"Mom, this is Mei Fang. I haven't told you before that he is my best friend besides Xia Yuan. He is the one who came with me to visit you today. You must protect him well and don't let the monsters nearby bully him."
"… "
Lin Youxi pushed Mei Fang's shoulder and said, "I've already introduced you. Why are you standing there like an idiot? Say hello to my mother!"
"Ah, hello, Auntie! My name is Mei Fang... I... am Lin Youxi's good friend."
Mei Fang stared at the photo of Lin Youxi's mother on the tombstone. She was smiling so brightly that Mei Fang suddenly didn't know what to say.
At this moment, Lin Youxi suddenly closed her eyes and "thought" that she was speaking in a low voice that Mei Fang could hear clearly.
"Mom, I want to tell you something. I had a quarrel with Mei Fang today... I was the one who got angry first, but Mei Fang apologized and comforted me. I feel really guilty now, so I hope you can tell Mei Fang that I'm sorry and hope he can forgive me."
After Lin Youxi finished speaking, she opened her eyes and asked Mei Fang, "Did you hear my mother talking to you?"
Mei Fang nodded. "She told me that although her daughter Lin Youxi is a very naughty and violent bad girl, she still hopes that I can be more tolerant and take good care of her..."
Lin Youxi blushed and punched Mei Fang. "My mother would never say something like that. Listen to me again!"
Mei Fang and Lin Youxi playfully completed the memorial ceremony for Youxi's mother.
While Mei Fang was busy packing up and preparing to leave, Lin Youxi stopped at the tombstone next to her mother.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Youxi stared at the tombstone beside him.
"It seems like no one has been worshipping the grandmother next door for a long time... I haven't seen any new yellow paper or offerings on the tombstone this year."
"Maybe my family is too busy and doesn't have time to come... or maybe they have moved."
"This grandma is so pitiful."
As Lin Youxi spoke, she took a small apple from her mother's offering table and placed it respectfully in front of the incense burner on the tombstone next door.
"Aren't you afraid that your mother will be angry?"
"My mother and this grandmother are neighbors. They should talk to each other often. It shouldn't be a big deal if they just share an apple."
Lin Youxi pointed at the photo and said, "Look, my mother is smiling so happily, she must not be a stingy person."
"yes."
Mei Fang agreed with Lin Youxi's opinion and was about to leave when Lin Youxi grabbed Mei Fang's arm.
"Are you in such a hurry to leave? I finally got here to see my mother, so stay here for a while."
Mei Fang looked up. The weather was gloomy and he was actually a little worried that it would rain.
"Okay... I'll do as you say."
Lin Youxi and Mei Fang sat on the small stone steps opposite their mother's tombstone, chatting about some trivial topics.
But I also told it to my mother.
Finally, Lin Youxi suddenly asked Mei Fang, "Mei Fang, are you afraid of death?"
"Yeah... I'm afraid. Of course I am."
Mei Fang nodded seriously, "That's a very painful thing, especially sudden death."
"You talk like you've been there."
"Of course not."
Lin Youxi took Mei Fang's sincere words as a joke and did not continue the topic.
"I think that after a person dies, there are still descendants or relatives and friends who come to pay tribute to them. At this time, they are not completely dead. For example, my mother is still alive in my and my father's hearts."
"Hmm... That's right."
"But if my father and I die, maybe someone will remember us, but no one will remember my mother."
Lin Youxi's voice sounded very sad.
"When that happens, my mom will be like the grandma next door. No one will come to pay respect to her or remember her anymore."
It is a common saying that people die three times.
But it is indeed remarkable that Lin Youxi can understand this truth at such a young age.
"But, there's nothing we can do about it..."
"No, I don't want that."
Lin Youxi seemed to have made up her mind. "When I grow up, I will definitely bring my child to see my mother. I will tell my child that this is his grandmother, my mother's mother. If I leave in the future, he must not only remember to worship me, but also my mother."
Listening to Lin Youxi's firm words, Mei Fang felt inexplicably emotional.
In Chinese culture, we have an almost god-like respect for our ancestors. The custom of ancestor worship is prevalent in this land, and what is important is the passing on of the torch and the everlasting prosperity of the incense.
However, with the development of the times, these heritage items have gradually been forgotten. The older generation who stayed in their hometowns continue to follow the traditions of the past, while most of the new generation struggles in rental houses in big cities.
As the older generation gradually passes away, some customs and habits seem to have no escape from extinction.
Of course, this is not a question of good or bad, it is a nihilistic concept. Our ancestors brought nothing with them when we were born and nothing with us when we die, so do they really care whether they are remembered or not
"No, not at all."
Lin Youxi stared quietly at her mother's tombstone opposite and murmured.
Seeing her melancholy look, Mei Fang couldn't help but ask softly:
"Lin Youxi, tell me... when do you miss your mother the most?"
Lin Youxi squatted on the stone steps, hugging her knees, looking at the green grass and moss on the ground.
She fell into deep thought.
"I don't usually think about it. After all, you and Xia Yuan are always by my side."
"Xia Yuan is willing to be my friend, share her toys with me, give me all kinds of small gifts, and always plays the role of my mother and takes care of me... I really like her very much."
When Lin Youxi talked about Xia Yuan, she always admired and liked her so much.
"Is that so... What about me?"
Mei Fang smiled with an expectant expression.
"Your words—"
Lin Youxi thought about it, and then said seriously, "You are also very good, after all, you can play games with me."
"After all these years, is this all you remember?"
This heartless girl!
Mei Fang looked aggrieved, as if his conscience had been eaten by a dog.
But at the same time, Lin Youxi suddenly became silent as he spoke.
After a long time, she looked up at the sky.
Paper money is carried away by the evening breeze, and the setting sun is hidden behind the green pines.
As the sky was covered by dark clouds, Lin Youxi also spoke.
"But, apart from these times..."
A tear gently slid down Lin Youxi's cheek.
"I miss my mom all the time."
“I think about it every day.”
Mei Fang silently watched Lin Youxi cry and express her feelings.
"Everyone I know has a mom except me."
"I want to act like a spoiled child in front of my mother..."
"Like what Xia Yuan did to Teacher Yu..."
"Like Xiaoya treated Aunt Mei..."
"But I'm the only one without a mother..."
Lin Youxi hugged her knees and cried aggrievedly.
Perhaps because he was bewildered by the crybaby Xia Yuan, even though they had been together for so many years, Mei Fang just noticed—
It turned out that this was the first time he saw Lin Youxi crying like this.
He moved closer and touched Lin Youxi's head to comfort her just like he did to Xia Yuan.
Lin Youxi did not show any obvious reaction to Mei Fang's action, but just kept crying.
But Mei Fang could slightly feel that she was leaning closer to the ground, leaning against his arm.
There are many times when a friend encounters sad things, there is no need to say any profound truths to comfort her.
You don’t have to tell her, “You’ve done a great job.”
You don't have to tell her, "It's others who are wrong, not you."
These are all meaningless concerns, and sad people don’t care about them at all.
You are willing to stay by her side.
You are with her now.
When she needs you most.
Being able to do this is worth more than a thousand words.
Just then, a muffled thunder sounded in the dark cloudy sky, and then a drizzle began to fall.
(End of this chapter)