Prince Constance asked, "What about you, have you been to the castle before?" ”

Lao Ru Lingtou: "Yes, not only have I been there, but I have been there more than once, but that was more than half a century ago.

Every Sunday afternoon, we climbed that damn hill along a winding mountain road and went inside that damn broken castle to play.

At that time, the children of the town did not like to listen to the adults, but liked to go to the castle to play hide and seek, the boys played knightly games with sticks, and the girls put mats on the ground and played with rag dolls. ”

William noticed Lao Rao's words: "You have to add 'damn it' every time you mention it, it seems that you are disgusted with that castle, why do you insist on going?" ”

"Actually, I was very bold, I didn't dare to go, but I didn't want to be scorned by my friends, and I didn't want to be called a coward by everyone, so I joined them head-on."

At this point, the old man seemed to recall some sweet memories of his childhood, and a smile appeared on his wrinkled face.

He looked excited, and the wrinkles on his face were stretched:

"In addition to the fear of being a coward, there is a more important reason - I admire one of the girls.

Her name is Janet and she is the daughter of Wilbur, the owner of the town's tobacco shop.

She wasn't very pretty, but she was cute, always wearing a light blue dress, white cotton stockings over her legs, long eyelashes, and a pair of blue eyes that were quite charming, and I always secretly watched her at that time, hoping to make friends with her. ”

At this time, the old man was already immersed in his own world, and he didn't care whether the other party was interested in it or not, but instinctively, like a few treasures, listed his memories one by one.

Dalí and Constance were both educated aristocratic youths, and they did not appear impatient because of this: "Oh, what a romantic childhood, dare you ask, did you see the rumored ghost while playing?" ”

"I haven't seen it, but other kids claim to have seen it.

I don't know if they were playing or if they were real, but I really hadn't seen it myself, and we had been frolicking around in that ruins during those days, and it was a wonderful time until something happened. ”

"What's the matter?"

Lao Rao's face became a little pale, the shadow of childhood appeared in his heart, tears were contained in those cloudy eyes, he paused for a few seconds before continuing:

"There was a girl who played in the castle and when she came home she went crazy, babbling gibberish and biting with her teeth, and her parents had no choice but to send her to a mental hospital in a big city outside the valley."

The sad look on the old man's face was so obvious that Konstanz and Wilhelm couldn't help but be moved:

"The unfortunate man...... That's the girl you admire, Janet, right? ”

Lao Ru was gone, he couldn't control his emotions anymore, he was already in tears, and his voice trembled even more:

"More than half a century has passed since then, Janet has never returned to town, and I have been waiting for her until I am thirty years old before giving up hope.

Later, I got a job as a luggage carrier at a hotel, married a girl who had a crush on me, and had many children.

In the year of my eldest son's marriage, some people who returned to their hometown to visit relatives brought back news from the city,

From their mouths I learned; Poor Sister Janet lived to be in her fifties, and she died on the bedside of an insane asylum. ”

At this point, the old man choked again:

She ...... She wore a leather straitjacket until her death, and the staff tied her to her place like a dog, her skin strangled and scarred, and she wore a rusty iron mask.

I didn't even have a decent coffin after I died, those damn psychiatric hospital staff! They only used a broken canvas bag to hold Janet's body, and a broken brick as a tombstone!

After a year, I lied to my wife and was going to the city to see a doctor, and I actually went to the cemetery of a mental hospital to say goodbye to my first love.

I placed a bouquet of lilies in front of her grave, which was her favorite flower of her time.

That was the last time I left Fog Pine, hey......

I'm old,

I don't have the energy and time to travel anymore, my wife left before me, fortunately, there is a queen in the country who works hard, she brings us stability and prosperity, ordinary people like me will not starve and suffer from poverty, and my children and grandchildren are now living happily.

Yes, I don't want anymore.

I am no longer afraid of death now, and there is nothing more reassuring for me, an old man, than dying in my hometown.

But in the bottom of my heart...... There are still some expectations,

After my death, if there is a soul in this world,

I hope my soul can find Janet and renew her relationship with her in another world......"

The three of them looked out the window without saying a word, and were silent for a long time.

The old man leaned against the wall, and Constance and Wilhelm began to comfort him.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Constance took out an incense handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the old man. "This one is for you."

"Thank you, young man, for being so kind." The old man took the handkerchief, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and choked up:

"After that tragedy, the town's parents made the castle off-limits and did not allow their children to step into it."

"And then you're not going again?"

"I myself will definitely not go, for going there will remind me of poor Janet, and it will make me weep,

But there were still others who went, and once again something happened. ”

"What's the matter? Is someone scared crazy again? Isn't it forbidden to go to the castle? Constance and Wilhelm had been thoroughly enthralled, and they eagerly asked a barrage of questions.

Lao Rao's mood had become calmer, and he said to the two guests:

"What you should know - the rebellious mentality of teenagers, the more adults forbid it, the more they want to try, and not hit the south wall and never look back.

This time it was my cousin Miles, who was the demon king of the town, drunk and fighting, don't be a child, and even adults were afraid of him.

Then he made an appointment with a few troubled teenagers in the town, who stole a rooster from someone else's house and roasted it, and stole fruit wine from the priest's cellar to drink.

After three rounds of drinking, my cousin was dazed, and he made a stupid gamble with his fox friends.

To prove his mettle, he gambled that he would stay overnight in the castle with two boxes of hazelnut pralines.

When my cousin set foot on the mountain path, a good Samaritan tried to stop him from the castle, but instead he was scolded by him. My brother Miles, what a hopeless fool!

The next morning, my troublesome cousin stumbled home.

I remember it very well, because I happened to be staying at his house at the time, and his pants were wet and he smelled of pee.

He was in a trance, crying and complaining all the time,

He had slept in the spire attic of the castle the previous night, and was so frightened by all kinds of inexplicable screams that he peed his pants, and he did not dare to open his eyes all night, and huddled in the corner tremblingly, and ran down the hill until dawn.

Since that time, my cousin has changed from a mischievous, trouble-causing bad boy to a well-behaved boy who is scared of things, much to his parents' relief.

I asked him about the details of the night in the castle, and he didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to go any further, he didn't even want to get any closer to the mountain. ”