Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2025

☆☆☆

Red sat in his basement, as always. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

With reading glasses in hand, he looked intently at a few photos, flipping them over and over again.

The basement door was ajar, and a small figure stood by the crack in the door.

Little Jeremy hesitated, and his mother said that the basement was where his grandfather worked, and he should not be disturbed. But if an adult told a curious boy of eight or nine years of age that he was not allowed to go to the basement of the whole house, it would be tempting him to go and see it, and he looked at the light cast through the crack in the door.

The basement was completed in 1975, half a century ago, and it was full of products from that era, and there were many things that would be quite attractive to a child, and little Jeremy couldn't help but feel that he opened the door wider and poked his head into it.

"Is anyone up there?" said an old voice.

Oh no!

Jeremy Jr. took two steps back, ready to retreat.

"Jamie, is that you?" Raid paused, "Welcome in!"

Grandpa's voice still sounded so kind, there was no sign of anger at all, and he also sent out an invitation.

Little Jeremy happily descended the stairs with an exclamation of "Wow!" from his mouth.

"Cool!"

It was just amazing, he looked at a huge cassette recorder and then some posters on the wall caught his attention, and he could see it. One of the posters is obviously a science fiction movie poster from the sixties and seventies, with a flying saucer in the upper left corner of the picture, shooting rays like light waves to attack the big city, and the people in the city flee in panic, and in the center of the picture is a despised alien who clutches a blonde beauty in her hand, revealing a hideous face, typical Hollywood-style story.

Little Jeremy stared at the poster for a while, then suddenly turned his head to look at his grandfather, his expression was extremely serious, and he asked, "Grandpa, can you ask a question?"

Red put down the photo in his hand, took off his reading glasses, turned around and met his grandson's eyes, and he replied solemnly: "Ask!"

"Are there really aliens?"

Red giggled and asked, "Do you think there is?"

"Mom said no, Aunt Nanny said it was in the movie to make everyone happy, but Uncle Rich said that there were all kinds of aliens living on Earth for a long time. ”

"What do you think of it yourself?"

"I ...... I think there is! I like E.T."

His answer drew a hearty laugh from his grandfather.

"Do you think aliens are what E.T. looks like?"

Little Jeremy nodded, then shook his head again.

"Then why do you like it?"

"I think E.T.'s head is shaped like a muffin made for Mom's breakfast, flat, long, and crumpled!"

Red laughed again, he didn't think he had laughed like this in years.

Little Jeremy stuck out his tongue mischievously and said, "Grandpa, don't tell your mother, saying that I said this about her muffins, she is very hard!"

Rhett felt in his heart, the child is really sensible, don't look at him so young, in fact, he understands everything.

"Grandpa, you have to promise me not to tell my mother. ”

Red made a promise and said, "Don't worry, I won't say it." ”

Red picked him up and placed him in a large bean bag chair, the boy was as light as a feather, his skin was pale from lack of sun exposure, little Jeremy was bald from chemotherapy, and he wore a knitted thread hat that his daughter had knitted by hand.

Little Jeremy asked with some restraint: "Uncle Richie said that you are a superhero, just like in the movie, you catch alien villains, is it true?"

Rhett was stunned: Richie, how many years has he not spoken to his youngest son. In private, Richie actually tells little Jeremy that he is a superhero. Looking at little Jeremy's smile and honest face, he and Richie looked so similar, Red looked at him as if he had walked through a time portal, how many times Richie wanted to explore the secrets of the basement, how long he longed to know his father's identity and his mysterious work.

Is the younger son looking at himself like that? Red's eyes suddenly became a little hot and moist, he threw himself into work every day, his role in the family was completely missing, and an indescribable sense of regret rose in his heart, how much did he miss out?

"Listen, Jamie!" Red crouched down in front of the boy and said, "Always trust your own judgment at all times!"

Although the boy's skin was tarnished, his eyes were like black crystals, and he asked, "Grandpa, you still haven't answered my question." ”

"Xiaojie!"

"Mom's ......"

"How did you run down. ”

Red watched as his daughter stopped halfway down the stairs, as if a screen was holding her down.

"I ......" remembered his mother's instructions, and little Jeremy lowered his head.

"Joan, I let him in. Red called out to his daughter, and their eyes met.

Instead of continuing to dwell on the problem of her disobedient running to the basement, Mom made a new proposal.

"Xiaojie, do you want some ice cream?"

"Of course!" said little Jeremy, who suddenly became elated.

"You go to the refrigerator and get it yourself, I'm going to talk to my grandfather, go ahead!"

Little Jeremy thought to himself: In the past, when she made a mistake, her mother would scold, but now she will only say lightly, don't do anything wrong next time;

Red and Joan watched little Jeremy leave, and obediently led them to the door before leaving.

Silent.

After Joan left the house, she didn't think about moving back. But because of her son's illness, she couldn't afford her meager salary, so she had to ask her father for help, and he agreed. not only helped when he was overstretched, but also let their mother and son move back. It's just that this is still far from the huge medical expenses needed to cure his son's illness.

Joan doesn't want to make the relationship so stiff under the same roof, at least for Xiaojie, she also wants to create a reassuring and warm environment for him. So, she took the initiative to speak.

"I'll tell Xiaojie not to let him come down casually!"

"Why?"

Joan smiled bitterly: "The unwritten rule of the Swift family, 'No entry in the basement'!

Joan remembered her late mother, a very traditional American housewife who had been busy with the family all her life. Joan even wondered if there were still such women who only worked for the family? Her father's work was always mysterious, the basement was the forbidden place of the family, the children were always curious to find out, and the younger brother once broke into the basement like little Jeremy, and the father didn't say a word, but the mother was furious. Joan remembered that her mother was always kind and kind, and she didn't speak loudly, but that was the only time her mother hit her brother, and after that, no one in the family wanted to go to the basement again.

"I've been retired for 10 years......"

Joan wanted to go up to see Xiaojie, but she didn't want to leave him alone for too long, so she said, "Dad, what do you want to say?"

Red sighed and said, "I know, you hate me, hate me for only focusing on work, hate me for not caring about you, hate me for not finding out your mom was sick sooner!"

"What's the use of talking about that now? I don't want to hear it!"

There was another burst of silence.

"I'm sorry about your mother. Rhett said, "You're right, the most important thing now is Xiaojie's business!"

Joan knew this expression on his father's face, which he wore every time he had a big decision, and he never consulted it with his family, but only unilaterally announced his decision.

"I mean, if I die, you sell this house and leave all my possessions to you!"

Joan lowered her head and nodded inexplicably. She thought that her father was old and wanted to take the opportunity to try to make up for what she thought was negligence and ease the relationship between everyone, which was not a bad thing, at least not for Xiaojie. Although she and her father both understood that everything added up was not enough to pay Xiaojie's medical bills, it was better than nothing, and although Joan's face was calm, there was still a little gratitude in her heart.

She finally walked down the steps and opened her arms to her father, who hugged her back, a hug he hadn't seen in a long time.

After that, they didn't say anything, and Joan went upstairs to find Xiaojie.

Rhett sat back down at his desk, and pulled out a white card with only a set of numbers on it from a small black notebook.

Red took out the phone and dialed the number on the card.

"Hello?" a soft voice rang on the other end of the phone.

"Are you Lady Claire Rickon?"

"It's me, you're it?"

"Hello, my name is Red Swift and I am a loyal reader of yours. ”

Claire is a freelance writer for the New York Times column, and Rhett's youngest son, Richie, is a journalist, so he has always paid close attention to the journalist profession, and thinks that he has some right to judge whether a journalist is good or bad, and he thinks that this Ms. Claire, unlike those reporters nowadays, has some brains and writes something in the article.

"This is my personal number, how did you get it?" Claire said politely, but her tone was displeased.

"Given the nature of my job, I do have some ......"

"What's the matter with you?"

"I have a story I want to sell, I think you might be interested. He cleared his throat slightly, "I think it's going to get you a Pulitzer Prize." ”

The other end of the line, as he expected, fell silent.

"Okay! ”

No one can resist such tempting conditions.

"Dear Madam, these things are not something that can be explained clearly on the phone. ”

“...... So let's make an appointment next week, what's your address......"

Red interrupted her and said, "No, I can't wait that long, I have to do it soon!"

"I'm not in New York, I've been covering the West Coast all weekend, and I can't make it back to ......"

"Where are you? I'll go to you and tell me your address. ”

Claire hesitated, but still said where she was: "I'm at the Hilton Hotel, Mountain View, California, 840-East-El-Camino-Real. ”

"Okay, I'll call you when I get there. ”

Red hung up the phone and put away the photos and papers on the table. His little black notebook was left on the table, along with a note for his daughter.

He left the basement and drove his dilapidated Chevrolet out of the garage, and before setting out he looked back at the old house, where his daughter and grandson lived with the lights on, and he prayed to God and offered consolation to the souls of his deceased wife, hoping to bless their mother and son.

The city of Philadelphia is full of verdant lawns, lush trees, and of course, the most famous of which is the Independence Palace, the Liberty Bell, and the Declaration of Independence, the symbol of the American spirit, which attracts hundreds of visitors every day. Rhett drove past the Independence Palace and saw young people from an unknown country taking pictures in front of the Independence Palace with the 100 yuan green bill printed on it, and their faces were full of eager expressions, as if to say "Awesome, Free America!"

Maybe the first two years of a newcomer are still excited to come to this free country, then it's understandable, if you've lived in this country for more than 10 years and you still believe in this fairy tale, then you are naïve. Like other cities in the United States, Philadelphia has a detailed racial division. African-American Neighborhood, Polish Neighborhood, Korean Neighborhood, Chinese Neighborhood, Italian Neighborhood...... There is a powerful but invisible magnetic field that separates each race. After a few years of living, you may have a deeper understanding, at least you won't simply think that Little Italy Street is always next to Chinatown because they cook delicious food.

Everyone will find that the reality is not like that, what freedom, one is that people are so busy with their lives that they no longer have time to care about such noble and unrealistic opinions, and second, who wants to admit to others that they have been fooled? This is how the lie is continued in silence by everyone, and the beautiful American dream is still so tempting.

Red, who has dedicated his life to this country, has never thought about or questioned many issues.

He's been doing it well and right.

If ten years ago, no, maybe five years ago, he wouldn't have made the decision he makes today.

But when he saw Jeremy's child, a strong but completely alien emotion surged through him. He felt that something that had been buried deep in his heart was touched, and when the emotions of his blood relatives collided violently with his previous values, he no longer resisted uselessly, and he knew that he had to protect this child. He suddenly began to think about the value of the secrets he guarded, and if they were worth some money, then this was what they were worth now.

Suddenly, some old faces quickly flashed through Red's mind. He tried to shake them off.

Red said in his heart: It's all for Jeremy, I'm going to break that vow!

The car pulls onto the highway and heads towards the airport.