Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Officer Dong, I’d also like to ask you about what happened back then. Of course, if there’s anything you can’t talk about, feel free to refuse.”

He smiled and lit a cigarette. Only after it was lit did he seem to remember something.

“Is it okay to smoke in your house?”

“It’s fine.”

“Alright then. What do you want to know?”

“I want to ask about the explosion at the mine back then-the one that killed my father.”

He looked around for a place to flick his ash. I don’t smoke, and neither does my mother, so naturally, there wasn’t an ashtray in the house.

Helplessly, he opened the takeout container again to use as a makeshift ashtray.

“We did review the case files from back then, but there probably isn’t much I can tell you. Go ahead and ask; I’ll tell you what I can.”

After saying this, he nudged Xiao Li, who sat beside him.

Xiao Li naturally began taking notes.

“I want to know if my mother actually went to the coal mine on the day of the explosion.”

Officer Dong didn’t answer my question. Instead, he countered with one of his own.

“How about this: first, tell me how much you remember about that disaster, and then I’ll answer your question.”

I remembered that day very clearly.

It was summer-a very hot summer. The morning sun had been scorching.

Just after lunch, dark clouds gathered. The heavy rain that had been held back for half the day was finally about to arrive.

And by the look of it, it was coming fast.

The dark clouds felt like they were right above my head, as if I could reach out and touch them.

Around three in the afternoon, my mother told me she was going to bring my father his meal.

She said that once the heavy rain started, the coal mine would definitely be incredibly busy, and he probably wouldn’t be able to eat tonight.

But she had just gone to bring him food the day before.

She had been stopped by the gatekeeper at the coal mine, and the food in the silver-white aluminum lunch box had been stone-cold by the time she brought it back.

“Mom, don’t go. The gatekeeper won’t let you in.”

“Then I at least have to bring your father a raincoat, otherwise he’ll catch a cold in the rain.”

I thought that made sense. Even if the gatekeeper didn’t let women in, there shouldn’t be a problem leaving the raincoat at the guardhouse for my father to pick up when he finished his shift.

After saying that, my mother left. It felt like she was in a great hurry.

It was as if she were destined to know exactly what was going to happen that day.

After she left, I lay on the bed alone, playing with the Rubik’s Cube my father had just bought for me from the city.

He said playing with it would improve my finger dexterity.

“How do you play this?”

“Scramble the order, then just twist the same colors back to the same side.”

By 8:00 PM, my mother still hadn’t returned, and the rain hadn’t started yet.

Suddenly, there was a massive boom from outside that made me jump.

I had never heard thunder that loud before. I even thought to myself: *Good, the rain is finally coming. It won’t be this hot for the next few days.*

The thunder had roared, but there was no sound of rain.

It grew noisier and noisier outside the courtyard. Many adults were shouting something, followed by the sound of chaotic footsteps.

I leaned on my crutches and went out the door. Figures in groups of two or three ran past our courtyard gate, all heading in the same direction.

The light from their flashlights made me dizzy.

I stopped a neighbor.

“Uncle Ge, what’s happening?”

“An explosion! There’s been an explosion at the coal mine! Xiao Geng, hurry back inside and don’t run around. I have to go help save people!”

*Crack!*

A bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating the distant flames. It looked like the end of the world.

Then, the rain came pouring down.

Leaning on my crutches, I walked toward the coal mine, one step at a time.

I lost count of how many times I fell.