A Young Woman's Heart

"...The dead are our fathers and mothers." Mo Xiaoxiao spoke each word almost individually, but she managed to finish the sentence calmly.

Mo Zhuyou, standing to the side, swallowed hard. Her face showed no sadness; perhaps all that had happened so suddenly could only seem absurd to her for the time being.

"This……"

Are you witnesses?

"Yes."

"Old Yang! These two are eyewitnesses, and they are family members of the deceased!" The firefighter immediately shouted towards the police car.

"what?"

A man wearing a police hat rushed over immediately, but upon seeing the two little girls who were probably only in junior high school, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

"This was...an accident." He finally managed to utter these words.

"Hmm." Mo Zhuyou finally came to her senses and nodded gently.

She felt a little uneasy, unsure of what the future held.

Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?

The older sister gently shook her head: "My younger sister was there at the time...she should know what happened."

"A car, crashed into us... um, it was a tanker truck." Mo Zhuyou recalled what had just happened. She didn't know if she hadn't seen clearly, or if her mind had automatically processed that bloody scene, but in her memory, she only remembered a sea of ​​red and everything that happened so suddenly, and the tanker truck that finally crushed the car. "It crashed into us, and then, crushed the car. My parents were inside..."

"They're all inside?"

"Mom... should be in front of the trunk."

“Okay…” The officer pulled down his hat brim, paused, “Do you know any other relatives?”

"Yes." Mo Xiaoxiao nodded affirmatively.

Do you know the number?

"There's a phone number book left by my mother at home."

"Would it be convenient to inform one of your close adult relatives to come over?"

"Close to each other?" Mo Zhuyou tilted her head in confusion.

Mo Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll go get the phone book now."

"Okay, uh..." He paused, hesitated, and ultimately said nothing.

That day, the older sister was almost always the one doing all the work, while the younger sister followed behind her, occasionally adding a word or two.

It wasn't until more and more adults arrived that they no longer needed to handle this matter.

Many adults came to their home, and at night, the two sisters sat on the sofa watching them argue.

They would occasionally turn their heads to glance at the two of them, their naked gazes like those of wild beasts ready to devour their prey.

A group of wild animals are arguing, seemingly discussing how to divide up the home of two little lambs...

……

Chapter Ten: After that day, only my sister remained to lean on (Part Two)

The autumn sky was so clear that the sunlight fell without a speck of dust.

There was no dust, and the sunlight was a bit dazzling, yet it bathed me in pure warmth.

"Youyou is still asleep?" The father, who had been driving for a long time, picked up the thermos cup next to him, took a sip with a slightly tired look, and brushed the tea leaves stuck to the corner of his mouth out the window.

"Okay, no rush to wake her up." The mother nodded gently and dialed the home phone.

In that spacious home, the landline phone in the living room rang for quite a while before being answered by a small, wet hand.

"Hello? Mom?"

"Xiaoxiao, have you been lonely at home these past few days?"

"It's alright."

"Could you come down and help me get these things? The car is parked right next to the road outside the residential area."

"Oh, Mom, wait a minute, I'm still taking a shower. I'll come downstairs after I'm done."

"Okay, no rush."

Mo Xiaoxiao, who was about to fall asleep, suddenly twitched and then woke up with a start.

Above me was an unfamiliar ceiling, paler than moonlight.

Tomorrow is the day of their parents' burial. The two girls have been arranged by their uncle to stay in the same hotel as other relatives and friends who are also going to see them off.

Perhaps because it's far from the city, tonight seems much colder than the previous few days.

Half-asleep, the younger sister hugged her older sister and placed one leg on her lower abdomen.

The younger sister was still murmuring in her sleep, "I brought a present for my older sister... Remember to buy a cake..."

Perhaps for her, the world in her dreams is reality, while the real world feels like a dream.

"Sister...aren't you asleep yet...?" Perhaps she was woken up by the urge to urinate, or perhaps she was startled awake, Mo Zhuyou opened her eyes from her dream and asked indistinctly, leaning on Mo Xiaoxiao's shoulder.

"Um……"

“I already said it wasn’t your fault, it’s not your fault… how could I blame you?” The younger sister pressed her thigh tightly against her older sister’s, then reached out and patted her head. “It was that car that was bad…”

"But if I hadn't been showering, or if I had come out earlier, I wouldn't have... at least I could have avoided it..."

"That's not necessarily true. It might take more than ten minutes to get the things down."

Mo Xiaoxiao bit her lip and remained silent.

The moonlight and air seemed to freeze together, carrying an inexplicable chill.

After a long while, the older sister finally spoke weakly and worriedly, "...We might...have no home anymore."

"It's okay, home is wherever my sister is."

"But...where will the money come from...? How about I go get a job, Youyou, you can continue your studies..."

"No, I want to be with my sister. We can either work together or study together, or we can work while studying! Okay, okay, let's go to sleep..."

The older sister gave a bitter laugh, feeling as if the weight of life was pressing down on her, making it impossible for her to close her eyes in peace.

What can two children who have just started junior high school change?

They could only watch helplessly as the adults ruthlessly divided up their broken home.

They always have all sorts of high-sounding reasons, and they can even take the proper legal route.

The only thing they don't need to worry about is that they won't have to pay for the tuition for the next three years—but compared to what they've gained, it's just a negligible expense.

Mo Xiaoxiao finally fell asleep just before dawn, but was soon awakened by the alarm clock.

The sky outside was still quite dark.

4:30 a.m.

There was a knock on the door.

A kind-looking woman stood at the door. She was a distant relative of Mo Xiaoxiao. Judging from her clothes, her family was quite ordinary, even somewhat poor.

However, she has been the one taking care of them the most these past few days.

"Hello, Auntie..."

"Did you sleep well yesterday?" She smiled and sighed, gently touching Mo Xiaoxiao's cheek. "You have dark circles under your eyes. Good health is very important..."

"...I tried to sleep, but..."

"Sigh, I know, I know. Let's go wash up, it's time to go down for dinner."

"Sister, smile." Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, Mo Zhuyou gently nudged Mo Xiaoxiao's arm.

She forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace, then sniffed hard, feeling a stinging sensation in her eyes, as if she could barely keep them open.

After the meal, the two of them were surrounded by a group of relatives they didn't know very well and walked at the front.

The two coffins actually contained only ashes and some clothes that he usually wore.

The pickup truck carrying the two coffins drove slowly forward.

The relatives and friends behind him all wore sad expressions.

However, some people will still unconsciously reveal a slight smile.

In any case, appearances had to be maintained, so the two sisters' parents were buried in the most expensive cemetery in Hangzhou at the time.

The cedar trees standing tall in the cemetery exude a sense of desolation and bleakness.

Mo Zhuyou stood nearby, staring blankly as the two coffins were lowered into the grave, the soil beside them being pushed into the pit with a 'whoosh' of a shovel...

The magnificent tombstone bore their names, followed by the names of other relatives who came to pay their respects.

The younger sister's lips trembled slightly, and she gently lowered her head.

Hot tears dripped from the corners of her eyes, but were quickly stopped.

"Go ahead and cry, it's okay," someone nearby said.

"Yes, the more you cry, the happier your parents will be..."

Some people also egged them on.

"I won't cry." Mo Zhuyou firmly wiped her face. "They definitely wouldn't want to see me like this."

“Yes, there’s no need to cry.” Aunt gently stroked her long hair. “Life goes on, your lives have just begun… Don’t be sad, the road ahead is long, you will definitely live longer than… them.”

However, when she said this, her aunt gave a cold look and glanced at the others behind her, especially the uncles and elder brothers who were closest to the two sisters by blood.

All good things come to an end.

Everything that needed to be done has been done, and everyone has their own life to live, so it's impossible to stay by their side.

As an ordinary person at the bottom of society, my aunt also needs to be busy making a living.

She only had time to find a place for them and pay three months' rent before leaving in a hurry—she still had to take a two- or three-day train ride to get home.