forest country

Mizusawa has never been out of the forest, not even far away from the village.

He didn't know what he would meet, and he didn't know if it was the right choice for him to leave now.

Maybe I should stay in the village and wait for them to wake up.

Waiting for them to wake up and tell themselves the truth.

Mizusawa was exhausted from running, his legs were weak, and now he just walked forward step by step with breath.

Cranky thinking does not relieve physical fatigue, but makes mental fatigue more.

Looking back now, he could no longer see the shadow of the village, shaking his head, Mizusawa tried his best not to think about it anymore.

It was already three or four in the afternoon.

It would be best if I could get out before dark.

That's what Mizusawa expected.

But things went against his wish, until the stars and the moon covered the entire sky, he still hadn't gone out.

He stepped on the air and fell to the ground.

Mizusawa rubbed his sore ankle, and simply leaned against the tree trunk as a rest.

He took out a piece of bread from his backpack, took two bites and drank some water.Eating bread alone was a bit dry, but Mizusawa was too tired to take anything else out.

After resting for about half an hour, Mizusawa supported the tree trunk and stood up, ready to continue on his way.

He was too scared, not only afraid of the outside of the forest, but also afraid of the inside of the forest, and even more afraid that he would get lost in the forest and never get out.

As soon as the hand holding the trunk left, I saw the piece of bark fall off.

With the sound of peeling, Mizusawa's eyes widened a little bit, and he saw the mechanical parts exposed from the trunk.

Mizusawa couldn't help taking a few steps back, and the sound of bark falling gradually sounded all around. Pieces of bark fell off, and the gray-brown trunk cracked with openings of various sizes, revealing the hidden mechanical parts inside.

As he moved, the trees and grass around him began to crack, and even a few flying birds would fall from his feet.

Mizusawa covered his ears and started running as hard as he could.

don't want to hear.

I do not want to see.

I dare not think about it.

The night is too deep and endless, no matter how hard you run, you can't break free.

A few bees buzzed and followed Shui Zefei, but it was too dark and he covered his ears, so he didn't notice.

When Shui Ze woke up, the sky was already bright, and he subconsciously used the back of his hand to cover his eyes that felt a little uncomfortable when they suddenly saw the light.

Getting up from the ground, he slapped off the fallen leaves, probably because he was too tired from running yesterday and fell asleep on the ground.

Looking up again, I found a light curtain in front of me, and all the trees in the forest were behind me.

Did you just run out?

Mizusawa was a little happy.

Quickly tidying up his clothes and hair, he tried to extend his hand out of the light curtain with indescribable expectation.

As soon as he stretched out a little, he felt a thrust, a stagger, and when he realized it, he had already passed through the light curtain and went out.

In an instant, there was a noisy sound in the ear, which formed a sharp contrast with the extremely quiet forest.

Turn around again, there is nothing behind you.

No light curtain, no forest.

All that is bare is an open space.

Mizusawa noticed that someone around him was looking at him, so he lowered his head subconsciously and walked away quickly.

Tell yourself to yourself, no matter where this is, you must be more natural, and don't let others realize your difference.

Then turned left and right and walked through several streets, feeling that it was far enough away from the place just now, so Mizusawa looked around with peace of mind.

These houses are all gray reinforced concrete houses. Mizusawa remembers that only the village head's house in the village is made of cement, and the others are wooden houses.

Although I don't know where it is, it is obvious that the streets here are wider, with more people walking around, and more orderly.What they were wearing and what they were holding in their hands were all things I had never seen before.

It is completely different from the village where I grew up.

There is no forest here, no trees, only gray-black or gray-white buildings.

It was like falling from a small warm yellow light ball into a small iron ball filled with three colors of black, white and gray.

Originally, he thought that his village was the whole of the world, but now that he has only been out for more than ten minutes, he has completely overturned Mizusawa's inherent cognition.

So what should I do now?

Mizusawa was a little confused.

He didn't dare to stay longer in the crowded street, and continued to walk to the side.I saw a bench in front of me, and there were already two people sitting on it, and there was room for another person.

Mizusawa hesitated for a moment, and walked over slowly, wanting to sit and chat with them, and inquire about things here.

But as soon as they walked over, before they sat down, the two people on the bench walked away with disgusted eyes.

Mizusawa was a little at a loss and sat on the bench alone.

There was a growl in my stomach.

Mizusawa took out half of the leftover bread from yesterday's backpack and ate it in small bites.

"Shoe shine, young man? Only one dollar."

An old man next to him was sitting on a ponytail, holding a black brush in his hand, squinting his eyes and asking with a smile.

"No, thank you." Mizusawa smelled the strong smell of shoe polish in the air, looked away, and whispered, "I have no money."

"It doesn't matter if you don't have money, you can exchange it for food." The old man looked at the bread in Mizusawa's hand and swallowed unconsciously.

Mizusawa looked at the bread in his hand: "Is this okay?"

"Okay." The old man nodded quickly.

He had already eaten the bread in his hand, and Mizusawa was embarrassed to give it to the old man in front of him, but took a new piece of bread from his backpack and handed it over.

The old man looked at the golden-yellow shell of the bread, and was overjoyed in his heart. He quickly took it and put it in his arms, and hooked his hands at Mizusawa: "Come here, I'll shine your shoes."

Mizusawa shrank his feet under the bench subconsciously, and moved his buttocks to sit on the old man's side.

"No need to shine shoes." Mizusawa paused, "May I ask you a few questions?"

"Of course, generous young man," the old man smiled knowingly.

"I came from another place to find my friend, so there may be some things I don't know about here." Mizusawa said slowly, while observing the old man's expression, "I sat here just now, why did those two people on the bench leave? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Of course not." The old man raised his hand to indicate to him the iron bracelet on his wrist, "It's just that you don't wear this, it's the identity certificate of this city, if you don't have this, you are a slave."

Mizusawa panicked, he didn't expect the reason to be so straightforward, it would be bad if he was treated as a slave.

"Ah, where's my bracelet?" Mizusawa quickly looked at his wrist, "I was really careless. I didn't notice when I lost it. It's too bad."

"Don't worry, you can go to the city hall to get a replacement one tomorrow." The old man said with a smile, "Today is the weekend and they don't work, and tomorrow happens to be Monday."

"That's right." Mizusawa said relaxedly, and then seemed to suddenly think of something, "But I have no money, I was unlucky to meet a thief before, and lost my wallet, and the bracelet may have been lost at that time, and I haven't found it yet. my friend."

The old man thought for a while, and suggested: "My wife's younger brother's shop is still short of a helper. Otherwise, you can go to work for a few days to earn some money, which is convenient for making bracelets, and you can find your friends by the way. Her brother is in our shop. I know a lot of people over there, maybe some of them know."

Mizusawa has been observing the old man's expression, it is very natural and should be believed.

At the same time, this is also a good opportunity to learn about this place for yourself.

I have nothing to lose, and I have nothing to lie about.

The food in the backpack can't last too long, I need to work, I need to earn money, and I need to find a way to get an iron bracelet.

Mizusawa thought a lot for a moment, and agreed after hesitating.

No matter what, he had to give it a try, and he couldn't be too repulsed by this strange place.

"Young man, you can call me Quiller."

"Grandpa Quiller, I'm Mizusawa."

A few more shoeshine guests came one after another.

Mizusawa didn't rush to say that he wanted to help, but seemed to be thinking about things casually, and was actually secretly listening to their conversation.

Quiller was wearing a somewhat dirty jacket, and when he was working hard, he folded the sleeves up, revealing a steel arm.

Mizusawa was startled, and quickly looked at the guest sitting opposite him.

It was a man in a suit jacket. He was not surprised when he saw Quiller's steel arm, his eyes were always flat, and he even complained.

"Today the paper said that the price of gas is going to go up again."

Quiller kept polishing the shoes in his hands, and lowered his head: "Didn't the price rise only once last month?"

"That's right, those evil rich people." The man in the suit looked into the distance, and said bitterly, "The ones with a lot of money can be burned for fun. If you want me to talk about those people in the tower——"

Quiller quickly interrupted him: "Dear guest, please come up with another foot."

The man in the suit seemed to realize that it was not good to say that, so he put his right foot on it, and although he continued to mutter, his voice was too small to be heard.

What tower?Mizusawa couldn't look down to hear something curious, but his eyes were on the right foot of the man in the suit being wiped.

The leather shoes were a little dirty, with a little dried mud on the edges.

But these are not the key points, the key point is the section exposed under the cuff of his right trousers.

It is part of a gray-black iron calf.

Mizusawa leaned back on the back of the bench with some exhaustion, looking up at the foggy sky.

The sun doesn't seem to be out today.

At noon, Queller closed the stall and went home, Mizusawa followed him with his head down.

Quiller's home was a bit far away and remote, completely different from the street they stayed in just now. The alleys here were dirty and narrow, and there were messy cigarette butts on the ground.

Contrary to the mess outside, Quiller's house is very clean. The living room and dining room are the same, but the table is covered with a beige checked tablecloth, and there is a slender vase on it. A little rose entwined with wire.

Queller's wife is a very kind old lady. Seeing Mizusawa's gaze on Little Rose, she explained to him with a smile.

"It's made up by Quiller, who's a little romantic every now and then."

Mizusawa watched their interaction, and unconsciously thought of his parents.

His mother also liked this kind of little rose, but what his father gave her was not the wire-wound one, but a real red rose with petals and a strong fragrance.

But now Mizusawa doubts himself a little, was it really the real rose that he saw back then?

Will the rose also have a gap, full of wires hidden in it?

Mizusawa rubbed his aching temples, and stopped his wild thoughts.

"The meal is ready, and the time for you to come back is just right, go and sit there." After hearing Quiller's explanation that Mizusawa lost his iron bracelet, the old lady who wanted to work with her younger brother for a few days looked at Mizusawa. It's almost heart-warming, "Poor child, you must be terrified, it's very bad without an iron bracelet."

"Fortunately, I met Grandpa Quiller."

"Quiller is such a kind person, and he hasn't changed for so many years." The old lady comforted, "Let's eat first, and I will take you to my brother after eating and resting for a while."

"Thank you very much." Mizusawa said sincerely, "When I earn money, I will definitely repay you."

The old lady came over with lunch: "Okay, don't think too much, when everyone is in trouble, don't have a psychological burden."

Mizusawa quickly took the bowl from the old lady's hand and put it on the dining table. At the same time, he also saw that the old lady's right hand was made of iron, which was twice as big as the palm of an ordinary person, and the five thick fingers were also somewhat inflexible.

Quiller glanced at Mizusawa's backpack several times. He felt a little regretful that Mizusawa didn't intend to exchange the bread.

Lunch is a bowl of thick soup and rice per person, the yellow one is a little sweet.

Mizusawa tastes a bit like sweet potatoes, but there should be other things mixed in, otherwise it wouldn't be so thick.

He was full after one bowl, and Quiller and his wife both drank two.

Mizusawa didn't expect that they looked skinny and had a bigger appetite than himself.

After eating, Mizusawa originally wanted to help wash the dishes, but suddenly felt drowsy and couldn't keep his eyelids open.

"Okay, go take a rest first, you can go to my brother's place in the afternoon after resting." The old lady persuaded, and at the same time she asked Quiller to take Mizusawa to rest.

Quiller took him to a bedroom without waiting for Mizusawa to refuse: "This is my son's room. He will come back less often after he gets married. You should sleep here first."

Mizusawa felt guilty for not being able to help: "I have caused trouble for you."

"It's okay, you're just too tired." Quiller pushed Mizusawa into the bedroom, "everything will be fine."

"Thank you." Mizusawa looked at the closed door, and he rejoiced that he could meet such a good couple.

Lying on the soft bed, Mizusawa felt that what he had experienced in the past two days was nothing.

Just think about it now.

Get a good night's sleep.

Well, everything will be fine.