I remembered Vermilion
Text/Yang Xuan
Flipping through the books in the library, his eyes suddenly flashed in one sentence: In the first spring after Qiao Guanhua's death, all the other trees in the yard bloomed, but the old pear tree stood silently in the corner, and there was not a single flower.
Suddenly, I remembered the vermilion tree raised by my mother, and suddenly remembered that the vermilion red, which blooms every year and burns red every year, has not bloomed for two years.
The book was put back on the shelf, and the person stepped on the twilight and went straight to his parents' house, straight to the balcony. The gaze that was tripped by the old pear tree in the text, and hit hard by the vermilion red pot full of green leaves, could no longer bear it, and burst into tears. All green leaves, huddled together, long and messy, draped, hanging their heads and bending over. Vermilion red, which is supposed to be a high torch, is reminiscent of "branches and leaves", a word often used to describe trees.
We also call vermilion red southeast, northwest flower, one flower arrow four flowers, respectively pointing to the southeast, northwest and four directions. This vermilion tree was given to me by a colleague sitting across the desk. I was lazy and stupid, and my mother was responsible for planting flowers and grass. From a small one to a large pot, Vermilion Red will whizz out several flower arrows every year, and each flower arrow will crackle the red and gorgeous big flower. I always feel that the blossoms have a sound, and Zhu Dinghong has a loud voice, and when the flowers bloom, she not only has a loud voice, but also sings a cheerful song. And the mother, the person who takes care of the food and living of the flowers and plants, is the listener who is most familiar with the pot of vermilion, and she has a pair of ears that know vermilion the most.
Seven years ago, my parents moved, I don't know what to do, the flowers and plants of the housewarming new house gradually only hanging orchids, aloe vera, vermilion red, so I bought gardenias, roses, crab claw orchids, although they were also fragrant and beautiful for a while, but finally standing on the balcony, it was still hanging orchids, aloe vera, vermilion red. The few idle pots were soon occupied by the celery planted by birds or the wind, and the dense turns were huddled for warmth, light green in spring, dark green in summer, and year after year. Aloe vera does not bloom, the small white flowers of hanging orchids are dotted, and the small white flowers of celery are as fine as sand grains, which are completely negligible, so the main tone of the balcony is green, so the brilliant red of vermilion red has become the most dazzling color on the balcony.
The balcony was where my mother waited for me and watched me, waiting for me to come home for dinner, and sending me away after dinner, which was a compulsory daily lesson for my mother. I left work at six o'clock, arrived in about twenty minutes, crossed a path full of tree shadows, and saw the familiar figure and the familiar face on the balcony on the eighth floor. There were a few osmanthus trees and yellow orchids downstairs, and every time I passed, several tree umbrellas would block me for a few seconds, so when I returned to my house at night, a message would come from the balcony, "Oh, I can't see it." After a while, he said "Oh", followed by "Oh, slow down" or "Oh, you are so raw", and without exception, he patted my ears until the night two years ago, when spring had already passed most of the way.
When my mother was in a coma, it was strange, Zhu Dinghong did not follow the rules of previous years, and a flower arrow was generally two or three flowers, but four in the southeast, northwest, and bloomed together. All three flower arrows are like this. Unusually dazzling, open hard, open it without caring about it. Torches, flames, soared, burning, vigorous. Now that I think about it, it's clearly a gesture of opening to the extreme! Is it to let that bright red, that burning color, keep my mother's footsteps to another world? Is it to accompany my mother on the last journey with all my strength?
The year my mother left, I didn't go to my parents' house for dinner, strictly speaking, I didn't go anywhere in that direction of the community, and even if I had something to do, I would definitely not pass by the gate of the community if I could detour to arrive. The grass and flowing water in the community, the path surrounded by grass and flowing water, the building connected by the path, the balcony on the upper floor, are all there, but the person who brought them into my memory and has been warm since then is no longer there. If I walk on that shadowy path like before, if I look up like before, how do I face the balcony that suddenly becomes empty?
Later, I would also go to my parents' house, after all, the old father who had covered the snow was there alone.
That dusk, the sunset had gone from red to purple to gray, and I was still sitting in the computer chair on the balcony, my eyes still resting on the pot of vermilion. This chair became my mother's seat after I eliminated it. I have never stared at this pot of vermilion for so long, because it is too ordinary, although it resembles a red lily, but it is not comparable. Also, since my mother left, I didn't dare to look at her for a long time. That dusk, I was long faced with the vermilion red green. When a large pot is full of dark green. It was the flowering season of vermilion, but this vermilion tree planted by my mother was silent, as if trapped in a distant old dream.
After that, when he went to see his father, he would stand in front of the pot of vermilion.
Who said that people are not grass and trees, who can be ruthless? Grass and trees must be ruthless? In my opinion, it is nothing more than the subjective imagination or subjective consciousness of people on top. It doesn't matter who said it, I don't believe it anyway.
Plants and trees are also life, and what I believe is that plants and trees also have heart and understanding.
(The author is a member of Chongqing Writers Association)
Layout appreciation
Editor: Zhu Yangxia
Responsible editor: Chen Taiyong
Reviewed: Feng Fei