It’s very quiet here… in the depths of the small island forest.
The old Captain suddenly felt a little grateful. If he wanted to do this kind of physical work a day before, he would probably not last a few minutes before he fell ill.
But his physical strength was very good now, really good.
After tearing off the vines, Mu Enli began to use the branches picked up on the road to dig out the dirt at the place under the soil slope, and soon there was a hole for people to enter.
After about ten meters, it suddenly became a little bit open and brighter, but it had reached the end.
Some simple wood could be seen here, nailed into a simple frame with iron nails to support the soil above.
Mu Enli silently came to the center of the frame and sat down in silence. He took a white candle out of his handbag and a pack of cigarettes from his clothes.
The lighter lit the cigarette first, and the old Captain inhaled it like a blower before lighting the candle. The smoke from the candle burning and the smoke from the cigarette entangled together, making the place a little hazy.
The old Captain smiled slightly at this time, his eyes drooping, showing a hint of tenderness. He looked a little bit in front of the place where he was sitting – a few small stones towered around a larger one.
This was an extremely crude tomb.
The old Captain smiled again. This time, he took out his steel hip flask, opened the lid, poured out some in front of the rocks, and took a sip by himself, “The doctor said I couldn’t drink it, but it’s okay for today.”
He just tasted the wine in the flask quietly, like an old alcoholic. But what’s in it here wasn’t actually any expensive wine, it was just a cheap kind that could be easily bought anywhere.
When Mu Enli was accustomed to something, he usually wouldn’t change much. For example, the pack of cigarettes he carried was previously sold for only five cents a pack. Currently, it was sold for five yuan a pack, but he had been smoking it for decades.
With that said, he took out some joss paper from the black handbag, grabbed a small handful and lit it with candles, and scattered them in front of the tombstone.
The old Captain shook his head, “Actually, I thought about it. After retiring, I would come to this small island quietly and live in a wooden house outside. For how long? Maybe when there is a storm on the sea, or maybe when the sun is shining and it feels like the time is almost up, I would come here and lie down. However, time is not waiting for me.”
A long long time later.
The smoke ran out, the wine finished, and all the joss paper he brought with him turned into gray embers.
The candle has already been half burned.
The old Captain put it in his handbag and looked at the tombstone in a daze, his eyes changed from tenderness to relief.
“It’s great to be able to catch your death anniversary on the last voyage.”
He picked up the bag and blew out the candles.
In fact, there were still a lot of candles here. Some were almost burnt out; some only had a small part left; some still had half a stick; some had less than a third of the candle left.
…
Pushing away the branches blocking the front, the golden and flat sandy beach was in front of him. The old Captain reached out to block the sunlight above his head and walked out.
He could still see some tourists frolicking on the beach, but there were fewer people, some had probably already returned.
The beautiful girl was sitting on the sand with her head down. She was holding a bunch of small shells that were almost stringed in her hand, and there were still some beside her.
The boy was beside her, looking sideways.
The old Captain smiled and said, “Like us who have dealt with the sea for a lifetime, we can always recognize several kinds. However, this is the first time I have seen such a small one. You can pick the Lyncina broderipii up accidentally. Your luck must be really good.”
“Thank you.” You Ye smiled and nodded, then lowered her head and started to concentrate on the next knitting.
The old Captain looked at Luo Qiu and said, “Have you been to the cliff over there to take pictures?”
“Captain, have you finished what you have to do?” asked Luo Qiu softly.
Mu Enli was startled. He wanted to speak, but he was puzzled.
Luo Qiu said, “It’s nothing. I just feel that you walked into this desolate little forest probably because you wanted to do something.”
“That’s true, normal people won’t go in either.”
The shells were strung into necklaces by the handy maid. Who knows if anyone could also string the old Captain’s footprints?
But when the tide was high, the sea would wash up and probably make it disappear.
“Master, I’m done stringing it.”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
…
In full view, a man with a straw hat and flip-flops suddenly broke into the center of their stage, and then grabbed an actress. To be more precise, the man just held the shoulders of the actress, and hid behind her.
Of course, the actress yelled and panicked… Because other than the appearance of this man, five crew members on the ship rushed in on the stage.
