Fragments of Memory (6)

19

Horrible house

I don't know when my memory began to arise, as if I was born in the old home of the four groups of Guangyi Village, but as long as I listened to the past in my parents' mouths and tried to think more about it before, I realized that I spent a long time as a child at my grandmother's house, and then my mother took me to Hanyang, and then my father brought me back to my hometown.

Light one village four groups, loaded the place of my entire childhood. I remember the scene of the last departure, because I used to wander around the old house when I couldn't go in, I didn't want to leave for a long time, and I also tried to let myself leave when I passed by again, and when I walked to the bridge that I stepped on countless times, I thought that next time I didn't know if I could see where it stood quietly, and turned back to take pictures of the old house.

Sometimes looking at the photos, I try to recall, when did this house enter my memory? I still don't think about it, only the day it scared me.

At that time, I had just been taken home by my father, and after being induced to go to class, my father did not leave immediately, but stayed at home for a few days. At first, when I came home from school, he was always waiting for me at home, but he wasn't home that day.

After school, I walked home along the embankment, went up to the big earthen platform at the front door, found that the door of the house was closed, I looked in through the door slit, it was dark inside, only a light shot into the hall house (living room) from the back door slit facing the front door, I shouted twice, no one responded, I walked to the right of the door, under the window of my parents' room, looking inward, there was no one inside; I went to the left, Grandma's room, still no one.

Looking at the black house, there is no one around, the door of the neighbor's house in front is also closed, I just returned to my hometown, the neighbor's family has someone I dare not go to it, at that moment, I am really unfamiliar with life. Finally, with nowhere to go, I sat down on the table under the window with my school bag in my hand.

I didn't do anything, I held my bag, I didn't read a book, I just sat, I don't know how long I sat, and I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was my dad who woke me up and asked me why I slept outside and didn't go in. I told him I was afraid, and he was helpless, only telling me that there was something to be afraid of at home.

The old house was divided into three rooms in portrait orientation, and on the right was my parents' room, a bed, a large wardrobe, and a large old old bedside table, which seemed to have been scrapped before I was in junior high school. There is also a medium desk-like cabinet, a small bedside table, I remember when I was a child watching the Hong Kong drama that solved the case, I was too scared, so I pulled the small bedside table a little distance from the bed, just put in a small stool, sitting in it and watching TV.

I still remember that time, the bed in my parents' room was broken. The bed was made of an iron frame, covered with several slender wooden planks, each of which was about fifteen to twenty centimeters wide, and covered the entire bed frame one by one, about ten pieces. On the bed at that time, two boards were broken, and for a while there was no wooden plank of about the same length and width to replace, so only half of the bed was made.

The larger one in the middle is the living room, which we call in the dialect of the hall house. There were two tables in the living room, and I heard Grandma say that the big table, that is, our dining table, was the set when my parents got married, and I still remember the pale blue that loomed on the bench of the table. The small table only has a large cutting board and chopsticks. There is a big god cabinet in the right position, I don't know how to describe it, it is the same thing as the display cabinet now, but there is no glass in the middle, in addition to the left and right cabinet doors, the middle is open, placed in the living room in the most orthodox position, only when the new year to burn incense to feel that it is sacred and untouchable, called the god cabinet, other times, is the general storage cabinet, called the incense cabinet (incense burning incense).

On the left is Grandma's room, there are two entrances and exits without doors (I don't know what to call for a while, it is a door, and there is no door that can be opened and closed), each entrance and exit has a bed, it should be a bed frame to be precise, and the bed behind it has not been lived by anyone all year round, it has been empty, piled with some messy things, I don't know what it is, I only remember that the back has been black, I don't go in much, primary school students have pounded there once or twice, slept for a while, and then don't remember why they moved out again, if you think about it, I should mention it again.

In front is Grandma's bed, the whole bed frame is made of wood, thick bedpost, there are some traces of candles on it, yes, when there is no electricity, always light candles at night, placed on the bedpost, although some dangerous, but convenient, fast, blow fast. Grandma's bedside table is a big wooden box, I heard that people in that era have a big wooden box of their own, which contains all the most precious things, this big wooden box is also brought by grandma when she married over, I was once full of curiosity about it, but I didn't dare to open it when I was young, the box was too big, it was very difficult to look at, and then it was bigger, more curious things, and I forgot about this box. It wasn't until Grandma died that I tried to suppress my anger as i watched a relative rummaging through Grandma's box, and I stood in the doorway of Grandma's room, unable to stop it, but also vowing never to let her take anything with her. Fortunately, she didn't see anything, but Grandma's baby box was turned upside down by her, and I knew what Grandma's box was.

For a few days when I first returned to school, I slept with my grandmother in my grandmother's room. Every morning, dad would come over and call out to me, grabbing my flat nose and telling the lazy cat to get up quickly. Every time at this time, it was just me alone in bed, and when I got up to get dressed, I always let my father accompany me, and I also tried to stay far away from the bedpost.

One day, Dad noticed my little movements, glanced at the bedpost, pointed to the red liquid marks on it and asked me, "Are you afraid of this?" ”

I nodded in fear.

Dad smiled and said, "Do you think this is blood?" ”

I leaned over to my dad and said yes.

Dad laughed out loud and said, "It's paint, don't be afraid." Can't be so timid. ”

Later, even though I knew it was paint, I was still afraid of that bedpost.