The butterflies that radiated light in the dark night followed the train for nearly an hour, and gradually dispersed when they approached Shire, flying to the distant night sky like a glowing ladder. In fact, Jenkins felt that the way they flew towards the double moon was more like moths flying towards the candlelight, but this metaphor was not very appropriate.
People in the restaurant car have been discussing excitedly at the window. Most people think this is a sign of luck. After all, not many people are lucky enough to see such a scene.
If you don't discuss the specificity of those butterflies, they are indeed very beautiful. Even a swarm of fireflies flying in summer could not be more beautiful than this, but Jenkins, who knew the truth, had been keeping vigilance for an hour, for fear that the butterflies would suddenly merge into a monster and swallow the entire train in one gulp.
Chocolate kept meowing, as if he had great hostility towards those butterflies. Only then did Jenkins remember that it would be the first spring of adopting this cat. Maybe cats who don't like sports will be very interested in fluttering butterflies.
The train arrived at the station at 11:32 in the evening. After greeting Mrs. Frante, Jenkins was the first to get off the train with his small suitcase.
He was worried that he would not be able to find Old Jack, but unexpectedly, the old man was stuck at the exit of the VIP car, standing under the stone pillar of the station, reading the book in his hand by the light of the warm yellow kerosene lamp above his head.
"Good evening, Jenkins, I didn't expect your train to be late."
He didn't look up, just by the sound of footsteps and meowing, he knew that Jenkins was coming. He closed the book and gave Jenkins a big hug. The excessive enthusiasm made Jenkins a little uncomfortable.
"Good evening, old Mr. Jack."
It's a strange title, but Jenkins still doesn't know his real name.
"Have you been waiting for a long time? It's really troublesome for you to pick me up so late."
"It's okay... And judging from Oliver's letter, if I didn't hear from you, that grumpy old man would probably smash my shop... Haha, stop talking, let's go, it's too late now, let's start today." Stay with me for one night and go to church tomorrow morning...”
The night in Shire was very different from that in Nolan City. Jenkins felt a little uncomfortable when he was far away from the foggy city and suddenly breathed the humid air at the end of winter.
The temperature here is higher than that of Nolan, and old Jack no longer wears cotton coats. When the two returned in the carriage, the old man kept introducing Shire's characteristics, which seemed to mean that he had received a request from his father to "stay with him for a while longer".
But Shire is not Jenkins' home, no matter how good it is, he still likes the coastal city of Nolan.
As he got out of the carriage and went down the alley to the herbal shop, Jenkins talked about the swarm of glowing butterflies he had seen on the road. Old Jack, who was walking in front, suddenly paused in his footsteps. He was not at all dizzy, but looked at Jenkins with bright eyes like a child.
There are no lights in the alley, and the lighting depends entirely on the strangely shaped miner's lamp in Jenkins' hands. He usually explains to people that this is a lighting tool formed by ability, and no one has questioned this, after all, the power of the starry sky is too obvious.
It is obvious that the power of the starry sky is primitive and gentle, and it will never make people die without a whole body.
"Did you touch them?"
The old man was full of excitement, and after getting Jenkins' affirmation again, he turned around and continued to walk forward quickly. The signboard of [Kingsley Tea Set Shop] was broken in half and fell on the road, and the two had to walk over it with difficulty.
"It came so early this year? It's a good thing! They are a kind of alien species called [Lost Butterflies], which are active around Shire in early spring every year. Most of the bestowers in this city know those little guys, aren't they beautiful? "
Old Jack's herbal shop is in the middle of the alley. Although the location is a bit remote, I heard from my father that the business here is better than the antique shop.
Although Old Jack used to peddle harmless fake medicines, he really knew how to prepare herbal medicines, which could cure common diseases.
"Lost Butterfly? Is it dangerous?"
As Jenkins asked, he gently shook the chocolate in his arms, trying to lull the cat to sleep. He didn't notice that the beard of the cat in his arms was trembling, and the cute nose was slightly moving to feel the air in the strange city, and at the same time, he raised his head with an expression of "Are you stupid?"
"It's not dangerous. Those little guys hate being close to any living things. As you said, being witnessed by ordinary people is something that hasn't happened in decades. Is there something that attracts them?"
The old man guessed for a few seconds but couldn't get an answer. Seeing that the store was ahead, he began to search for the key in his pocket.
"The only extraordinary ability of the lost butterfly is to randomly transfer the creatures it touches to any [safe] place. This is quite troublesome. Every year in the early spring, I catch some lost butterflies to make medicine. Their wings are very good materials .I remember an accident seven years ago, when the fingertip of the glove was pierced with a hole, and then the whole person was transported to a small fishing village on the east coast of the mainland. Oh, this is really a disaster... "
Old Jack's store is similar to Papa's Antique Store, but the store is smaller and the warehouse behind it is huge. The store's second floor is the living quarters, and one of the guest rooms, already made up, is where Jenkins sleeps tonight.
Mr. Writer, who came from afar, is very interested in this place. The small space can always bring him a sense of security, and there is no smell of fog on the quilt, only the smell of being exposed to the sun, which makes him feel very happy.
After returning to the store, the two fell asleep separately. Although Chocolate was a little uncomfortable with the unfamiliar bed at first, after wandering around for a while, he still lay down next to Jenkins' pillow.
The man turned over in bed, looked at the sparse starry sky outside the window, and suddenly felt that all this was a bit unreal. Far away from Nolan, the sky full of stars is so strange, he misses his own city a little bit.
"Chocolate, are you homesick?"
"Meow~"
Cats just want to sleep.
"Tomorrow we will go to church first, and then go to the cemetery in the suburbs to find out what is going on. I think our trip to the Shire will be very interesting. I remember there are many delicious specialties here... Have you heard of boiled carrots in green turnip soup? ?”
"Meow~"
The cat thinks Jenkins is playing tricks on him, and he's right. The recipes in the hearts of foreigners are very rich. Even if they don't know how to cook, they can "draw" them with familiar materials. Whenever this time, the cat can also taste those unique tastes, but it's a pity that Jenkins doesn't do this often, otherwise Chocolate would like this man even more than he does now.
"Meow~"
It wanted to say good night to Jenkins, but Jenkins couldn't understand, which made the cat suddenly feel a little angry, and planned to ignore Jenkins for a while after waking up tomorrow morning.