Volume 10 Bugs Chapter 65 Something Happened
You know, I once personally stopped the pharmacist Wagner from spreading death and was fortunate enough to save the world from the brink of collapse. But to be honest, compared with the work of coaxing children, saving the world is not worth mentioning. In the petite bodies of these cute and scary children, it seems that the devil has filled them with endless energy. Each of them is an evil genius of destruction in terms of mischief.
Sometimes I even feel that if the last king Darendil and his evil minions had half the imagination and creativity of these little villains, they would have already destroyed the continent of Falvi - fortunately, they have not realized this yet.
Despite the hardships, but with an indomitable will that surprised even myself, I was finally collecting the lost alchemical notebook of Mr. Edgware page by page. I once seriously doubted whether I could collect the complete notebook from these little devils before the end of the world, but when I found that the notebook was only one part away from being collected, the world seemed to be functioning normally - from this perspective, our world is still relatively safe.
If there is nothing wrong, the last part of the notes should be in the hands of an elf boy named Rigxis - he is also the only child in the city that I have not visited. This taciturn boy lives in a wooden house in the north of the city. His brother is away on a long journey. Although I heard a long time ago that his brother is about to return home, no one has seen him for such a long time.
The child loved to play at the corner of an alley, always jumping around with a big smile on his face. When someone talked to him, he would tell you that his brother would be home soon, and at that time, his mother would go to Santa Bakery to buy honey cakes - the most delicious cakes in the world and his favorite thing.
Just like my inexplicably detailed knowledge of other aspects of the city, I had never seen this elf boy, but I knew all these things inexplicably.
However, when I found this child at the alley, he was not running around lively as usual, but squatting in the corner of the alley with his head down and crying. Every time he stretched out his little hand to wipe his tears, the stains on his hands would draw a few cute black marks on his face, making him look as lovable as an abandoned kitten.
I walked straight up to him and opened my mouth awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
How can I ask for this? To force a crying child to take something? Oh, by the Supreme God, even the last king himself might not be able to harden his heart. And he is so weak and cute. The way the little guy looks at passersby with tears on his face full of grievance makes me, a hard-hearted warrior, want to reach out and pinch his fair and tender face.
I squatted down in front of him, gently stroked his little head, and asked softly: "What's wrong, little guy? What makes you so sad?"
If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I would never have believed that I could produce such a kind and friendly voice.
Rigxis looked at me, stretched out his right index finger to wipe the snot that was about to flow out of his nose, and answered me while sobbing softly: "I...slurp...my brother came home, and my mother asked me to buy honey candy cake. But...but...slurp...when I got here, a huge wild dog jumped out and snatched the basket away. The honey candy cake...the honey candy cake is gone too, wuwuwu..."
As he was talking, two clear snots were still coming in and out of his nose with his breathing, which made people want to laugh. I managed to resist the urge to wipe his nose and said to him softly, "Don't cry. If you don't cry, I will buy you another serving of honey cake. Are you willing?"
The little guy stopped crying immediately and looked at me with wide eyes in surprise. "Is this true, sir?" he shouted, "Will you help me?"
Seeing the little guy's overjoyed look, I smiled and nodded: "Really, I'm not lying to you."
"But but..." the little guy said hesitantly, "... Mom said that good children should not take other people's things for free."
"You won't take it for nothing," I answered. "... Have you ever taken any written paper from Mr. Edgware's? I'll give you the honey-treacle for it, won't you?"
"Well, okay..." After hearing my conditions, Righees nodded vigorously without hesitation, and even stretched out the little finger of his right hand, and said solemnly: "... Let's make a pinky promise. Whoever goes back on his word will be a puppy!"
This was the first time I made a vow in such a lovely way. Although I had no intention of breaking the vow from the beginning, I still felt that this might be the most solemn and serious vow I had made in my life. I even felt that this might be the most sacred way to make a vow in the world. When I linked my little finger with the child's, a strange warm wave seemed to rise in my heart, which even made me feel guilty, and made me feel that I should not put forward conditions to help this child.
To be honest, at the moment of making the pinky promise, I suddenly didn't care about the precious alchemical notebook at all. I just wanted to make this lovely child happy again and restore his former spirit.
After getting my promise, Rigxis became happy again. He stood up and led me forward with a skipping sound. If I didn't follow closely and left him a little far away, he would turn back and wave at me, shouting to me loudly: "Come quickly, sir, I don't want to make my mother and brother wait anxiously." I followed him like this, turning from one alley into another, and from one street to another, crossing almost half of the city, and finally found a secluded path.
This road lies diagonally on a hillside, extending in an arc from north to south. On both sides of the road, there are two rows of two- or three-story small houses built side by side. The houses are slightly old, and the originally fired red bricks and stones have faintly emitted a dark green luster, but bathed in the bright sunshine, they still exude a layer of bright but not glaring color.
There was a small flower bed between every two doors, separated by a white fence. Various plants grew in the flower bed. Some tender vines climbed to the top of the fence, and a few delicate buds stretched out, dancing in the wind. Some walls were covered with creepers growing in the flower beds. The green leaves swayed on the wall like waves, making bursts of rustling sounds.
On the copper sign on the wall at the intersection, the words "Rose Street" are written in a simple and lively font. The copper sign is covered with green traces due to rust, and even the original handwriting is a little blurred, almost completely hidden under the shadow of the trees. But it is precisely because of this that people feel that such a road sign is in harmony with the beauty of time that flows quietly on this road, and it does not feel old and simple at all.
Righeese stopped between two-story houses on the street and looked at me with joy: "This is it, sir. I like the honey cake made by Sister Marian the most."
This is a small but lovely bakery. The brass sign on the door has accumulated a thin layer of dust, but the words "Santa Bakery" are still very clear. Many bright and delicious pastries are displayed in the transparent window, and a layer of sweet fragrance floats in the air, making people reluctant to leave when standing in front of it.
I gently pushed open the shop door, and when it opened, it collided with a wind chime hanging behind the door, making a pleasant "ding-dong" sound.
Hearing the sound, a smiling girl turned around and asked me in a voice as clear as a wind chime: "Welcome, is there anything you can do for me?"
Then, I was stunned...
…
Do you know? In this vast world, in some known or unknown corner, there exists such a person. Perhaps to all other lives in this world, he or she is strange and insignificant. He or she may be an ordinary passerby, a hurried passer-by, or even a back view, a side view, a vague outline, or even the source of a sound... It has no meaning.
However, this person who may not mean anything to everyone else is unique to you, and this specialness only applies to you. The most amazing thing is that you may have met and missed each other countless times, until you found him (her) at that glimpse, and then something that has never happened before happened. You will feel that a part of your soul has been lost, but you are not painful because of this loss, but happy about it. Your heart becomes so empty that everything you put in it becomes insignificant; but at the same time it becomes so full that it seems to be broken at any time because of the addition of a little deeper concern.
This glimpse comes so suddenly and vaguely. You may have been preparing for it for twenty, thirty years, or even longer. However, when it really comes, you will feel that it is so unreal - did it really happen? You will ask yourself this question, but you cannot give yourself a definite answer at the first time. And when this vague and sudden, slightly sour sweet feeling overflows in your heart, you will finally understand: Yes, it really happened!
Is this touch of glimpse a coincidence? Meeting the person you are destined to meet among thousands of people, in thousands of years, in the endless wilderness of time, not a step earlier, not a step later, just like that, just happened to catch up?
Or is this a destiny? Even if it is not here, but thousands of miles away; even if it is not now, but thousands of years ago, billions of years later; even if you have changed your appearance, changed your identity, and gone through countless reincarnations, you are still you, he (she) is still him (her), the two souls destined to meet will eventually meet, the limitations of life will lose their effect here, the boundaries of the world are meaningless here. If you don't appear, he (she) will wait forever, waiting for that special moment to come, until the end of time, until the sea dries up and the rocks crumble?
I don't know, I don't know the answers to these questions, I don't know if it's a coincidence or fate, if it's accidental or providence, I don't know where the one and only special person who belongs to you is right now, and I don't know when everything between you will start - the only thing I know is: at this moment, in this moment that I can no longer remember clearly but will never forget, in this sunny afternoon in early summer, on this natural and quiet path, in front of the door of this simple cottage, under the wind chime that is still making crisp sounds, I met the one and only special person who belongs to me. She was standing there at the time, wearing a white apron like a bakery girl, with a brown ponytail, a few small freckles on her face, and a pair of dark brown bright and clear eyes looking at me friendly and kindly, like two windows leading directly to my heart.
The girl's name is "Marian Santa", which is a very common name. There may be thousands of girls named "Marian" in this world, but I feel that she is the only one who suits this name best.
At this moment, that very ordinary yet beautiful name was like an extremely delicate flower blooming above the head of this lovely bakery girl. I couldn't help but want to take one more look, but I was worried that my gaze would be too eager and burn it.
Yes, something had happened, I knew it clearly, although I was not sure what it was - in fact, I didn't know what the feeling was until much later. I don't know how long it took before I realized that I was in a daze, and then I became embarrassed and lowered my head to avoid those beautiful eyes. My hands were like two extra bones, rubbing them repeatedly in front of me, not knowing where to put them, making me so upset that I just wanted to cut them off and throw them away. As I lowered my head and walked in, I accidentally hit the wind chimes with my forehead again, causing a series of tinkling sounds. The sudden sound scared me, and I raised my hand to hold it in panic, and I didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the ringing stopped completely. At this time, little Rigxis also followed me into the store.
"Hey, isn't this little Rigxis? Why are you back so soon?" Seeing the elf boy coming back, the girl showed a strange look, but still asked kindly with a smile on her face.
"Sister Marian, it's like this..." Seeing this girl, the elf boy seemed to recall the shock and grievance he had just encountered, and a layer of watery light appeared in his big eyes again, "...I was holding the bread and about to return home, when suddenly a big dog jumped out from the side of the road. The dog was so big..." The little guy stretched out his hands and gestured, trying to describe the physique of the beast to her, but the bad thing was that no matter how hard he tried, it was difficult for people to associate his description with an animal associated with "ferocious".
"...and then...the honey cake I just bought was snatched away by the big dog, and...and..." The child lowered his head, ashamed and did not dare to look at the girl, "...and...the basket of cakes you gave me was also snatched away by it..."
"...But this kind gentleman said he could buy me some more, so I brought him here." At this point, the child stretched out his hand and pointed at me. Following his finger, the girl looked at me again. Her gaze made me so flustered that I couldn't resist it at all. I just hoped that she would quickly move her eyes away and stop looking at me; but in the deepest and most secret place in my heart, I hoped that she would keep looking at me like this and never look away.
"So that's how it is..." The girl showed an understanding expression and said to me kindly, "...You are such a good person, sir. May the Most High God bless you." Then, she turned around lovingly and said to the elf boy, "Ligsis, you should thank this gentleman very much."
Did you hear that? She said I was a "good person"! I have never been praised like this in person in my life! For a moment , I felt that my heart was like a bird with wings, floating and wanting to fly out of my body. "You are such a good person... a good person... a good person..." This simple but precious evaluation echoed in my ears again and again, making me feel a little hazy with happiness. In a trance, I felt that they seemed to say something to me again, and I said something too, and then took out some change from my purse and handed it to the girl named Marianne. She seemed to put something in a bag, handed the bag to little Rigxis, and then leaned over to give him a few words of advice. I don't remember what she said at that time, but I only remember that her smile was so sweet and her tone was so gentle. After she finished speaking, she even reached out and pinched the child's white face - I couldn't believe how jealous I was of that reckless and naughty child at that moment.
When the child walked out of the store, he told me that I could come to his house at any time to get the last few pages of the lost alchemy notebook. Fortunately, my absent-minded mind finally did not miss this important sentence, otherwise the hard work of the past few days would be in vain.
After watching the child leave, my heart suddenly sank. I had completed the mission of coming here, helping the lovely elf boy to buy a meal to entertain his brother who had returned from afar. Now, it seems that I have no reason to stay in this store anymore. You don't know how reluctant I am to leave this lovely girl. For a moment, I really want to become the counter in front of her, the cutting board beside her, or the heavy oven behind her, and stay in this small room with her quietly, never leaving.
I walked towards the door, my legs heavy and weak. I suppressed the urge to look back at her, fearing that if I did so, I would lose my determination to leave. Yes, I was so greedy at the moment, how could one look be enough? I really wanted to stare at her closely, for ten, twenty years, or even longer, until her figure was deeply engraved in my eyes and carved into my heart, and could never be erased.
Just as I was about to leave, the girl suddenly spoke to me again. It was like the most merciful will of the gods, proclaimed from the mouth of the most holy and noble angel, and I, a shy and dull mediocre person, was redeemed in such a holy voice.
She said:
"Sir, please wait a moment..."
