Chapter 2 - 2. 6 Years Later (1/1)
” Hong er” an old woman lying weakly on her bed, her face is so pale, but the gentle smile on her face is giving out a pitiful aura. 6 years has passed by since Hong er live with this old woman. The old woman named her Hong er because when she picked her up, she was so red. That's why she named her hong which means red.
Hong er POV
” Wait a sec granny, the medicine will be ready in a minute.” I said loudly while fanning the fire. Huff, what should I do? We have no more money to buy medicines, even if I sell all our firewoods it still won't be enough. Gosh, being poor is so hard. Should I go find a job in town? No no no, what if something happen to granny while I'm in town. Hhmm, maybe selling vegetables and firewoods is the best idea.
I bring the medicine to granny's bedroom, we share the same bedroom though. In our house, we only have a small kitchen, a small bedroom and a table. We have a backyard to plant vegetables, sometimes we eat it sometimes we sell it. After I put down the medicine beside the bed, I helped granny sit up and spooned her the medicine. After I done that, I helped granny lie on the bed to rest. I washed the bowl and I went to backyard to grab my cutting woods tool. I went to the forest that granny usually take me to, she warned me to not go too far because we live in the border between Da Qi and Da Chu. I never learned any martial arts but I learned cooking, reading, and writing from granny. She was a maid when she was young, but she was kicked out after being framed by her own master. After 2 hours, I feel that I had collected enough firewoods. I was searching for herbs while walking back home.
A tree branch moved slightly when I was picking herbs. ” Thank you for covering me from the sun” I touched the tree with my palm while smiling. Suddenly a gentle breeze touched my face, the sun is not as scorching hot as before now. Since I was little, I feel like I can communicate with nature, they always protect me, especially when I am humming or singing. Maybe the nature likes my voice? Hhmm, I'm not sure, I will ask granny when I come home.
I was humming a song when a gust of wind suddenly came. Something bad is gonna happen! I run across the forest to my home and what met my eyes is something I will never forget in my life.
I walked towards the door and I noticed there are bloodstains on the floor. My body froze and my mind went blank. My face is as pale as paper, my hands won't stop trembling. Tears started to form in my eyes. Impossible, maybe it is someone else's blood, yeah, of course it isn't granny's blood, granny is the strongest woman I ever met. I kept reasoning in my mind but all of that is useless. The bloodstains are getting worse as I walk to granny's bedroom.
Third person POV
The girl standing in front of the bedroom, her hands are trembling as she opens the door. What greeted her wasn't the granny that smiles warmly and greets her home but a body that is covered in blood lying on a bed. The bedroom was wrecked, all valuable things were taken. Her hand is griping on something, even though her hand's covered in her own blood, it looks like she didn't intend to let go no matter what.
The shocked Hong er dragged herself towards her granny, she kneeled beside her granny and using her hand to close her granny's eyes. She cried and hugged her granny while kept calling the granny. She shook her granny's body but to no avail, her granny will never wake up and call her name again. She opened her granny's hand, a white jade that has ”wo de sun nü” ( my granddaughter) craved on it. Even though the jade is low quality but this jade is the most invaluable treasure for Hong er. She took the jade and kissed it. She put the jade in her pocket.
The sky suddenly darken, rain starts to pour down, covering the cries of a little girl. A little body carrying a body that is twice her body, her feet is bleeding after walking for 2 hours. After arriving at her destination, she gently put down the body and help sit it up while leaning on a tree. Then she put her palm on the tree, ”Please take care of her for a while”, the tree moved slightly to cover the granny from the rain. She walked towards the middle of the field and starts to dig the ground. Even though her hand is bleeding, she didn't stop digging. After digging, she carry the body towards the place she had digged out and gently put her body in it. Before she bury her, she kissed her forehead three times. She kowtowed to the granny's grave three times. But before she can stand up, she felt her head being hit by something hard, her eyes blacked out and her body dropped to the ground beside her granny's grave.