登陆注册
6741000000018

第18章 Scattered in the Wind(18)

The conciliatory lama lay down the bags of salt and flour and the tea beside the door before backing silently away from the house, gently pulling Enbo and Bunny with him. The three turned around only once they felt they were far enough away. That was when they made the shocking discovery that almost the entire village was gathered in the square too, standing silently in the dripping mist. Even Ler Kymcog was there. So was his mother! As Enbo turned around, his wife pulled Bunny into a tight embrace and began to sob, haltingly.

This was the cue for other women in the crowd to begin their own quiet sobbing.

Every family in the village had brought a little something to give Sangdan and Gela, but above all, they brought their guilty consciences. As a representative from each family silently laid down their offering and turned to leave, their troubled consciences found some measure of solace, but the guilt was very much still there. Despite the lingering shame, each person there felt an indescribable warmth rise through their bodies. As the crowd dispersed, so did the morning mist, slowly. The sun was unmasked, scaling the empty heavens, spreading out a thin layer of warmth below as it pierced the fog.

The people of Ji village didn't go out to the fields at the normal time that day. The school bell that announced the beginning of class didn't ring out either, when it was supposed to. Everyone was as if under a spell, eyes glued to the doorway of the cheapest, most ramshackle house in the whole village. They barely even blinked.

When the last trace of mist had vanished, Sangdan and Gela finally came out. After an absence of many hundreds of days, the sunlight of Ji village once more washed over their bodies and lit up their faces. Though their clothes were old and tattered, they'd washed, and now their faces were clean and bright from the cleansing water of Ji village. Gela was much taller than when he left, and his gaunt face wore a determined, even somewhat savage, expression. As for Sangdan, she was just as beautiful as before; in fact, she was smiling with such brainless radiance that the villagers found it hard to believe that they'd heard her weeping and wailing like an old banshee only a matter of hours earlier.

She let out a delighted little hoot when she saw the gifts piled up by her doorway: there was tea, salt, butter, flour, old clothes, bowls, kitchen knives … among the most delightful items, there was a box of ointment, a bundle of firewood, a bottle of kerosene, and a real lock for her door. The villagers' reward for their generosity was that they once more got to hear her silvery, carefree laughter, a sound that had been missing from the village for a very long time. She kept laughing as she carried her bounty inside, one armful at a time, calling out to Gela:

"Quickly son, come help me!"

She kept calling to him each time she picked up a new load, but Gela ignored her almost totally, his only concession being a slight, involuntary twitch of his whole body. He was sitting in the doorway, holding in his hands the one thing he'd picked up from the pile outside: the lock. He raised his eyes, sweeping his vision over the village which he left a long time ago. Even though the villagers were all watching him from a safe distance, they still avoided his gaze when it fell on them. Everyone was walking on tip-toes and speaking in hushed tones. Submerged in their guilt, the whole village felt like atonement.

The sunlight wasn't fierce that day; it was at a warm glow, laying over the distant mountains in a hazy screen of ever so slightly blue light. When the sun fell on the river, the waters turned almost viscous, while the rocks stayed completely immobile under the light, as if sunk deeply in their own thoughts; whatever those may be. When the sun fell on the ground, even the tiny particles of dust didn't stir; they were tired out from blowing around in the wind, and now they had a chance at respite, they wanted to finally lie down and rest a while.

The sun also shone on the small cluster of stone houses that together made up the grand sum of Ji village. It gleamed off the greyed wooden roof shingles. After reflecting off the roves, the light became heavy and metallic, almost acquiring the solidity of a mundane object. This kind of morning-time lull hadn't been experienced in Ji village for many years; such tranquillity was so rare in the middle of this era of constant, universal, and remorseless flux that a person only had to feel it for its essence to seep deep into their heart. The lull was so tangible, it rippled through the air in the form of some extraordinary kind of sound waves that were of their own making. Truly, this was a grand event, unprecedented for many years before. Cowed by a force greater than he, the leader of the production team didn't dare stick out his neck in the centre of the village square. Instead he cowered away from his usual, loud duty of shouting the summons to work, which went like this:

"Out to work!"

The teacher at the village primary school didn't come out to ring the school bell either. He wasn't from Ji village.

Gela and Sangdan could be seen through their doorway, which was wide open since it still lacked a door. They were pouring hot tea into their new bowls. Bowls full, they hung their heads in a weird silence for a second—when it broke, they finished their meal preparations: putting butter in their tea and retrieving cooked flat cakes from where they'd been roasting beside the fire. Slowly, they began to eat. A sip of tea, a mouthful of flat-cake. They stopped occasionally to lift their heads and exchange slight smiles, looking each other in the eye. Then they would talk for a moment in soft voices before going back to their meal. They ate at their leisure, though their food was the product of charity; the whole village's charity. There was actually something very noble about the way they ate.

同类推荐
  • 假如给我三天光明(双语译林)

    假如给我三天光明(双语译林)

    《假如给我三天光明》是教育部推荐的成长励志经典读物,盲聋人海伦·凯勒不屈不挠的坚毅斗志曾激励了一代又一代人。本书完整收录《假如给我三天光明》、《我生命的故事》、《三论乐观》、《在芒特艾里的演讲》以及海伦·凯勒书信十封,英汉双语对照,讲述一个没有光明、没有声音的传奇人生。
  • 福克纳短篇小说精选·英文版(上下册)

    福克纳短篇小说精选·英文版(上下册)

    威廉·福克纳,长篇小说巨匠,也是优秀的短篇小说家。《福克纳短篇小说精选》收录的43篇短篇小说均为福克纳短篇小说中的杰出之作,代表了福克纳短篇小说的文学风格和主要成就。无论在题材内容或手法技巧方面,福克纳的短篇小说跟其长篇小说基本上是一脉相承,大部分还是以约克纳帕塔法县为背景,描述的还是那个王国的沧海桑田和世态人情,探讨其中的家族、妇女、种族、阶级等问题,表现“人类的内心冲突”。本版《福克纳短篇小说精选》为精校英文版,32开本口袋装,便于随身阅读。
  • Lincoln's Personal Life

    Lincoln's Personal Life

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • No Water Cleaner than Tears 没有比泪水更干净的水

    No Water Cleaner than Tears 没有比泪水更干净的水

    “在云南红土高原的西北,有绵延千里的小凉山,奔腾喧嚣的金沙江,直剌青天的玉龙雪山,还有美丽动人的泸沽湖。我就出生在那片神奇美丽的土地上。”诗人来自普米族,一个只有三万多人的民族,他的家在云南小凉山脉的斯布炯山下、泸沽湖边的一个叫果流的村庄里,他的父亲是茶马古道上的赶马人,他的母亲是果流村里的“女王”,“她会唱的民歌如星星一样多”。他说,他是那片土地上千万个孩子中最普通的一个。他还说,作为行吟在那片土地上的歌者,他是幸运的宠儿。他幸运,是因为他深深爱着的那片神奇美丽的土地给了他生命,也给了他诗篇。
  • 英文疑难详解

    英文疑难详解

    《英文疑难详解》采用问答模式,对读者提出的英语疑难问题进行详细的解答,具有极强的针对性、实用性。书中将200个问题分为13大项,从各种词类的使用方法上升到语法及表达方式,再到中英语言差异和成语研究等语言的文化层面,有利于读者由浅及深地学习。虽然作者针对的是具体问题进行解答,但每一个问题都会举出大量的例句,穷尽问题所涉及知识点的方方面面,填补读者的知识鸿沟。
热门推荐
  • 太极食神之初展锋芒

    太极食神之初展锋芒

    “太极食神”是一个系列武侠传奇长篇,小说共分三部,“初展锋芒”是第一部。讲述身为太极宗师杨慕侠的长孙的杨兆龙,自小顽皮好动,除了喜欢家传的太极拳外,又爱学外公的厨艺。而杨门突遭“秋水”组织派来的杀手万斤力、万瞎子等人寻仇,兆龙遭到绑架,幸好得到在黑鱼庵结识的武云姑娘相救,得以逃脱。“秋水”的武恶再次鼓动汉中金家挑战杨家太极门,没想到兆龙却机缘巧合,得遇化名弱用的金家人金远的点拨,并从他那里得到上乘内家拳的修炼法门,此后武功一日千里。武恶一计不成,再施一计,目标定在太极门长子杨云天身上,为了保全杨门名声杨云天力竭身亡,而其子杨兆龙也从此下落不明……
  • 第一红妆

    第一红妆

    有什么比穿越后醒来到乱葬岗这坑爹的事情更悲催的?她墨红妆直至现在才明白,那就是遇到了一个比自己更强,更腹黑,更会忍的男人!如果知道他原本就是只大灰狼,她墨红妆发誓,第一绝不会与他走太近,以免被他的温柔宠溺迷得神魂颠倒。第二绝不会没有察觉到他满脸期待等的就是自己长大,然后将自己给吃得一干二净!他本是江湖上最为神秘——魔宫的爷,脸戴狐狸面具,冷若冰霜,负手之间带起一片腥风血雨,眉头一皱便是惊了半边天,世人传他为“狱君。”若不是当日路过乱葬岗的时候,自己遇上了那双不羁的眸子,只怕现在,自己也不会变成为了等一个女人苦苦长大的悲情男,还要忍受她不懂自己的心意和其他男子亲亲我我的样子。墨红妆,救你的人是我,那么你的命也是我的,一生一世,绝别想跑!——小正剧简介——她本是毒物世家的当代宗主,同时也是风云黑白两道的“银手红妆”,却身患祖传绝症,世道皆传:“阎王要你三更死,红妆留你五更活,堪称活阎王。”而她—墨红妆,是墨王府中一个小小庶女,娘亲早逝,导致性格懦弱,从小与当今太子订下婚约,本想隐忍一生,却惹来杀身之祸,弃尸乱葬岗中。那一夜,大雨滂沱,一双本已死透泛白的玉手从一堆死尸中缓缓爬出,一口吐出嘴中的泥沙,眼眸缓缓睁开,阴沉如墨,却蕴含绝代风华,此后,注定这乱世王朝,由她墨红妆再添上那重重一笔!自此,上朝堂,下江湖,临东海,游走四国之间,银针芊芊,负手翻云,她一袭红衣笑傲这乱世王朝,随性洒脱,一生痛快!她的原则:“既我重生再世,那这一世我定要过的洒脱随意,若任何人妄图犯到我头上来,我必将以几千几万倍的痛苦奉还于他,诛其一生一世,后悔为人!”【精彩片段】洞房花烛,情欲暧昧,他一改以前的温柔包容,霸道地在她耳旁宣誓:“墨红妆,我许你一生一世,生是我的人,死也是我的人,永远别想逃。”她指尖轻勾他衣袖,露出那一片结实的胸膛,埋脸上前舔舐着他的薄唇,一双眸子迷乱情欲,话音中透着一股致命的诱惑:“那么,你还等什么呢?”他一愣之后勾起一抹舒心的笑意,轻轻按上她的双肩,唇瓣相吻,落下红帐,空留一室春光弥漫。
  • 潭州沩山灵佑禅师语录

    潭州沩山灵佑禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 挽红楼之黛玉绝爱

    挽红楼之黛玉绝爱

    发现一个本文的有声版——天方听书网,大家感兴趣的可以去听听~挽红楼系列红楼新文出炉:《挽红楼之玉亦狂》地址:【大声的吆喝次新文啦~~】《帝妃轻绝》沙发,板凳,地板都没人,亲们快去留个脚印先~~若说没奇缘,今生偏又遇着他。若说有奇缘,如何心事终虚化?只为三生石畔甘露恩,造历幻缘,续前缘。从此无限愁怨痴苦,魂断天涯。待红尘已成过往,方得识,灵水河畔,那一双执着而痴怨的晶眸,原来,曾有这样一个小仙童。采珠玑,窃仙魄,坠入凡尘,只为她。只知已泪尽报恩,岂知竟未了另一段风流公案。谁才是她此生,真正的冤家?情若飘渺,何苦自扰,爱既无根,何不绝爱?同样的黛玉,却是另一种人生,不再为金玉良缘耿耿于怀,不再为木石姻缘愁肠百结,重返人世,只为全新的生活。只为寻找真正的缘分。绝爱,断绝的是与纨绔宝玉间的缠绵纠葛,却是真正幸福的开始。……迄今为止,落花最喜欢的名著莫过于《红楼梦》,个人也对其中人物性格命运有很多看法,欢迎同样喜欢红楼的亲们和我交流,各抒己见。【红豆群】:59283575品红楼故事,说红楼人物,并不仅仅局限本文,红楼迷们皆可进。敲门砖:说出红楼中,亲觉得最适合作儿媳妇是哪一个…推荐自己的完结作品…《莲花祭》……“我想让你活着,想让你还像在那个冰冷的早晨一样,仇恨地看着我,说你必定会与我为敌,我宁愿你带着这种恨意报复我,哪怕最后我会败得伤痕累累,我也心甘情愿。”“…五年,十年,二十年,很多年之后,当你再想起我今天的话,你会为它的真实性而感到惊讶,你会觉得,我是世界上最言而有信的君主。”一段刻骨铭心的感情故事,一段莲花开落的苦涩童话,一本虐心的《莲花祭》,为您展现一个传奇女子的传奇经历,敬请众亲品读。顺便介绍一下该文的视频,供亲作茶余饭后的消遣?pstyle=1【强力推荐!】落花用了好久做出的视频——怀念红楼梦?pstyle=1喜欢红楼的朋友,千万去看看哦~~(注:与挽红楼无关,该文视频以后另作)…推荐作品……好友瑾瑜的转型力作,《倾歌天下》各位亲可以移步一观,多多投票收藏支持!~~…………
  • 丧尸世界来袭

    丧尸世界来袭

    末日黑夜笼罩之下人们苟活于残垣断壁之间人性尽显有人舍弃灵魂卑劣而生 有人重拾战志,一曲歌狂
  • 异世幸存者

    异世幸存者

    多年前,一场所谓的“天选”运动让所有的非异能者身处险境。他们不得不在新的星球安身立命,偏居一隅。某一天,柳未珂突然发现自己能识人过去,预见未来,而越来越多的异能人也在周围出现。那在暗中窥视的人如蛆附骨,如影随形,新的危险已然再度降临。
  • 提纲释义

    提纲释义

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 改变历史进程的发明(趣味科学馆丛书)

    改变历史进程的发明(趣味科学馆丛书)

    “趣味科学馆”丛书,是一套自然科学类读物。丛书包罗科学的多个领 域,涉及“信息化”、“绿色革命”、“发明、“生态资源”、“航天”、“军事”、“日食、月食”等当下热门关键词,有引领读者关注热点、提升 其认识水平的现实价值。刘芳主编的《改变历史进程的发明》为丛书之一。《改变历史进程的发明》内容涉及科学发明的各个侧面,并进行合乎逻辑的排列组合。文字浅显易懂,生动活泼。
  • 极品矿工

    极品矿工

    雷翔,一个神的转世,原本只是一个普通的职业玩家,因为一款虚拟网游无限人生,彻底改变了他的人生。一个以神器铁镐,通过不断的挖矿,获得各种稀缺矿石的极品矿工。神器套装、独有的矿脉、能量晶石、以及可以将物品带出游戏的空间装备,彻底的改变了他的人生和华夏国的命运。
  • 美男不争宠

    美男不争宠

    夙景然:冷魅妖娆夜梓辰:奸猾嚣张君默颜:冷静睿智舒亦月:温柔如水……(以下省略N美男)本文美男多多!喜欢看美男的亲们,千万不要错过……★☆●☆★在女仆店打工的现代女大学生沐青衣,因在打工回家的路上被店里的客人围攻调戏,意外穿越,为了生存,突发奇想,居然大胆在古代开起了女仆店,期间莫名成为了隐藏在诸国背后,拥有最大权势的暗夜之国的帝位继承人,随即流连在众国之间,只为了寻找出最合适的帝后人选,方能正式继承王位,寻后之路,美男环绕,战火蔓延,意外的相逢,缘分的邂逅,到底谁才是谁的归属……