father - home

"Who is he?"

"What?" Zhao's question made me feel a little sudden, I looked at him, and he supported his head with his hands.

"I noticed that there is a wooden sign hanging on the apple tree, and there are two sets of numbers on the wooden sign. The day before yesterday, Madam took me to see your oak tree, which is next to your father's oak tree. Madam told me that this is According to the tradition of the manor, whenever a baby is born in the manor, a tree will be planted for him. A wooden plaque will be hung on the tree, and the date of his birth will be engraved. When he dies, the date will also be engraved. In this way, No matter who the child is, they will leave a memorial here when they grow up, leave, get married or die. The wife said that according to tradition, only the eldest son and grandson must plant oak trees, and they are all planted on the grass in front of the main building. Others It’s very random, you can plant any tree anywhere. But Madam didn’t say which tree you can’t climb. So, if this tree can’t be climbed, it can only be the one that this tree represents People are special. Who is he?"

"Friedrich von Meissenbach, my uncle."

"Your uncle?" Now it was Zhao's turn to be surprised.

"Yes, the tree is planted for people to climb, otherwise it will lose a lot of fun, especially for fruit trees. If you are not allowed to climb, the fruit on the tree has to wait for it to fall by itself, and it will probably rot. Therefore, the manor has never There is no rule against climbing trees, except this one. Here, mother introduced you to members of our family, to my father's sister, the aunt who married into East Prussia, and the purple-leaved beech tree in the stable is She planted it when she was born, but my mother won't mention him, won't say his name, won't show you his picture, tell you his story. This tree is his last memorial in this family, Climbing is not allowed, just for fear that the tree will be harmed, once the tree dies, there will really be nothing." I lay on the grass on my back, with my hands behind my head, and my eyes blankly looked at the blue sky in the sky. Gray clouds, tears slipped quietly from the corners of my eyes, I didn't notice it until Zhao helped me wipe it away. "He was my father's younger brother, the youngest of my grandfather's three children. He was born at the manor on July 1897, 7, and died in the trenches on the French front on May 30, 1918. He died not yet 5 years old."

Akira's face appeared above me, staring at me intently.What's wrong?My love, what's the matter with you?

I tried my best to control my trembling lips, forced a smile, and the tears flowed again.I never mentioned these to Zhao, because I dare not mention them, I am afraid.But today, the wound was opened again unintentionally, and the blood flowed out more and more. I was afraid that I couldn't stop it, and I felt the feeling of dying again.I looked at Zhao through the hazy tears, just like a sinking drowning man watching the lifeguard on the water gradually go away.I want to call for help and water pours into my mouth and blocks my throat and I feel suffocated, help me, baby, help me, are you here to save me?

Zhao put his hand on my cheek, brushed his thumb over my eyes, wiped away the tears, and rubbed lightly on my temple.Tell me, my love, tell all the pain in your heart.

"1918? You were six?"

"Actually, before Friedrich died, I had no impression of him. As far as I can remember, he has never been home. The only time I remember meeting him was in the winter when I was five years old. After the New Year, grandma and My parents took me to Munich, and in a gloomy little hotel, I met him. The room was shabby and cold, and he was dressed a little thinly, not a fine officer's uniform, but a crumpled soldier's uniform. He saw me , then happily hugged me, kissed me, and said that I was like him when he was young, and that I was very beautiful. I said, uncle, you are also very beautiful. He is indeed very beautiful, with blue eyes, very bright, and a gentle smile. Grandma cried I told my child that you have lost weight and suffered a lot. My father asked my mother to take me out and wait. My mother took me to a cafe across the street and ordered me a cup of hot chocolate. I asked my mother, what is uncle doing? Why doesn’t he Go home? Mother just sighed and didn't answer.

"A few months later, my uncle's death notice came. Grandma was very sad and lay in bed for a month. Later, I heard grandma and grandpa quarreling fiercely. Grandma said it was all your fault, it was you Killed my son. Grandpa said I didn’t have this son. Two days later, grandma left and went back to her mother’s house in Austria. Before leaving, grandma took away a lot of my uncle’s things, portraits, trophies, helmets and skates. This made Grandpa was so angry that he threw away all the things about my uncle at home. I remember that grandpa also wanted to destroy this apple tree, but he couldn't do it in the end. I was very scared that day and kept crying. I felt Grandma never came back, and eventually I fell ill. Sure enough, grandma never came back, and died six months later. Two years later, grandpa also passed away.

"I never understood why my uncle didn't go home, why my grandma didn't forgive my grandpa, and swore never to come. After my grandma died, her body was not buried in the cemetery of the manor with my grandpa, but was buried in a certain place on the German-French border. She said that she wanted to be closer to her son, and she hoped that one day she could find her son and take him home. But the uncle’s body would not be found, because too many people died on that battlefield, and he was just a Ordinary corporals, no one cares. But his surname is von Meissenbach, why is he just an ordinary soldier? I didn't know the answer to these questions until I went to Randolph boarding school.

"The boys in the family were all pupils at Randolph boarding school. In the memory of teachers and all, uncle was the most outstanding one. He could have added glory to this noble name. Unfortunately, he is gay and He was obsessed with his obsession. Grandpa threatened to reduce the annuity, but unexpectedly, my uncle would rather give up his inheritance rights than make any compromises. So, in a rage, grandpa published a statement in the newspaper severing the relationship between father and son, and expelled my uncle from the family. The war wiped out all German youths were all sent to the battlefield, and my uncle was no exception, but he didn't have any privileges. He was a lamb who lost his protection, a flower abandoned in a storm, and he was an ordinary soldier who was bullied by others. In the trenches The days were very hard, and the soldiers were miserable. When people knew that he was a nobleman, he became the target of the poor people's revenge. Coupled with the reason why he was expelled from the family, he became the target of contempt and venting. He endured this kind of life for three years. God punished him and did not allow him to be freed earlier, but let him sleep alone in a foreign land before the war ended. The name of my uncle was a taboo in this family. At first it was Grandpa and later father strictly prohibited anyone from mentioning it, but at the same time, they also carefully protected this apple tree, because it was the only witness that my uncle had ever existed in this family."

I took Zhao's hand and pressed it to my heart.I stared at those eyes, which were black, but wasn't that look the same as the eyes of my uncle when I was five years old?Sunny, gentle, firm.I watched for a long, long time. "Is this really a curse?"