Chapter 32: I Want to See Them One Last Time
I have two months left, and then I will go back to my hometown and become a citizen, and I want to see them one last time before I leave.
The next day, I asked the detachment leader about this, and he probably expected that I would go back and ask him, and he confessed to me, there was no suspense, Xiao Wu and they were posthumously recognized as martyrs and buried in the martyrs' cemetery more than 100 kilometers away from us.
So I took a day off, and the captain agreed, and then I walked to the town alone and made a minibus to the county, and then took a few hours of bus from the county to the suburbs, and then I stopped a tricycle to inquire about the location of the martyrs' cemetery.
When I arrived at the martyrs' cemetery in front of me, it was almost noon, and I saw that the door was open, so I walked in with something, and an elderly security guard at the door saw that I was wearing a military uniform and only glanced at me, so he lowered his head and continued to read the newspaper, maybe all this was already accustomed to in his eyes.
Just by looking at the gate, I knew that this cemetery had been around for a long time.
I slowed down as soon as I walked through the door, it was my first time in this place, my hands began to shake uncontrollably, I looked at the tombstones in the distance and a long road under my feet, I walked step by step towards it.
The martyr's cemetery, composed of hundreds of tombstones and hundreds of loyal souls, is solemn and quiet.
With every step I took, I could feel them watching me.
So I scanned the tombstones we saw as I walked.
Some tombstones are erected, some are beveled, some tombstones have gone through I don't know how many years have passed, and some tombstones are brand new and bright, and even reflect the light under the sun.
Some of them also have photos posted on them, some of them depict their life deeds in detail, some of them have been awarded first-class merits, and some have been awarded second-class merits......
They were all so young, some of them were even younger than me, and they were lying quietly on the land of the motherland, and on this land, they formed a neat, solemn, and solemn square......
I walked along the main road inside, looking for Yang Yuan and Xiao Wu's tombstones.
Looking for a new one, I walked up the path, and when I got to the last row, I saw a lot of brand new tombstones, row after row, neatly erected.
In the first row, I saw an old lady wiping her tears and placing a bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone, supported by her family, and then bending down to hold the tombstone and say something.
In the second row, I saw several middle-aged people in the distance pouring the liquor in their hands in front of a tombstone, and then shouting: Brother! Drink!
In the third row, there was no one, so I walked in and began to look inside one by one.
As far as my eyes could see, I found Yang Yuan's tombstone in the center.
It's unreal, it's so unreal, I even thought I was still dreaming, but their tombstones really stood in front of my eyes, and their names and ages were clearly engraved on them.
I bought a lot of flowers, but I saw that someone had already come to Yang Yuan's seat, with two bouquets of flowers and a photo of him pressed by a stone on the ground.
I squatted on the ground and took out the photo, it was the photo that Yang Yuan had been looking at, the photo of him and his sister, Yang Yuan's smile was very bright, the girl's smile was very playful, the photo of the two of them had become a little damaged now, I could only press it with a stone in its original position.
"Yang Yuan!" I stood up and reached out to touch the tombstone.
Tears kept flowing from my eyes, I couldn't forget those things, I couldn't forget those things, I couldn't forget each of them, the road we walked, the hardships we endured, the words we said.
I took out the flowers and placed them in front of Yang Yuan's tombstone, then twisted the lid of the liquor and poured some out.
"I can't give you too much to drink, I have to give them more!"
Then I got up and walked to the side, Xiao Wu, Ercheng, Li Xiao, their tombstones were lined up one by one.
"Xiao Wu, we are fellow countrymen, I want to say to you, you did a good job, Brother Chen obeys you!"
"Ercheng, I'll inquire about your kid, it turns out that your kid is an ambulance because you like a little nurse in a military hospital, don't admit it, I know everything, but I don't know what the little nurse's name is, come, drink."
"Li Xiao, you are the most aggrieved, Brother Chen, my life was given by you, without you, I would have died a long time ago, I want to give this life back to you, but you still left, I want to give it back to you, ah?"
I looked at the little liquor left after pouring it around, took the bottle and drank it all at them, and the hot taste immediately filled my mouth.
I took a few steps back and sat on the ground, took a box of cigarettes out of my pocket, tore them open, took one out of my mouth, and looked around as no one lit it and smoked it.
Thinking that Yang Yuan and Xiao Wu also like to smoke, I nodded: "Forget about you." ”
I took out a few cigarettes and lit them in front of Yang Yuan and Xiao Wu's tombstones.
"Pumping, it used to be a sneaky pump, but now it's not cowardly, swaggering pumping! I didn't stay long this time, but I know the location, and I'll come back next time! ”
Before I joined the army, I wanted to investigate the meaning of everything, just like Xu Sanduo in the soldier assault, always pondering various meanings.
Later, I suddenly realized what meaning is, as long as it is something that I decide is worthwhile, it is meaning.
Sacrifice is a kind of final destination for soldiers, and this is also the meaning of soldiers fighting for the country.
I stood up and looked at the patches of tombstones behind me, what were they for? This kind of problem even elementary school students will understand that they are in this place because of the sacrifices they have made for the country and the people, and this is the meaning.
This is my first time at the Martyrs' Cemetery, and I have only seen it on TV or through various channels before, but when I actually arrived here, the shock from the heart was something I will never forget.
I walked to Yang Yuan's tombstone and looked at his name, and then moved my steps to look at Xiao Wu's name, I seemed to see them smiling at me one by one, smiling innocently, I could only wave my hand: "I have to go back, I have to go back." ”
They didn't speak, they just looked at me and smiled, as if they were saying goodbye to me, and this time my wish was fulfilled, and I would come back next time I had the chance.
On the edge of a mountain nest on the outskirts of a city somewhere in the south of our country, a young soldier in a military uniform walked out of the martyrs' cemetery with tears in his eyes.
It was from that time that his heart was turned upside down......