withering day

It was already noon when I woke up, the sun was already shining brightly outside, and it was gradually entering winter. Even Qinshui City in the south began to cool down, so the temperature was not very high.After washing and changing into autumn clothes, Han Mo came out of the room, but he didn't see Shui Hanjiang and Shen Mingxi, and he knocked on their doors, but there was no response.

He seemed to be the only one left in the huge villa, feeling a little bored, so he decided to go for a walk.

The orphanage Han Mo stayed in when he was a child is located in the southern suburb of Qinshui City. It is not very far from the community where Shui Hanjiang’s family lives. It takes six bus stops to get there. Looking at the increasingly old buildings, Han Mo feels a little emotional , For so many years, he hasn't come back for a long time.

Standing in front of the dilapidated gate, the guard room is empty. In the image of Han Mo, there is no one there, only Zhang's mother occasionally plays the role of guard and sits inside. After all, this place is so poor that thieves can't see it. upper eye.The iron gate of the orphanage was stained with rust and was half-closed. Inside, there were a few dirty children running around, laughing and laughing, as if they were playing games; Baba's old dean lives on the top floor, while Zhang's mother lives on the bottom floor.

After standing outside the door for long enough, Han Mo finally opened the door and entered.

The scene before me is still familiar. There is an open space in front of the building. I don’t know how long it has been neglected. The weeds on it have grown to half the height of a person, and there are various small animals and bugs in it; Trees, when he was a child, these trees were only as thick as a child's thigh, but now they are almost as thick as his waist, and a swing under the tree that has no seat board is left with only a thick rope swinging in the air.This is the paradise they had when they were young, and now it belongs to other children.

When Han Mo came in, he was seen by children who were playing, and the children immediately hid behind the big tree, looking at him stupidly and nervously, not daring to come forward to talk to him.

"Little friend, where is your mother Zhang?" Han Mo asked carefully, but felt that the address seemed inappropriate, so he changed his words, "It's Grandma Zhang..."

No one dared to talk to Han Mo, and they all hid behind the big tree, only showing their small heads to look at Han Mo.

It was impossible to communicate like this. Han Mo felt a little dizzy. He stood up and prepared to go to Zhang Mama by himself.

When I came to the old building, the old wooden door had been repaired countless times. The paint on the top had fallen off, and the lower corner was gnawed out by mice. The newly added wooden board made the door thicker. Not aesthetically pleasing at all.Gently opened the door, the light in the building was a bit dim and humid, and the room next to the stairs in front was where Zhang's mother lived.

"Mother Zhang? Mother Zhang? Are you there?" Han Mo called softly.But no one responded to him.

"Mother Zhang? Mother Zhang? I'm Xiaomo, are you there?"

There was no reply in the empty building, Han Mo was a little surprised, and was about to walk over to have a look.At this time, he suddenly felt that someone was pulling his pants. He lowered his head and saw that it was one of the children he saw just now. The little guy was carefully pulling his pants, and the big eyes on Zhang Xixi's face seemed timid. Looking at Han Mo.

Crouching down, Han Mo patted the child's head and asked, "Little friend, do you know where Grandma Zhang has gone?"

"Zhang, Grandma Zhang went on a trip..." the child said in a childish voice, still a little afraid of Han Mo.

Han Mo was a little stunned, travel?He had never heard of it, at least as long as he could remember, and with the economic situation and manpower conditions of the orphanage, it was impossible for people to travel.

"How long has Grandma Zhang been gone? Also, where is the dean's grandfather?" Han Mo continued to ask.

The child shook his head and said, "I don't know. Grandma Zhang has been gone for a long, long time, and Grandpa Dean has gone out. He won't be back until afternoon."

Sighing softly, Han Mo probably guessed something. At this age, Zhang's mother probably quit her job and was taken back by her own children.He touched the child's head again, and then took out a handful of candies from his pocket that he had bought on the road before. The child's eyes lit up immediately, but he was a little timid to take it.

"Take it and eat it with your friends." Han Mo encouraged the child.

Finally, the child grabbed the candy in Han Mo's palm, then turned around and ran away in a hurry, hiding behind a group of children.When the other children saw the candy, they all crowded around with excitement, and no one cared about Han Mo for a while.

Han Mo stood up, walked into the building, and gently pushed Mother Zhang's room away. At this moment, he felt his heart stop suddenly, and then there was a roar in his head, he was confused, his eyes were slightly red, and he finally endured the pain. Two lines of clear tears could not stop falling down.

The room was empty, with only a simple wooden bed and a peeled wooden table. The quilt and mosquito net on the bed were still there. On the wooden table were a plate of apples, a plate of pastries and an incense burner. There are three half-burned sandalwood sticks inserted, and the green smoke rises up, blurring the familiar face in the black and white photo.

The more he wanted to endure, the more Han Mo cried and the more he cried. The memories played back in his mind like a movie. When he was a child, Zhang’s mother held him to watch the stars in the open space in the front yard, and sang to him. When he was being bullied, Zhang The mother picked up the broom and pretended to be vicious to drive away the child who bullied him. Every time she came back from home, Zhang's mother would secretly stuff a few pieces of candy into his pocket, and then on the day he left the orphanage, Zhang's mother touched his The head told him that there is no eternal misfortune in the world, only eternal pessimism, let him live strong.Now, everything has become a thing of the past, and even Zhang's mother has become an eternal memory, and I can never go back!

I don't know how long I cried silently, how long I recalled, until there was a sound of footsteps behind me, Han Mo came back to his senses, hurriedly wiped away his tears, patted his face, and turned his head.

It is the dean who is back. The dean is older than Zhang's mother, but now he looks quite healthy, but the seriousness on his face has turned into melancholy, and his spirit is not as good as before. Let him manage the entire orphanage by himself, he may be a bit powerless.

"You are?" The old dean was a little dazed when he saw Han Mo.

"Dean, I'm Han Mo. I grew up here when I was a child..." After crying for a long time, Han Mo's voice was a little hoarse.

The old dean looked at Mother Zhang's room, then looked at Han Mo's wet and red eyes, understood, then thought of something, and said, "I remember you, the kid who sent money back every month, but I haven't heard from you for several months."

"Because something happened recently, so... Dean, um, when did Mama Zhang... leave..."

The dean took Han Mo to another room, which looked like an office. There was a big table and an old sofa inside. There were a lot of documents messily placed on the table, like a hill.The dean motioned for Han Mo to come and sit down, then sighed softly, and told Han Mo what happened.

It turned out that Zhang's mother passed away three years ago. In her later years, Zhang's mother was not in good health and often fell ill. The children at home came to persuade her several times to quit her job and go home to recuperate. But she was worried about the children in the hospital. Rejected every time.Although the old dean also began to help share some work, Zhang's mother's body was still getting weaker and weaker. Finally, one day, a child saw that she didn't show up until noon when she woke up early, and entered her room only to find that she was lying in bed forever On that bed, no matter how much I scream, I won't wake up.

Mother Zhang's children took their mother home and gave her a lavish burial. The director of the orphanage was left alone, and it became more and more difficult.It's not that the dean never thought of asking the government for help, but after a series of applications were submitted, there was nothing left. The orphanage's survival until now is the result of the dean going to the streets to solicit donations every day.

"Although the money you send back every month is not much, it is a great help, and you are the only child who is willing to send money to the hospital..." The dean seemed to have aged several decades in an instant, and his face was even more vicissitudes. "I don't know how long I can last, but there are only this group left now. When they get older...I have to go home to take care of myself..."

In fact, the old dean is a good person!Han Mo thought silently, although he was a little more serious and dull, and when Zhang's mother was around, he seemed to be doing nothing on weekdays, but in fact his monthly pension was spent in the courtyard on all the children.He has no children. In his heart, every child who has been in the orphanage is his child.It's just that after Zhang's mother left, he was also getting older and unable to do what he wanted. Maybe it won't be long before this orphanage will cease to exist.

Han Mo thought of Mu Li again. He also walked out of this orphanage, and now he is the owner of a foreign trade company worth hundreds of millions. Has he never subsidized the orphanage?

While chatting, there was a soft noise outside the door. The dean and Han Mo looked towards the door at the same time, and saw a pair of dark eyes carefully looking inside the half-hidden door, not knowing what they wanted to do.

"Damn! What are you looking at, be careful and spank your ass later!" The dean said pretending to be angry.

Who knew that the child was not afraid of the dean, instead of running away, he opened the door and came in, trotted up to the dean, hugged the dean's skinny arm, and put a candy that Han Mo gave before on the He put his hand in his hand and said, "Grandpa dean, this is the candy that big brother gave just now, I will share it with you." After speaking, he made a face at the dean and Han Mo, and ran out.

"Stinky boy!" The dean laughed and scolded, but solemnly put the candy in his pocket.

"I remember that I was called Goudan when I was a child before I named it." Han Mo suddenly remembered what happened when he was a child. Most of the children in the orphanage did not have their own names before they came, so the director chose a foreign name for each of them. No, what kind of dog egg, dog leftover, stupid...all the cheap names are used, because they say that such a name is easy to support.

Every time it is time for the children to be sent out, the dean will always give each child a real name before leaving. This is how the name Han Mo came about. As for why the surname is Han, it is because of Mama Zhang’s son His surname is Han, and he really wants to be Mama Zhang's child for the rest of his life.At that time, the dean gave Mu Li the name Mu Yueming, but this guy thought the name was too girly, so after he came out, he searched the dictionary for a long time and changed his name to Mu Li.

Later, Han Mo and the dean talked a lot, and learned about all kinds of things in the orphanage over the years. They didn't stop until the sun went down, because Han Mo realized that he didn't have a mobile phone now, and he was afraid that Shui Hanjiang and Shen Mingxi would return. If you can't find him at home, you will be anxious.

"Actually, there are still good people." When Han Mo was about to leave, the dean suddenly remembered something. "Every weekend, there will always be two little girls who come here to help clean and take care of the children. They say that even if they don't have much money to donate, but It’s nice to help out with something.”

"Really? Dean, don't worry too much. I'll go back and think of a way. No matter what, I still have to bring the last batch of children to an age where they can be independent..." At this point, Han Mo stopped suddenly. Looking at the orphanage beyond the setting sun, I thought about the future, will there be a future here?

"Principal, I'm going back first, so you don't need to see me off." Feeling lost, Han Mo bid farewell to the dean and the children, and left the orphanage.

Today is December 23rd, and it is only eight days before the withering begins. He has seen the end of the world coming, but he can't stop it. Even the world is about to be destroyed. What will happen to the fate of these children?The bleak evening wind blew the ground and poured into Han Mo's collar. He shivered, tightened his clothes, and walked towards the station.

This is the suburb of Qinshui City, which is farther than the suburbs. There is only one bus on the whole road, and there are very few people on it, so the interval between departures is one hour. A taxi came, and two people who got out of the car caught his attention.

He knew both of them, one was Jiang Xiaoxue who had bumped into him on the street before, and the other was Xiang Xin who had appeared in the Apocalypse. He never thought that these two people knew each other before the Apocalypse began.At the same time he saw the two, the two girls also saw him. They were both slightly surprised and looked at each other without speaking.

Now Han Mo understands a little bit. The two girls mentioned by the dean just now refer to the two of them. It turns out that this is really fate. Whether to escape or accept, now, fate pushes them both to meet together, and jointly announce that this civilization has come to an end.

"You are the same person from last time!" Jiang Xiaoxue suddenly remembered Han Mo.

"Uh, the dean said that two girls will come to help every weekend, are you? But it's already so late now, how do you go back at night?"

"You are?" Xiang Xin was a little puzzled.

"My name is Han Mo. I lived in this orphanage when I was young. I came back today to visit..."

Xiang Xin said "Oh", although neither of them seemed to be able to find anything to talk about, at this time, the bus came slowly from a distance and stopped in front of the station. There was only a middle-aged driver on the empty carriage. A little impatiently said: "Can't you make it? It's the last class!"

Han Mo nodded to the driver and said, "Get on!" and got into the car.

Before leaving, Han Mo finally made up his mind, and whispered to the two of them: "Apocalypse..." The door closed, the driver stepped on the accelerator like a racing car, and the bus sped away.Even though the speed was fast, Han Mo in the car could still see the shocked expressions of Jiang Xiaoxue and Xiang Xin. The two wanted to say something, but they only had time to see Han Mo's plain expression before the car drove away .