Chapter 12 Old John's Story

Dinner is over.

Ino added enough kerosene to the oil lamp so that the flame could illuminate the entire room as much as possible.

Speaking of kerosene, I have to sigh that the residents of this town are really interesting.

In addition to not paying for listening to stories, they can buy tickets for any miscellaneous things, including the small can of kerosene now, which is also one of the rewards.

After doing all this, Ino sat back on the chair again and asked without saying anything:

"Old John! Why do you use flint every time you light a fire? Although I am not opposed to saving, we can still afford two packages of matches for one copper."

While he was talking, he also took out the new matches he bought this afternoon from the package. It was a big box. Judging from the appearance, it was conservatively estimated that it would last a long time.

To be honest, during this period of time spent together day and night, he really felt compassion for this old man who lived alone.

It may not seem like much now, but what if the time is stretched out many years later.

What should Old John do when he has no children, no savings, and even no ability to work?

But his ability is limited, and he has no way to do many things. All he can do is buy some matches and other small things, so as to make the old man's old age as easy as possible.

Just when Ino put the match on the table, Old John froze on the spot for a moment, with some inexplicable sadness in his eyes.

Sensing that something was wrong with Old John, Ino wisely chose to remain silent. He really had no ability to help him now.

What's more, no one knows why Old John is sad. If he talks nonsense and accidentally annoys the other party, that will be the biggest loss.

Silence has become the main theme of the dilapidated house.

a long time……

The sadness in Old John's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a look of perseverance.

"Thank you for your gift, little Ino, I'll accept the matches!"

Unlike the previous cheerfulness, Old John's voice was a little hoarse at this time.

Hearing this, Ino did not speak immediately.

Because after a month, the long-lost sense of return finally appeared at this moment.

"It seems that the root reason for not leaving for a long time is still Old John."

He immediately had the answer in his mind, and at the same time he remembered a very rare situation, which was the story within the story.

Generally speaking, most places tend to become dull after the story ends.

But there are also some special places that will continue to spawn new stories after the story ends. Although such places are very rare, they still exist after all.

Back to business.

After Ino came back to his senses, he said with a relaxed expression: "As long as you like it, consider it a gift before we say goodbye. You also know that I am unable to give you other valuable things."

"Farewell?" Old John's expression paused, but he soon figured out the reason and murmured: "That's right, the bard is destined not to stay in one place for too long, and leaving will be a matter of time. I should have known this. ”

"Haha, you are right. We will not stay in the same place for too long. Every bard is the wind, and the wind is a transparent river. It will flow endlessly as the terrain changes. ”

Ino responded with a smile.

"But the destination of the river is the vast sea." Old John put on an experienced expression and persuaded:

"Listen to me, little one! If you meet the right place and the right person, stay there. Life is always full of passion, but it will eventually return to peace. You can't wander all your life."

After hearing Old John's persuasion, Ino did not immediately reject it. After pondering for a few seconds, he finally spoke:

"Perhaps you are right! The end of the river is the sea. But the sea will raise rainwater. They are like cold meteors, riding on the soft clouds, and spreading to the world again."

"Hey! I actually debated with a bard." Old John shook his head in a funny way, as if he had stopped the topic and said nothing more.

But Ino didn't want it to end there. Before he was about to leave, he wanted to enlighten the old man. After all, the sadness that flashed in his eyes just now could not be hidden.

"Old John, do you know what I like best?"

Without waiting for the other party to answer, he said to himself:

"I like the sun, because it is both a rising sun and a setting sun every moment. When it is extinguishing and walking down the mountain to collect all the desolate remaining light, it is exactly when the other side is burning and climbing to the top of the mountain, spreading the warm morning light."

"So, Old John, everything has two sides, don't be troubled by your usual thinking, and you will be unable to get out of it for the rest of your life."

After saying that, Ino remained silent. Only by touching on many things is the most subtle one. After all, it is useless to talk more.

Likewise, he also made up his mind to pack his bags early tomorrow morning.

About five or six minutes passed.

Just when Ino thought he could end tonight's chat, a soft sigh sounded in the room.

Looking up, he saw old John sitting on the other side of the table, as if a burden of many years had been lifted off him.

Although his appearance has not changed, he looks much younger. Even the silver hair on his head is not that pale at first glance.

At this time, Old John suddenly asked: "I have been listening to you tell stories these days, but I don't know if you are interested in hearing Old John tell a story now?"

Ino didn't say anything, but he showed his feelings with his actions. He pulled up his ear with one hand and made a gesture of listening attentively.

"Hahaha, you kid..."

Old John was also amused by this funny expression and laughed out loud. After a little adjustment, he said:

"The story is not in a distant country, it happened here, in this small town. There was a young man here before. He always yearned for the free world outside. As long as there was a bard passing by the town, he would never tire of asking the other party about the situation outside..."

"...As time went by, the young man finally succumbed to reality. He got married and married a wife who was not beautiful but very virtuous. This also made his restless heart gradually settle down."

At this moment, Old John's face was even more filled with a bit of happy nostalgia.

"But the twists of fate always catch people off guard. His wife was pregnant and died unexpectedly on the day of childbirth."

"One more daughter, one less wife! Such a blow made his gradually settled heart restless again. He wanted to go outside and escape to a distant place... A few years later, he entrusted his 5-year-old daughter to his younger brother and left the small town where he lived alone."

At this point, Old John coughed a little excitedly, and even his breathing became a little short, with annoyance and regret in his eyes.

After a long while, he spoke intermittently and continued:

"...What the young man could not have imagined was that his brother, who had always been hardworking and dutiful, became addicted to alcohol after his elderly mother passed away, and became sloppy, lazy, and idle all day. In order to have money to drink, he asked his young niece to sell matches barefoot in the cold winter to supplement the family income."

At this point in the story, Ino found that tears seemed to flash in Old John's eyes.

Similarly, he had an epiphany, and a well-known story that everyone knows suddenly came to his mind - the little match girl.

As the story continued, he could now be sure that Old John was the irresponsible father in the story, the young man who abandoned his daughter and ran away for more than 20 years before returning home.

...

Old John's story was finally over.

And the room fell into silence, leaving only the occasional sparks and slight sounds of the oil lamp burning.

A long time passed.

At this time, Ino slowly spoke and said, "Old John, I also have a story about matches, do you want to listen to it?"

New book release, new journey, thank all the big guys for their support.

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Please collect~! Please recommend~! Please vote~!