146: Chapter 146 Lin Feng Leaves

Lin Feng had been squatting for too long and his legs were numb. He stood up and took a couple of steps under the Old Locust Tree. Margaret came out carrying a plate and froze for a moment when she saw him standing. "Why did you stand up?" Lin Feng said, "My legs are numb." Margaret set the plate on the ground. "Walking a bit will fix it." Lin Feng took two steps and then squatted down again. Margaret looked at him. "Why not walk a few more steps?" Lin Feng shook his head. "Walking too much is tiring." Margaret laughed. "Isn't squatting tiring?" Lin Feng thought about it. "Squatting is tiring, but I'm used to it. Standing isn't tiring, but I'm not used to it." Margaret didn't understand, but she didn't ask further.

That afternoon, Lin Feng didn't go to the wall or the door. He walked a stretch along the main street, from the Old Locust Tree to the Coffee Shop, and then back from the Coffee Shop. He walked very slowly, looking at his feet with every step. People on the road greeted him; he nodded but didn't stop. The cat jumped out of the tree pit and followed behind him, stopping every few steps to sniff the flowers by the roadside before continuing. Lin Feng reached the entrance of the Coffee Shop, stopped, and squatted down. The cat squatted too. Molly poked her head out from the shop. "Lin Feng? Why did you walk over here?" Lin Feng said, "My legs are numb." Molly laughed. "Want to come in for a cup of coffee?" Lin Feng shook his head. "Squatting is fine." He squatted at the entrance, watching the people on the street. Chen Xiaoyuan came out with a cup of water and handed it to him. He took it, had a sip, and placed the cup on the ground. The cat approached, licked the rim of the cup, and then pulled back. Chen Xiaoyuan laughed. "It's thirsty too." Lin Feng said, "If it's thirsty, it'll go drink milk." The cat didn't answer, but it stood up, walked to the Coffee Shop entrance, and squatted on the steps, staring at the milk saucer inside the shop. Molly brought out a saucer of milk and placed it before the cat. It lowered its head to drink; when it was finished, it licked its mouth, rubbed against Molly's leg, and then walked back to squat beside Lin Feng. Lin Feng looked at it. "You're busier than I am." The cat didn't answer; it batted at a fallen leaf on the ground with its paw. The leaf flipped over, revealing the fuzz on its underside. It batted it again, and the leaf drifted up, landing on Lin Feng's shoe. Lin Feng looked down at the leaf, picked it up, and placed it in his palm. The leaf was yellow with curled edges, and its veins were still clear. He placed the leaf on the cat's head; the cat shook its head, the leaf fell, and it batted it again, sending the leaf drifting to the roadside. The cat stood up and chased after the leaf.

Lin Feng squatted at the Coffee Shop entrance, watching the cat's silhouette. It ran very fast, chasing the fallen leaf as it darted through the alley, its tail held straight up like a moving flagpole. Chen Xiaoyuan said, "It's very happy today." Lin Feng said, "It's happy every day." Chen Xiaoyuan asked, "How do you know?" Lin Feng said, "It has a full belly, a warm place to sleep, company, and leaves to chase. It would be strange if it weren't happy." Chen Xiaoyuan laughed. "What about you? Are you happy?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "I'm happy." Chen Xiaoyuan asked, "Why?" Lin Feng pointed at the Coffee Shop, pointed at the church, and pointed at the farm. "As long as you all are here, I'm happy." Chen Xiaoyuan was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "You talk like an old man." Lin Feng said, "Squatting for a long time makes one like an old man."

In the evening, Lin Feng walked back to the Old Locust Tree. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and squatted beside him. "You walked quite a bit today." Lin Feng said, "I went for two rounds." Margaret placed the plate on the ground. "Are your legs still numb?" Lin Feng moved his ankles. "Not anymore." Margaret looked at him. "Then will you walk tomorrow too?" Lin Feng thought about it. "Yes. I'll go for one round." Margaret asked, "Where to?" Lin Feng pointed toward the church. "To see the wall." Margaret asked, "And after that?" Lin Feng pointed toward the door. "To see the door." Margaret asked, "And after that?" Lin Feng pointed toward the farm. "To see the mushrooms." Margaret laughed. "And after seeing them all, you'll come back and squat." Lin Feng nodded. "Mm."

The next morning, Lin Feng really did go. He first went to the church, pushed open the door, and walked to that wall. There were a few more letters on the wall—new, white, with crooked handwriting. He squatted down and looked at the new letters. One read: 'My name is Xiaoyuan. My mom found me. Thank you to that tree.' One read: 'My name is Lin Fang. I came from California. Thank you for that note.' One read: 'My name is Old Zhou. I'm the mailman. Thank you for that old car.' Lin Feng looked at Old Zhou's letter and smiled. He stood up and walked to the small door; he didn't open it, but merely touched the door handle. It was cold and smooth. He turned and left.

Walking out of the church, he went to the farm. George was slicing rainbow mushrooms; seeing him enter, George sliced a piece and handed it to him. He took it and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he remembered the day he first walked into this farm. George had been squatting in front of the shelves, holding a white mushroom in his hands, saying its name was 'Listen'. Later it turned into a rainbow color, and eating it would make one remember happy things. He swallowed and opened his eyes. "It's still sweet." George sliced another piece and handed it to him. "Have another." Lin Feng took it but didn't eat it, putting it in his pocket instead. He walked over to that rainbow mushroom, squatted down, and looked at it. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—ring after ring. He reached out and gently touched the cap; it was cool and soft. He stood up and patted his pants. "I'm leaving." George didn't even look up. "Going where?" Lin Feng said, "Back to the Old Locust Tree." George laughed. "Where else could you go?"

Lin Feng walked back to the Old Locust Tree, and Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and squatted beside him. "Finished looking?" Lin Feng nodded. "Finished." Margaret set the plate on the ground. "Is anything different?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "There are more letters on the wall. The door didn't open. The mushrooms are still there." Margaret looked at him. "What about you? Have you changed?" Lin Feng looked down at his hands. They were still the same hands, with dirt under the nails from touching the mushrooms this morning. He rubbed them, and the dirt fell off. "No change. Still squatting." Margaret laughed. "That's good."

In the afternoon, Old Zhou came to deliver the mail. He parked his car under the Old Locust Tree, fished a letter out of his bag, and handed it to Lin Feng. "Yours." Lin Feng took it; the envelope said 'For Lin Feng' in crooked handwriting. He opened it; inside was only a single sheet of paper with one line of text: 'Thank you for squatting. — Xinfeng Town.' Lin Feng looked at that line for a long time. He folded the letter and put it in his pocket. Old Zhou looked at him. "Who wrote it?" Lin Feng said, "Xinfeng Town." Old Zhou was stunned. "Who is Xinfeng Town?" Lin Feng pointed at the church, pointed at the door, pointed at the tree, pointed at the Coffee Shop, and pointed at the cat. "Them." Old Zhou laughed. "They wrote to you, so keep it." Lin Feng nodded. "I'll keep it."

At night, Lin Feng sat on the steps of the restaurant entrance. Not squatting, but sitting. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and froze for a moment when she saw him sitting. "Why are you sitting?" Lin Feng said, "My legs are numb." Margaret placed the plate beside him. "From walking too much?" Lin Feng shook his head. "From squatting too much." Margaret sat down beside him. The two of them sat watching the sky. Stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday. The cat crawled out of the tree pit, walked to their feet, squatted down, and tilted its head to look at the stars. It looked for a long time, then closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and started purring. Margaret looked at the cat. "It's tired too." Lin Feng said, "It chased fallen leaves all day." Margaret laughed. "Then what did you chase?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "I didn't chase anything. I just looked." Margaret asked, "What did you see?" Lin Feng said, "I saw them. They were growing mushrooms, playing guitar, recording, brewing coffee, delivering mail, digging holes, and chasing leaves. They were all moving. I squatted and watched." Margaret looked at him. "Aren't you envious?" Lin Feng shook his head. "No. They move, and I watch. Because I watch, they know someone is watching. Because someone is watching, they move with more energy." Margaret laughed. "You're just making excuses for yourself." Lin Feng said, "It's not an excuse. It's the truth."

The wind blew from the direction of the tree canopy, carrying the aroma from the Coffee Shop, the rustling of letter paper from the church, and the fresh sweetness of mushrooms from the farm. Lin Feng closed his eyes and inhaled. He opened his eyes, stood up, and patted his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret stood up too. "Will you walk tomorrow too?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Yes. I'll go for one round." Margaret asked, "Where to?" Lin Feng pointed at the large tree. "To look at the pit." Margaret laughed. "What's so good about a pit?" Lin Feng said, "The cat is in there." Margaret was stunned. "What's the cat doing in there?" Lin Feng said, "Sleeping." Margaret laughed. "So you're going to watch the cat sleep?" Lin Feng nodded. "Mm." He turned and walked into the restaurant, and Margaret followed behind him. The door closed, and the lights went out. The cat crawled out of the tree pit, stretched, jumped onto the steps, curled up at the door, and closed its eyes. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the cat's shadow on the ground—small and round, like a ball of yarn. The wind blew, and the shadow swayed, but it did not scatter.

[Chapter 146 End]