Chapter 7 Tangled

The next morning, Amy woke up in the sound of birds singing. The sun came in from the small window beside the bed, and the whole room was dyed with a warm and beautiful light yellow. The fragrance of flowers and fresh earth lingered in her nose for a long time, and her spirit was immediately refreshed. The wooden attic was engraved with the passage of time. The places that had been painted turned into attractive red and black, all of which exuded an antique fragrance.

Everything was as beautiful as a dream. With a smile on her face, Amy closed her eyes and was about to enjoy a good time when something unpleasant suddenly appeared in her mind. The memory of last night flooded over, and every detail was clear. She even remembered that when she stepped on the "corpse" and climbed out of the deep ditch, she felt warm under her feet.

'Warm? How can the corpse be warm?' All of a sudden, Amy turned over and sat up. A bold idea came to her mind. 'Is he still alive? But how could a living person stay there? Or just passed out?'

"Fainted?" Amy exclaimed. 'Oh my god! If that man is still alive and I take him as a stepping stone, then he will be dead for sure!'

"Honey, are you awake? Come down and have breakfast. What time is it? " An amiable voice came from downstairs. As soon as Amy poked her head out of the window, she saw her grandma washing clothes on the slate beside the dam downstairs. Amy's grandma was wearing a floral dress that was very common in the countryside, and her grey and white short hair was covered properly with a hairpin, so that it wouldn't spread out and block her sight. She was sixty-eight years old. She was thinner and had a better back than last time Amy saw her! Seeing this, Amy couldn't help but feel sad.

"Amy, what are you doing? I'm calling you. If you don't come downstairs, I'll pour your breakfast to river! " Ellison came back from the outside carrying a bucket. He saw Amy has been upstairs window and didn't know what she was looking, then he asked her. "Amy, what are you looking at?"

"I'm coming. I'll be right downstairs!" Amy answered. She took out a suit of clothes from the wardrobe and put it on. Then she went downstairs in a hurry. Harry was a dog raised at home. He was over ten years old and very close to Amy. "I won't feed you. I'm hungry!" As soon as she finished speaking, she ran to the kitchen, picked up the leftover food and wolfed it down. Since Amy's mother left, her favorite food was the food cooked by her grandmother. Although her grandmother never cooked any delicate dishes, she felt warm from those ordinary home cooked dishes.

After finishing eating, Amy washed the bowls and chopsticks diligently and then took out the toothbrush. There were new toothbrushes and towels at home all year round, so that Amy wouldn't worry about these trifles of life when she came. And this was the silent love given by her grandparents.

"I asked you to brush your teeth before breakfast. Why didn't you listen to me?" Amy's grandma, May Luo, couldn't help but nag, with a smile on her wrinkled face all the time. With a flattering smile, Amy replied, "Grandma, you cook so delicious. I even forgot to brush my teeth!"

"What a sweet girl!" Smiling, May took the washed clothes out of the room to hang them. Amy wanted to help, but was driven away. "Go ahead. Don't get your clothes wet." Amy stuck out her tongue naughtily and then ran to her grandfather.

"Grandpa, are we going to eat fish this noon?" Seeing that Ellison was killing the fish, Amy asked.

"Yes, your grandmother said that you liked fish. I went to the fish pool to catch the fish this morning. It took me half a day to get such a carp. "

"Hasn't the fish pond expired yet?" Amy asked. She knew that her grandparents had booked a fish pool. It was not convenient to go shopping in the village, and she liked eating fish, so they bought a small fish pool. "Don't raise fish any more. It's not good to get into water at such an old age."

"Okay, I know!" Ellison answered while removing the fish scales. Apparently, he didn't take her words seriously. Sighing helplessly, Amy took out a rocking chair and basked in the sun in the courtyard dam. It was not the first time that she had said something to persuade grandpa not to jump into the pond, but grandpa always promised her and secretly repeated the contract again and again. Amy's mother left five years ago. Since then, her grandparents had returned to this small village and rented a fish pool. The contract had a deadline of two years, but now five years had passed, and the fish pool was still reserved at home. Amy knew that her grandfather had several more appointments.

"Amy, why did you arrive so late yesterday? You even fell into a ditch. " After hanging up the clothes, May went to clean the floor. At the same time, she talked with Amy about their daily lives. Why was it so late? Amy couldn't tell the truth that she came here secretly, which would break grandpa and grandma's hearts. As for falling into the ditch... Was she going to answer that she was scared? After her reflection, she was sure that she had overturned the possibility that it was a snake. The snake saw the man and could not lie there honestly. Unless it was a dead snake.

"I came here on a whim and didn't notice the time at all." Amy answered perfunctorily with her eyes closed. She felt guilty and didn't dare to look at May.

"Then why did you fall into the ditch?" May continued to ask. She still had a lingering fear when she thought of it. If Richard, who lived next door, hadn't come to ask them if they had heard someone calling for help, they wouldn't have known how long the child would stay in the ditch.

"I rolled down by accident." Amy answered casually, but her thoughts had been focused on the "corpse" in the deep ditch.

Was that really a corpse? But the corpse should be cold. If it was not a corpse and that person was still alive, then she didn't save that person. 'It's not against the law not to save him, right?' Amy swallowed and shook her head hard to get rid of the thoughts in her mind. 'Maybe he just died, so it was warm.'

"Grandpa, do animals only get cold after they die?" Amy asked tentatively. She was afraid that her grandfather would see through her. Fortunately, Ellison had been focusing on cleaning up the fish and had no doubt.

"Well... Maybe. But look at the fish! " As he spoke, he waved the washed fish in his hand. "I haven't seen it warm when it was alive, ha ha!"

Hearing Ellison's answer, Amy was speechless. Was there any difference between saying it and not saying it? "Then... Is it illegal not to save a person? " Amy continued to ask. This time, she chose a roundabout policy. It was none of her business. She didn't want to get into trouble.

"I don't think so! However, even if it was not against the law not to save others, a man would be condemned by his conscience. Sometimes, the suffering of conscience is worse than going to jail! " Ellison replied with a meaningful look. At this moment, Amy was really scared. She didn't want a stranger to come into her dream in the next few decades. His hair was messy and his face was pale. He stretched out his hand and asked why she didn't save him. And on him, there might be Amy's footprints.

"Grandpa!" All of a sudden, Amy stood up and rushed to Ellison. "There was a corpse in the ditch yesterday."

"Corpse?" Ellison raised his head in astonishment and then lowered it again. "What corpse?" If it was the corpse of a bird, then there was nothing to be surprised about.

"It's a man!" Without waiting for Ellison's response, Amy turned around and ran into the mountain. If that person was dead, she would call the police. If he was not dead, she would be merciful to save his life. Anyway, she would not let him die under her watch. She did not want to regret for the rest of her life.

'If you died yesterday, it's none of my business. If you are still alive when I see you, please hold on for a little longer!' While running, Amy prayed in silence. Seeing that Amy reacted so violently, Ellison knew that the situation was serious. After giving his wife a few simple words, he rushed to chase after Amy.