linger gave up his position and gave Metien time to express her feelings. After all, the main purpose of this tomb sweeping was to comfort her bad mood.

The pink-haired girl seemed to have a lot of things to say to her father, so she kept mumbling. Standing not far away, Linger vaguely heard words like "religious decree", "closing the church", "travel", and Alice's name. The experience during this period was too rich, and perhaps it would take too long to finish talking about it.

The maid standing side by side with Ling Ge poked his waist with her elbow: "Why don't you go and say a few words to Mr. Yang Ke?"

"I already told you."

"Just that one sentence?"

"kindness."

"Nothing else to say?"

"There are endless things I want to say." Linger quietly looked at his sister who was half-crouching in front of the white tombstone and seemed to be mumbling to herself. A bunch of solidified sunlight reflected in the depths of his eyes: "What I didn't say before, I won't say in the future; what I won't say in the future, I don't need to say now. People are always used to postponing what they should do, because they are lives dominated by emotions."

Suddenly I became philosophical.

Alice didn't quite understand what was being said, so she couldn't think of anything to say to agree or refute.

But Lingge didn't say these words to get her answer. The young man just looked at his sister's back, or perhaps at his father's tombstone, and fell into some memory of the past.

When Lingge was still young but had already started learning to read, his father took him to the door of the chapel and watched as rays of light fell through the stained glass windows, cutting the shadows and forming mysterious and complex geometric patterns. He said, "You will take my place as the pastor of Tianxin Church, Lingge?"

Did he agree or refuse at that time?
The door knocker that has not yet been eroded by mottled rust, the beam that still has spiders and ants crawling on it, the new bench with the scent of oak, the glass pattern that has been cut into pieces, my father's questions, my own confusion, and the silent goddess statue... all flash in my mind, like silhouettes of time, passing through the cracks in the sunlight. You ignore them when you are not paying attention, but you can see their figures again when you lower your head.

He suddenly said, "Metien."

The little girl who was telling her father how scary vampires were turned around subconsciously and blinked: "What's the matter, Lingge?"

"I forgot to ask for a bouquet of flowers for you." Ling Ge said, "Go get it from the cemetery manager. Remember to thank him."

"Ok!"

Metien agreed without hesitation, and did not ask Linger why he did not go to get it. She stood up, patted the dust off her skirt, and walked back the way she came. Alice shouted at her back: "Remember to get a bunch for me, Metien!"

As a maid in the Ling family, she felt that she should also show some respect to Mr. Yang Ke.

Metien waved her hand to show that she had received it, and her petite figure quickly disappeared into the shadows of the oak forest. Then, Alice turned her head to look at Lingge next to her, wanting to know what he wanted to say to her by deliberately sending his sister away.

Under her gaze, Lingge was silent for a few minutes before he slowly spoke:
"Mr. Yanke is a good man."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)