The sun was shining brightly that day, and the clouds in the sky seemed to be lightening. The park is full of parents and children, children running and playing in the sun, laughing and laughing. Liu Shuhua sat on a bench, one eye always unconsciously following her grandson Li Haoyu who was playing on the amusement equipment not far away. There was a smile on her lips and love in her eyes. Li Haoyu jumped or ran, and his lively appearance made Liu Shuhua's heart full of relief.
"Look, Grandma, I'm so tall!" Li Haoyu waved his little hands on the slide and showed off to Liu Shuhua.
"Haoyu, be careful, don't fall." Liu Shuhua admonished, her voice full of concern and doting.
As this heartwarming episode continues, a child suddenly cries because he has fallen. Liu Shuhua turned her head to look, it was a boy about three or four years old, his knees were covered with dirt. Instinctively, she stood up and prepared to go over to pay her respects to the child, believing that the child's parents were not far away.
But what she didn't expect was that when she turned around, Li Haoyu's position was empty. The noisy play area suddenly fell silent, and her heart sank. Liu Shuhua stepped forward, followed the direction that Li Haoyu ran, and shouted anxiously: "Haoyu, Haoyu!" Where have you been? Come back to Grandma! ”
People looked at her with curiosity or concern, some began to shout for help, others asked her what kind of clothes her grandson was wearing, so that they could help keep an eye on her. Liu Shuhua's heart beat more fiercely, her hands and feet were cold, and in an unforgettable afternoon, what should have been a warm memory became a tragic overture to the family.
She dialed her daughter-in-law Yang Jing with a trembling hand, and the high words and her daughter-in-law's firm voice came from the phone, "Mom, where are you?" I'll go over now! ”
The disappearance of the child was like dropping a bomb, stirring up huge ripples on the calm family lake. In the anxious waiting, Liu Shuhua felt deep self-blame and fear, and did not know how to face her son and daughter-in-law. She thought of Yang Jing and knew that Yang Jing must be anxiously looking for news of her child at this time. How Liu Shuhua hoped that all this was just a misunderstanding, and her grandson was just hiding and playing hide and seek on a whim.
Subsequently, under the joint search of Liu Shuhua and Yang Jing, the entire park seemed to participate in this action to find Li Haoyu. Every corner of the park, every ride, and even every bush became the target of their search. The sun was still shining, but their hearts were full of dark clouds. However, as the sun gradually set, the surrounding light dimmed, and the search was fruitless.
It was getting late, and Liu Shuhua and Yang Jing had to return home in a huff. The sound of laughter in the park was still there, but their hearts seemed to be hollowed out. On the road under dusk, two people who were once connected by a small life are now tormenting each other's hearts on the verge of loss.
Day after day, the original laughter and laughter in the home are replaced by a dull air, and the smiles on everyone's faces disappear, leaving only deep worry and anxiety. Daughter-in-law Yang Jing is getting thinner and thinner, the brilliance in her eyes has become dim, and her eye circles have become red and swollen because of crying for many days. She began to become irritable, and her communication with Liu Shuhua was full of reproachful words.
One day at dinner, the ticking of the clock in the corridor was extremely loud in the quiet home, Yang Jing suddenly put down her chopsticks, her voice was cold, and she looked directly at Liu Shuhua, "It's all because of you, if you were optimistic about Haoyu at that time, we wouldn't be like this." ”
Liu Shuhua lowered her head, played with chopsticks in her hand, and after a few quiet breaths, she replied in a low voice, "I know, I was wrong." What should I do so that you can forgive me, I really don't know ......" The voice was full of helplessness and apology.
But Yang Jing's heart has been blackened by endless pain and resentment, and her relationship with Liu Shuhua has become more and more estranged, and she is not even willing to have dinner at the same table. She vented all her anger on the home that had given her warmth and dependence, and the whole family was filled with tension.
With the passage of time, the long-lost laughter did not return to this home again. Liu Shuhua became reticent, and she often sat alone in the room where Li Haoyu used to play, looking at the toys and clothes, and fell into deep thought. If time could be reversed, if she had paid more attention at the time, if ......
The relationship between Liu Shuhua and Yang Jing is getting worse and worse, and in the endless waiting and disappointment, everyone's hearts have become sensitive and fragile. Yang Jing couldn't find an outlet for catharsis, and her emotions exploded from time to time, even affecting her married life with her husband. Every quarrel in the family is like an invisible knife cut, splitting the already weak relationship.
By chance, Yang Jing met a neighbor who had helped find Li Haoyu near the park, and the neighbor awkwardly handed over a missing person notice, on which the weathered paper was printed with Li Haoyu's immature face, and the missing person notice was already a little yellowed. Yang Jing stared at the notice, and the grief hidden under the indifferent shell couldn't help but burst out. Her teeth were clenched, her palms clutching the paper, her fingertips white.
When night falls, the lights in the house are not on. Liu Shuhua sat on the sofa, she looked at the starry sky outside the window, but her heart was dark. Everything that happened on that bright spring afternoon was like a heavy chain wrapped around her heart, and she didn't know how to get rid of it, let alone find the light in this broken family.
Six years have passed silently, and the painful memories at home have been sealed in the dust, but they still can't get rid of the irreparable sadness in their hearts. Yang Jing found that there was a pungent smell wafting from a corner of the house, and as time went by, the stench became stronger and stronger.
Anxious, she finally couldn't bear it anymore one day, and was determined to find the source of this ominous smell. She searched every nook and cranny of the house until she noticed that the smell seemed to be coming from under the sofa in the living room. After a violent stirring and searching, when she hurriedly pulled out a sofa cushion in a corner, a bloodstained piece of children's clothing was revealed, it was a small dress of Li Haoyu six years ago.
"This ...... What's going on? Yang Jing's mind was blank, and the whole person was as if he had been struck by lightning, and his legs were weak and he almost fell to the ground. She picked up the garment with trembling hands, tears welling up in her eyes.
Liu Shuhua heard the movement and came in, only to see Yang Jing squatting next to the sofa, her face pale. The expression on her face made Liu Shuhua's heart tighten, and the scene in front of her made her breathing seem to stagnate. Her voice trembled a little, "Hair... What happened? This is Haoyu's clothes? ”
"Yang Jing, what's going on?" Liu Shuhua hurriedly went over, and when she saw the blood stains on her clothes, her whole body seemed to be drained.
"Haoyu, he... He's probably been here all along. Yang Jing's mouth was more of a whimper than a word.
This sudden discovery was like a lightning bolt across the night sky, tearing open the family's long-hidden scars. It was as if the garment had opened the floodgates of time, and memories and suspicions about that afternoon swept over like a flood.
The two looked at each other in disbelief, and the once warm and joyful living room became a space of silence and pain. Yang Jing's heart was filled with countless question marks and remorse. And Liu Shuhua is full of guilt and pain in her heart. She kept asking herself why she hadn't noticed it all these years, why she hadn't been more vigilant. She blamed herself, but she couldn't explain the strangeness of the garment.
Liu Shuhua tried to touch the garment, trying to find an answer in the tremor of contact, but Yang Jing stopped her. "Don't touch it, the police will come to investigate." Yang Jing's voice was slightly calm, but her hands were still shaking.
In the days that followed, a layer of unprecedented depression and silence hung over the home, and the quarrels of the past were gone, leaving only a deep dullness and endless speculation. That patch of blood on the couch became the last taboo place for this broken family, and everyone was waiting for an answer, an answer that might never be revealed.
The atmosphere in the home became more tense because of the discovery of Li Haoyu's clothes, and Yang Jing and Liu Shuhua fell into a long silence. In the end, Yang Jing couldn't bear it anymore and broke out all her dissatisfaction and questions at a family gathering.
"I really don't know what's going on with the clothes!" Liu Shuhua said while crying, feeling extremely aggrieved by Yang Jing's accusation, "I also want to know what happened that day!" ”
The family sat together, the air filled with heavy breathing and uneasy whispers. In this moment, everything became so clear and painful. Yang Jing's eyes were ruddy, and tears rolled in her eyes, "We really did our best." But no matter what, Haoyu didn't come back. It's been six years, and I... I'm tired, what's the point of asking such a question? ”
She looked up at the room full of relatives, Liu Shuhua hugged her hands tightly, and her shoulders trembled slightly. The aunt and sister-in-law, who were in charge of the housework, also lowered their heads silently, and the air in the house was almost frozen. As we all know, this family is going through a great test.
"We... If we want to continue living like family, we have to find a reason to keep going. Yang Jing's voice trembled slightly, but it was resolute, "We can't let hatred ruin everything left." ”
The atmosphere in the home was softened by Yang Jing's words. Although the mystery left by Li Haoyu has not been solved, the family realizes that struggling with the undercurrent of hatred and self-blame will only plunge the family relationship into more endless pain.
At the end of this party, Yang Jing walked up to Liu Shuhua and hugged her tightly. Tears soaked the shoulders of the two, "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm too extreme." We are all victims. It's time to let go of these strife, or we will have nothing. ”
Liu Shuhua hugged Yang Jing tightly, choked up and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't take care of Haoyu." Thank you for being able to tell me this, I... I don't know what else I can do for this home. ”
Yang Jing wiped away her tears, smiled and said, "Mom, I believe in you." From today onwards, let's work together for this home. ”
In the shattered home, the hope of support and rebirth was found. No matter how difficult the road ahead may be, they have learned to fill this pain with tolerance and love. The tragic experience has made them know how to cherish and support each other, and even if they are old, family affection is still an unquenchable fire that warms people's hearts.