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墨書 Inktalez
Wen Xin was gazing up at the stars, listening to her brother Wen Sheng's pointless musings. When she heard her mother calling her name, she instinctively turned around, her eyes landing on her mother standing by the roadside behind the village. In the night, her mother's figure appeared thin and somewhat blurred, but Wen Xin could still recognize her; after all, no one was more familiar to a child than their loving mother.
“Mom!” Wen Xin called out with all her might, her young voice straining to respond. A hint of worry crept into her heart; she feared that her mother might scold her. Yet, she also thought it was unreasonable for both herself and Er Ge to stay out so late and cause their mother to worry.
Hearing her daughter's response, her mother's anxious heart finally eased a bit. However, an inexplicable anger began to bubble up within her. She felt like giving Wen Xin and Wen Sheng a good slap as a warning not to stay out so late at night. Although these were peaceful times, there were still bad people lurking outside at night. The thought of something ominous made it seem quite unreasonable for children to be out so late. Some villagers still held onto superstitions about spirits and ghosts; whether they truly existed was unclear.
“Er Ge! Mom is looking for us!” Wen Xin tugged at Wen Sheng's arm.
“I heard! Let's hurry home!” Wen Sheng replied as he followed Wen Xin toward their mother.
Wen Xin nearly ran, and Wen Sheng had to quicken his pace just to keep up with her.
“Mom! It's our fault!” Wen Sheng said apologetically in a low voice.
“What are you doing out here in the middle of the night? You should be home!” Their mother’s tone was clearly angry.
“It’s nothing! I was afraid Dad would hit me when I got home! So I wanted to stay outside a bit longer. Then Wen Xin showed up, and we just started chatting!” Wen Sheng explained.
“Do you know what time it is? Do you think your father will forget about this? Hiding for a while won’t solve anything; you can’t just stay out all night,” their mother said, trying to calm her anger.
Maybe Dad wouldn’t hold a grudge against me because he often acted this way. Perhaps I would remember it! Perhaps I could never forget how he once looked down on our relatives. Am I being too narrow-minded? Wen Sheng thought to himself, lowering his head in silence.
“Wen Xin! You should have called your brother to come home sooner!” Their mother seemed very angry as she scolded Wen Xin.
Wen Xin lowered her head, afraid to look at her mother's expression or into her eyes. Even though it was dark and she couldn't see her mother's face clearly, she knew that her mother was very angry. The sound of her mother's snorting filled the air, and Wen Xin's heart raced rapidly. Perhaps it was a kind of nervousness; she was a bit scared that her mother would hit them, but at the same time, she hoped her mother would give herself and her brother a few light taps, thinking that might ease her mother's heart a little.
But their mother did not hit them. She calmed her breathing. Perhaps it was because they had walked so far, or perhaps it was the worry she had carried alone in the dark night that made her feel a bit scared. In that moment when she found her children, her heart settled, and the entire atmosphere felt much more harmonious.
"Come home with me!" Her mother raised her voice slightly, as if afraid the children wouldn't hear her clearly. Then she took Wen Xin's hand and turned to walk briskly along the village path. Her steps seemed much more vigorous than before.
Wen Sheng followed behind, his head drooping. He wondered when these kinds of days would come to an end. Over the years, their mother had grown thinner and appeared much older.
Before long, they arrived home, to that place that made one feel a bit broken inside. Their father seemed to have already gone to bed since the light in his room was off. The light in Wen Hao's room was still on; Grandma sat by Wen Hao's bed, continuously speaking in a soft voice about him.
Their mother led Wen Xin to the doorway and saw Grandma still talking about Wen Hao. He lay on the bed with half of his body leaning against a wall adorned with pictures of beautiful stars. A yellow bulb shaped like a pointed tip illuminated the room. The light seemed dim but not too glaring; under its glow, Wen Hao's comical face appeared less dark, though his eyes looked somewhat uneasy.
"Mother! You haven't gone to sleep yet?" Their mother noticed that she still had a lot of dirt on herself under the light. She shook off her clothes with one hand while addressing Grandma. Her grayish-brown outfit looked quite worn and oversized on her; it had been made by a tailor in the village from fabric she bought years ago. After several years, the clothes had become ragged and much too big.
"Where have they been?" Grandma looked at Wen Xin's drooping figure. "It's the middle of the night; don’t they know to come home? Don’t they know to be afraid?" Her tone carried a hint of reproach and complaint.
Wen Xin kept her head down, leaning against her mother’s body. Originally, their mother had tied Wen Xin's hair up with a red ribbon, but since her hair wasn't very long, it stuck up like a little tail at the back. Wen Sheng thought it looked unappealing and let it down instead, which made it look somewhat pleasant. The hair fell over Wen Xin's eyes; she brushed it aside with her hand and secretly glanced at Grandma.
"Don’t be afraid! It’s just me, Wen Sheng! You’re older now; you’re the brother! You should know better than to bring your sister home late! It’s midnight when ghosts are out; if you run into one, you’d be scared half to death!" Grandma continued scolding Wen Sheng.
As for ghosts, Wen Sheng wasn’t really afraid of them at all; in his words, he was more afraid of living people causing him trouble! Once someone is dead, what’s there to be scared of? Grandma's words went in one ear and out the other for him. He didn’t pay much attention to them but felt a bit guilty for making Grandma and his mother worry so late at night.
"Mother! It’s getting late; you should go to bed early too!" Wen Sheng's mother said gently to Grandma.
“I’m going to bed! You can’t stay out so late anymore!” Grandma said as she walked to the door with her cane, turning back for a moment. She had been wearing that gray coat for two years, her hair was completely white, and her face was lined with deep wrinkles. The veins on her hands were quite prominent. Although Grandma talked a lot, most of it was just idle chatter filled with good intentions. Wen Sheng's Father didn’t like to listen to her, and sometimes Mom found Grandma a bit too chatty. Wen Sheng would just listen absentmindedly, while Wen Hao would quickly forget what she said. However, Wen Xin enjoyed Grandma’s stories about the past.
There were times when Dad would go out and not come home until late. Grandma would go out looking for him, but every time she brought him back, she would try to scold Wen Sheng's Father a little. He would respond with endless reprimands, and sometimes Grandma would get so upset that she cried. Yet the next time Wen Sheng's Father stayed out late, she would still go looking for him, again and again.
Wen Sheng and Wen Xin never complained or blamed Mom. Perhaps it was because they were still young, or maybe they understood Mom’s good intentions. Would they grow up to be like Dad and their older brother, eventually blaming Mom and finding her a bit annoying and useless? It was hard to say; people change as they grow older. When they felt their wings had strengthened, would they think Mom was no longer needed?
Wen Sheng watched as Grandma went inside the house, lost in thought about whether he would treat Mom poorly in the future. He didn’t know; Mom really had it tough. He looked out from the brightly lit room into the dark night.
“Mom! I’m hungry! Make me something to eat!” Wen Hao shouted as he pounded on his bed, interrupting Wen Sheng’s thoughts. Wen Sheng glanced at him, his eyes briefly shining with an indescribable light before it vanished, leaving his face calm once more.
“Don’t make anything for him! Let him starve if he wants!” Wen Sheng replied coldly.
“You’re such an idiot!” Wen Hao glared at Wen Sheng.
Mom turned back to look at Wen Hao. Her tired and haggard face showed a hint of helplessness as she furrowed her brow in a bittersweet expression.
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