OBS Chapter 2954: Regretful Ending and Black Invitation
Chapter 2954: Regretful Ending and Black Invitation
Chapter 2954: Regretful Ending and Black Invitation
"Anyway, now that you've finally found her, what will you do next?"
Xia De then asked, the old man didn't look at Xia De, but looked at the teacup on the counter in front of him:
"What can I do? I've waited too long. It's really too long. Sometimes I wonder if I'm waiting to meet her again, or if I just want to find answers to my own questions."
"Has time diluted your feelings for her?"
"No, I still remember the excitement I felt when I was looking at the stars on the haystack at the entrance of the village that summer, but I missed it after all, didn't I? Although I was young when she was young, we were born in different eras; after I came to this era, she was still young, but I was already old."
The old man poured himself another cup of tea, sighed and made up his mind:
"I've made up my mind. I want to leave this bookstore to her. Even though I missed her in this life, at least I left her a gift. It doesn't mean my trip was in vain. I won't see her again. If she calls me Grandpa Berkeley, I'm afraid I will faint immediately."
Xia De actually wanted to say, "Is it possible that she likes books because she got a bookstore for free?", but this is obviously not the right thing to say now:
"I admire you very much. Traveling through time just to find the love of your youth is a romantic plot that is not even found in the stories of knight novels."
“But it was missed after all.”
He continued to sigh, but added:
"But fortunately, we met after all. In recent years, I have clearly felt that my health has gradually deteriorated. I have also worried in my dreams at midnight that I will never meet her again until I die. Please rest assured that I will not disturb her life. My love story has ended, but her love story has not yet begun."
"How old was she when you met her?"
"Sixteen. I was seventeen that year."
Xia De calculated. Just now, Ajelina said that the girl was fourteen years old now, but she looked rather thin due to long-term malnutrition. In other words, the world would not be destroyed for at least two years, and there would still be normal people.
But this still requires calculating the girl's date of birth and estimating the date when she traveled through time. If she traveled through time on the first day after turning sixteen, and today is the last day of her fourteenth year, there is actually not much time left.
The old man's body no longer allowed him to drink alcohol, so he just drank cup after cup of tea and told Xia De stories about his past.
Although the ending of the story is a regret of missed opportunity and a joke of time, Shad thinks it is definitely a good story compared to other stories about time travel.
The Cumming family's time travel created a distorted family ethical relationship, Bronte's time travel turned her into a monster in order to achieve immortality, Director Goethe's time travel was a story about demons and greed, and even the story of Jindel and the dragon did not have a happy ending.
Only the story of the old store manager, though simple, is pure. To use Dorothy's words, this embodies the best of human nature, although it is indeed a pity.
The letter sent by the girl was not actually blank. It contained a photo that Dorothy had "printed". Shad wanted to leave it to the old man as a souvenir, but he didn't want it:
"I have this, this is mine."
He shook the pocket watch in his hand at Xia De, and he was obviously referring to the girl in the pocket watch whom he met when he was sixteen years old.
The old man could also see that what Xia De cared about was time travel, so when sharing his story, he also told Xia De in detail about his own magical experience.
After he came to this era, he no longer remembered how he had participated in the secret meeting, what reward he gave in exchange for this opportunity, and he even didn't remember who he had traded with.
He only remembered that the other party said that he should not do anything that would attract a lot of attention in his future life, and it would be best not to kill or be killed. In short, living quietly in a corner, waiting for fate to favor him or dying alone, would ensure that this opportunity was not wasted, otherwise the journey might end early.
The old man lived according to his memory until a young man from the north came to visit him.
But Shade still didn't understand. Time in the material world was highly self-correcting, so it was possible that the old man had avoided the creation of "paradox worms" for thirty years by doing this - the probability was actually very small, but in any case it should not be undetectable by the "Beacon Acorn".
Therefore, the power of the so-called "assembly" should not be as simple as sending people through time. Moreover, Xia De did not think that this old man was the only one who made a deal:
“So besides the family that owns the tree hole, there are also people who help others cross over.”
The old man also told Xia De how to use this invitation letter:
"It only works on Saturday, which is tonight. You find a dark enough intersection in the city and open the invitation. The invitation will then guide you to your destination."
He handed the black envelope to Shade, which had been kept by the old man for more than 30 years, but had not faded at all. As soon as Shade touched it, he felt the presence of four elements: miracle, blasphemy, enlightenment, and whisper.
"Come to think of it, have you ever considered going back?"
When Xia De received the invitation letter, he asked:
"I'm not talking about considering going back during the years of waiting, but are you considering going back now? You have fulfilled your wish, have you ever considered returning to your 'homeland' for burial?"
The old man smiled, looked at the shop he had run for many years, and explained to the young man:
"Sometimes I can't figure out what era I belong to. Since she is in this era, I might as well stay. Besides, I'm too old to adapt to an era without city-wide heating. If you ask me, the greatest thing about this era is city-wide heating."
Xia De nodded at him, then left with the invitation.
[Maybe he will go find that girl again, or maybe he will commit suicide in his own bookstore the next day.]
"She" whispered in his ear when the bell at the store door rang, but Xia De did not turn around:
"You know, it's hard for me to judge this story."
[Because there is no villain in this story that you need to take action against? ]
"No, no, the guy who sent people to another time and space is obviously not doing good things, he is a bad guy. Just like what I said just now, the stories about time travel that I ended in Vista City always ended in tragedy. There is always a dangerous enemy that needs to be defeated because of time travel, even the story of Long and Jindel.
But this time the story
He came to the street and looked up at the cloudy sky:
"After all, this story is so regrettable."
Xia De plans to arrange someone to remotely monitor this second-hand bookstore later, but this is not the most important thing at the moment.
He returned to the Accordion Hotel with a melancholy mood, and told the story to Miss Danister and Flora, who happened to be both at home today.
It was just like when everyone first arrived in Vista City, petting the cat and telling a bizarre story, and then everyone expressed their opinions about it. Flora and the red-haired girl were very moved by it anyway.
"It's a story about missed opportunities. Stories of regret and tragedy are always more touching. Although Dorothy said she didn't like the tragic ending, I think this story is still very good."
These are the words of Flora, who has been communicating a lot with Dorothy recently, while the red-haired girl looks at Shade with a somewhat stern look:
"When one person is born, the other is not yet born; when one person goes to look for the other, one of them will also be dead. Even if you try hard to pursue, you still can't get it in the end. You can only wait for the end with regret. Xia De, although I have always believed in your honesty, but isn't this story really about you and the teacher?"
"Cough cough!"
Flora, who was holding the teacup, was choked. She wanted to ask Danister why she thought so, but after thinking about it carefully, she found that what Danister said seemed to make sense:
"Yeah, this story is really similar to the story of Shade and that lady Helena Carter."
"Flora, even though everyone realizes this, you don't have to say this."
Shade reminded, bringing the story to a close:
"If you miss it, you miss it. There's nothing you can do about it. I admire Mr. Berkeley from the used bookstore for traveling through time just to see his lover again, but I know it's wrong to travel through time for personal reasons."
The red-haired girl nodded:
"But the gains from this trip are really extraordinary. There actually is a being in Vista City that can help people travel through time. But this sounds familiar. I'll take the price and fulfill my wish. Could it be the ancient evil spirit again this time?"
"Probably not."
After all, if there were still demons in the area, the doctor would have sensed them before leaving:
"I think it should be related to the tree. Flora was right when we had lunch. Now is the peak period of local time instability. There shouldn't be only a few time travelers.
Furthermore, the hermits in the forest also said that the number of insects sealed in the Vesta Forest is in the tens of thousands. If a time traveler only appears every few decades, how long will it take for so many insects to accumulate?"
Shad said:
"Today is Saturday. I will go to the secret meeting tonight and take a look. I have a feeling that when I come back, most of our doubts will be answered."
"Do you need someone to go with you?"
Flora asked expectantly, feeling that if Shade wanted to find someone to go with him, she would definitely be the one chosen.
"I can go by myself, and I don't think I'll go far. It's interesting that the invitation is only valid on Saturday."