(a)

This incident left a very deep impression on Kaohsiung. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info He never understood what you meant by this. But intuitively, he felt I should know better.

So, eventually, in that café, he told me about it.

When he did, I didn't speak.

He looked at me and asked, "Can you understand?" Do you understand what he's talking about? ”

When he asked, he stared at me.

I felt him staring at me from the top of the coffee cup.

I nodded silently.

I said, "I understand. ”

I said, "Before, we were brother and sister. But it's not a brother or sister. He promised to marry me, but he didn't. ”

Kaohsiung said: "Were you a couple at that time? ”

I nodded.

Kaohsiung said: "Did he kill a lot of people? ”

I sighed deeply, feeling a shattering pain inside.

I can't go on.

I silently picked up my teacup and drank the bitter tea soup.

Kaohsiung looked at me.

He fell silent and asked no more questions.

(b)

The light outside brightened. The clouds are lifting, and the afternoon sun is shining through the gaps in the clouds.

Together, we looked out the window at the large dark blue clouds in the sky.

The sunlight radiated golden light behind the clouds, drawing countless straight lines in the air. In the thick of the light, a lot of dust danced.

After a long while, Kaohsiung spoke again: "Look, this dance of the dust, how graceful their rotation is." ”

I looked at the dust, looked down, and I said, "yes, it's beautiful." ”

Kaohsiung called me softly across the table: "Xinxin? ”

I looked up, I looked at him, and I nonchalantly agreed. I said, "What? ”

"There's a coin-operated music box over there," he said. Let's do a dance. ”

I shook my head.

Kaohsiung stood up, grabbed me, and dragged me out of my seat.

He said, "Don't reject me for anything. Just do a dance. ”

He dragged me to the music box and threw in a coin.

The music box begins to play a famous bagpipe song called "Scottish Daughter", which is upbeat and jumpy, and is an accompaniment to country dances.

Kaohsiung took me and started dancing.

We danced this cheerful dance in the coffee shop. The owner and the clerk looked at us with a smile on their faces and began to applaud to the rhythm.

In their eyes, we may be a couple who are out on vacation.

Kaohsiung was jumping there energetically, spinning so fast, I kind of thought he was deliberately spinning so violently.

Maybe he just wanted to shake me and shake the things that were in the past out of my heart.

I stepped on Kaohsiung's shoes twice. It's like this every time. I've never danced without stepping into his shoes.

When we stopped, Kaohsiung saw tears in my eyes.

He let go of his hand.

I left him.

We went back to our respective seats and sat down for a while.

I looked down and wiped away my tears.

(c)

When I calmed down again, Kaohsiung said, "Do you want something to drink?" ”

I shook my head. He said, "I'm sorry to tell you this. But, I guess, you want to know, don't you? ”

I nodded.

I said, "Thank you for telling me." ”

We were silent again for a moment.

Kaohsiung looked at the sky outside and said, "It's not early, it's going to be dark in a while, let's go to the town, buy something, and get in the car." ”

(iv)

We had seven or eight shops in town that day, and I was about to move into my new house, where I bought a small shelf for cruet bottles, a couple of hanging trays, and a picnic blanket.

While I was picking up something, Kaohsiung leaned against the counter by the door and waited.

With his face outward, his eyes looking at the deserted streets of the town, his fingers tapping at the wooden counter.

As I walked over to pay the bill, he felt my gaze fall on his finger.

He laughed and slipped his hand into the pocket of his trench coat.

"It's just a common action for men waiting for women to shop," he said. I'm not the first to do this. ”

I said, "Did I choose a long time?" ”

He nodded, then shook his head again.

I paid and said, "What do you mean?" ”

He said: "Objectively speaking, you picked a lot of time. But more objectively, the time we have been together has never been very long. ”

Kaohsiung's words are indeed very objective.

It's true that the time I've spent with him has never been "very long".

The time I spent with you, exactly the same.

(5)

Kaohsiung said: "This town used to be a small principality. After the duke was enthroned, a majestic castle was built here. Inside the castle there is a church that rises into the sky. Then, around the castle and church, the local residents slowly built a variety of houses, which gradually developed into the town it is today. ”

We got back into the car. When the car started, Kaohsiung began to tell me about the history of the town.

He said: "The Duke has a young and beautiful wife, and they are very affectionate and affectionate, and they have lived happily in this castle for many years. Unfortunately, the good times were short-lived. One year, there was a plague epidemic in the town, and many people fell ill and died. The Duchess was very merciful, and she personally led the maids, followed the doctors, and went from house to house to distribute anti-plague medicine to the townspeople, collect the sick and dead, and bury them deeply. Exhausted, she unfortunately contracted the plague as well, and after a few days of struggle, she died. The Duke was devastated, but in order to avoid further infection, he had to bury her soon. ”

"The plague has finally passed. The town is gradually recovering from grief and fear. However, the Duke's heart has been immersed in the grief of the loss of his lover, and he has not been able to recover for a long time. ”

"The duke kept watch the duchess's tomb day and night to remember and remember for seven years, leaving the world behind and ignoring everything. The Duke's vassals and the people of the Duchy were worried, but no matter how much they persuaded the Duke, they could not relieve him of the knots in his heart and let him return to normal life. They had to tell the king of Ireland the truth. The king sent one of his wisest courtiers to the town to appease the duke. ”

When the wise courtier arrived at the town, and after inquiring about the situation, he disguised himself as a vagabond, carried a broken clay pot, and ran to the tomb. When he saw the duke, he pretended to stumble, and the crockpot clattered and shattered on the ground. The courtier threw himself on him, clung to the fragments of the earthen pot, and wept and wept heartbroken. For three days in a row, he guarded the pile of broken crockpot fragments, crying and grabbing the ground, like mourning. ”

At last, the duke was overwhelmed by his quarrel, and came to him and said, "It's just a broken crockpot, and if it breaks, you don't need to think about it." If you find another one, it's over, why are you sad like this? ”

The wise courtier said to the duke, "My earthen pot is broken, but at least there are fragments here, and your lady is now no longer even a mote of dust, and you are still here in pain, is it wiser than I am?" ”

The duke was stunned for a moment, and then he realized something. The duke thus returned to his daily life. He married another wife, had several children, and gave the principality an heir. In old age, the duke renounced the rule of the duchy and became a monk in a monastery. ”

After Kaohsiung finished telling the story, he looked back at me.

At this time, it dawned on me that Kaohsiung did not casually suggest a temporary stay in this town.

He did it on purpose. He just wanted to find an excuse to tell me the story of this crockpot.