At last it was time to eat, a large number of prisoners came out of the mine with baskets on their backs, and at this time, the old man would not show up, because he was still watching the sunset on the hillside not far away, and everyone would not wait for him, they all consciously left his food and rice, no one would touch it, and the little boy's daily work was to help him and the old man's basket out of the mine, and then take the old man's rice, and wait for him at the entrance of the cave, so many people will take the initiative to say hello to the boy, and for the boy, this job seems to be an honor, because everyone knows that he is the best person to talk to the old man.

At dinner, Billy also came out, his body was still very weak, it was Robuta who helped him out, and his back basket was also carried out by two stronger cellmates, this situation seems to have been common for a long time, so seeing this scene, everyone knows what is going on. But they didn't say anything, they didn't care about the lives of these people, they only cared about the production of gold ore.

After the meal, the crowd dispersed one after another, only the little boy was still waiting patiently at the entrance of the cave, he had no watch, he didn't know the time at all, but according to his usual experience, he knew that the old man would be back soon.

Sure enough, after a while, the figure of the old man appeared, he was faltering, looking very old, seeing this figure, he couldn't help but remind him of a year ago.

He is the son of a captain and has lived on a ship since he was a child, so the sea is a familiar home to him. At that time, he was shipping with his parents, a large freighter that his father had just purchased, and he did not expect to encounter pirates on his first voyage.

When he first saw the old man, he was not as old as he is now, just full of gray hair, and his face did not have as many wrinkles as it does now. At that time, he was lying in a corner of the warehouse, unconscious, and could not even breathe, but fortunately his mother was also a doctor, but she was not a so-called official doctor, but only a pharmacist of the indigenous Europeans.

She tried many things, but she couldn't cure him, and his situation became more and more dangerous. In the end, there was really no way, so her mother ground a precious lotus seed into powder and fed it to him.

He had heard about this lotus seed when he was a child, it was more than 40 years ago, his grandfather's ship was sailing on the sea, when a large lotus flower suddenly appeared on the sea, and from a distance it looked like an octopus spread out on the water. When his boat got closer, the lotus flower was more than five meters wide, but the lotus flower was just a flash in the pan, and the lotus leaf petals soon began to wither, and his grandfather was quick to take off the lotus canopy, the huge lotus canopy was the size of a water tank, and when he opened it, there were only three lotus seeds in it, which his grandfather had been collecting and later passed on to his father.

It was almost forgotten, but just five years ago, when the little boy was only three years old, and he was sailing with his parents at sea, when the ship was far away from the land, sailing into the boundless sea, he suddenly fell seriously ill, and his mother tried everything to cure him, and she was already desperate, so she asked the boy if he had any other wishes.

Driven by the young man's heart, he made a wish to see the lotus seeds, and he wanted to see how big the lotus seeds were from the lotus pod the size of a water tank.

In order to fulfill his wish, his parents mobilized all the staff on the ship to start searching the cabin, and they really found only two of the three lotus seeds, each about the size of a bowl. After finding the lotus seeds, her mother had a whim, ground the lotus seeds into powder, made porridge and fed him to drink, but he did not expect that he would recover like this, so the remaining lotus seeds were treasured by them.

It is undeniable that the couple is still very kind, and in order to beg the old man, they actually fed him the last lotus seed. Three days later, it really worked. The old man finally woke up, but his face was too old.

Before everyone could rejoice, the freighter was confronted by pirates, and his parents were shot dead when the pirates boarded, and most of the crew of the ship were killed, leaving only twenty-nine women and him, and the old man was lying in bed and extremely weak. The pirates had planned to kill the old man together, and the old man was powerless to resist, but at the moment of the final execution, he actually made a request.

He seemed to see that the boy's mother was not completely dead, and then he took out a set of silver needles from his bosom and began to administer the needles, and in the end he actually saved his mother.

It was because of this sight of his hand that the pirates let him go and took him away. They were locked in the cabin of the ship, having no idea what was happening, and when they came out again, they were in this prison. The boy's mother was also taken away, and there was no news of her completely.

So began a miserable life with no end in sight, and if it weren't for the old man who always took care of him, I am afraid he would have died in the mine. When he entered this place, all his ideals and ambitions were corrupted, and only a small wish remained, that is, to be able to see his mother again in his lifetime, but everything seemed to be far away.

Finally, the old man came nearer, his eyes were gloomy, his pupils were dull, and his heart was full of melancholy.

"Yes, you're back, here you are!" said the boy, handing him the lunch box in his hand.

"Thank you!" nodded, the old man took the lunch box, and didn't say anything, just sat on a boulder at the entrance of the mine and ate slowly.

"There is no end to it, I don't know what year and month we can meet, the old dragon clock, the sideburns and white hair are not desolate, and this life is sad ......"

The boy sat on the side and listened, his eyes reddened, and he silently shed tears.

"Little George, do you miss your mother again?" asked the old man in a low voice, with a long sigh.

The boy shook his head and hurriedly said, "No, I don't have to see her, I just hope that she will not be bullied and be safe and healthy......"

It was getting dark, and the old man and boy were back in the mine.

When night fell, there was a dead silence all around, and the prisoners had been busy all day, and they went to bed early in the evening, but some could not sleep, and at night it was too cold in the cave, and they all lay on the ground at random, only a thin bedding, and if they had not lit a fire, I am afraid that they would not have been able to sleep at all.

The old man was the last person to sleep in the mine, and every night he would take a yellowed book from his bosom and look it back and forth, I don't know how many times he had read it, but it seemed to have become a habit. So there is always a clean place in the center of the fire, reserved for the old and the boys, because it is warmest there.

Billy was sick, so they moved him to the center of the fire as well, but it seemed that he was in a bit of a problem, so he couldn't sleep after tossing and turning.

Perhaps affected by his movements, the little boy turned to look at Billy and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Billy, are you unwell?"

"No, I don't know what's wrong, I can't sleep today, I'm sorry little George, my uncle has disturbed you, now I'll try not to make any noise. Billy's face flushed, a little ashamed.

"It's okay, Uncle Billy, I can't sleep either. By the way, uncle, I'm curious, why did you get here?" a year later, the boy was still naïve, and maybe he was the only one in the mine who would ask these questions. Entering here is like escaping into a boundless hell, no one will care how you get in, because everyone knows that you can't get out, as for how you get in, how important is it?

"I ......" Billy's face changed visibly, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes. He was silent for a moment before he whispered, "Little George, everyone here has their own story, and although you are only eight years old, you are more mature than your peers. Look at you, the boy who was supposed to stay in the greenhouse and be cared for in every way, but now he has also become a miner, living like a walking corpse in this dark cage, how can he get in more than such a punishment? Even if you kill people and set fires, you can pull him out and shoot him, but you can't punish him as a slave. ”

Speaking of this, Billy's face was full of resentment, he was a lawyer, so he talked about human rights the most, and it wasn't until he entered here that he knew what hell on earth was.

The reason why a story is a story is not only that it is told and understood, but also that some experiences buried deep in the heart are also unforgettable stories. It was a memory, a record of the bits and pieces that came along. There is nothing in life that cannot be passed, but it is difficult to walk in the trough, or to be overwhelmed in the heights, whether it is good or bad, it is a story of its own.

It was obvious that Billy didn't want to say it, and George didn't ask again, and everyone just lived in the gloom, carrying a heavy basket and carrying a heavy load.

Perhaps sensing the disappointment on Little George's face, Billy chuckled softly and asked softly, "Little George, if you're going out soon?" What do you want to do?"

George looked at him puzzled, and said without a trace of hesitation: "Then can I go out with my mother?" It doesn't matter where I go or what I do, as long as my mother is with me." "Maybe it's just a simple wish for a boy, but it seems so unrealistic.

Billy nodded heavily, then turned to the old man and asked, "What about you, dear Lord Yes, if you were able to get out, what would you want to do?"

The old man's closed eyes opened slightly, glanced at Billy indifferently, and said in a low voice: "It's because I don't have a reason to go out, so I will always stay here, and if I have it, then this place will no longer exist!"

His words were casual, but there was no doubt about them. Maybe he didn't know where the old man came from to say such an inconsequential word, but he knew that although the old man had few words, he never told lies.

"Uh...... Why don't you know the reason to go out?, isn't freedom the best reason?" asked Billy, puzzled, in a low voice.

"Freedom? huh...... What does it matter where a dying man falls?"

Yes, the old man has run out of oil, his body is getting worse, he can't hold it anymore, or it won't be long before he really collapses. Over the past year or so, the changes in the old man, they are obvious to all, every day passes, he will age a little, the footprint of time is too obvious in his body, so fast that people don't have time to react, he is about to fall.

"Yes, dying man, nothing matters anymore, but...... I don't want to die!"