152: Chapter 152 Lin Feng's Reply

Lin Feng squatted in front of the church wall for the whole morning. He wasn't reading the letters, but looking at those addressed to "Xinfeng Town" and "Lin Feng".

He hadn't looked at them before, feeling that the letters were meant for others to read, not for him.

But today he did, because a letter fell from the wall and landed at his feet.

He picked it up; the envelope was addressed to "Xinfeng Town", with no signature.

He opened it, and inside was just a single sheet of paper with one line of text: "Thank you for helping me find my mom."

The handwriting was crooked, like a child who had just learned to write.

Lin Feng stared at it for a long time, then folded the letter and put it in his pocket.

He stood up, walked to the steps at the church entrance, squatted down, and pulled a pen and a sheet of paper from his pocket—the pen was Sam's, and the paper was Molly's, which he had borrowed that morning.

He leaned over his knees and began to write a reply.

He wrote very slowly, thinking for a long time over every single word.

"Child, you found your mom. She is well. She is drinking coffee under the tree. You don't need to thank me. Thank the tree. Thank the cat. Thank yourself."

He finished writing, folded the letter, put it into an envelope, and wrote "To that child in Xinfeng Town" on the envelope.

He stood up and stuck the letter on the wall, right where the original one had been.

The cat ran over from the tree pit, squatted beside him, and looked up at him.

Lin Feng looked down at the cat. "Are you writing a letter too?"

The cat didn't answer, but it batted at the letter on the wall with its paw, causing the paper to sway and the corners to curl up.

Lin Feng smoothed the paper out, but the cat batted at it again, and it curled up once more.

It seemed to be asking: Is it written well? Lin Feng said, "I don't know. But it's written."

The cat squatted down, closed its eyes, and its tail tip swayed gently.

Margaret came over carrying mushrooms and squatted beside him. "What are you doing?"

Lin Feng said, "Replying to a letter." Margaret looked at the newly posted letter on the wall. "Who is it for?"

Lin Feng said, "For the child who found their mom." Margaret paused for a moment. "Do you know them?"

Lin Feng shook his head. "I don't." Margaret asked, "Then how do you reply?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment. "They didn't know what to write, so they wrote that sentence. I didn't know what to reply, so I replied with that sentence."

Margaret looked at the letter. "What did you reply with?"

Lin Feng said, "Thank the tree. Thank the cat. Thank yourself." Margaret smiled. "They will see it." Lin Feng nodded. "Yeah."

In the afternoon, Lin Feng went to the church again. There was another letter on the wall, addressed to "Lin Feng".

He opened it, and inside was just a single sheet of paper with one line of text: "Lin Feng, your blue cloth looks very nice. The cat likes it very much. Thank you." There was no signature.

Lin Feng stared at it for a long time, then took out his pen and paper and began to write a reply.

"As long as the cat likes it, that's good. You don't need to thank me. Thank the cat. Thank the cloth."

He finished writing, stuck the letter on the wall, and placed it next to the original letter.

The cat ran over again, squatted beside him, and batted at the new letter with its paw, causing the paper to sway and the corners to curl up.

Lin Feng smoothed the paper out, but the cat batted at it again. It seemed to be saying: Your reply is too short.

Lin Feng said, "Short is good. If it's too long, they won't finish reading it."

The cat didn't answer; it jumped onto the steps, squatted at the entrance, and looked across the street.

Margaret came over with mushrooms and squatted beside him. "Replying to another letter?" Lin Feng nodded. "Yeah."

Margaret looked at the two letters on the wall. "Someone else is writing to you?" Lin Feng said, "Yes."

Margaret asked, "Who wrote it?" Lin Feng said, "I don't know. But someone is writing."

Margaret looked at the sheets of paper, at the crooked handwriting. "If you reply, they will be able to see it." Lin Feng said, "Yeah."

Margaret placed the plate of mushrooms on the ground and squatted down as well. The two of them squatted in front of the wall, looking at the letters. The cat jumped down from the entrance, walked back to their feet, squatted, and also looked at the letters.

In the evening, Old Zhou returned from delivering mail and parked his bike at the church entrance. He saw Lin Feng and Margaret squatting in front of the wall, walked over, and squatted beside them. "What are you looking at?"

Lin Feng said, "Looking at letters." Old Zhou also looked at the letters. "Any for you?" Lin Feng said, "Yes."

Old Zhou asked, "Did you reply?" Lin Feng nodded. "I did."

Old Zhou looked at the two newly posted letters on the wall; the handwriting was crooked, but written very earnestly. He smiled. "You've learned to write letters too."

Lin Feng said, "I had nothing to do while squatting, so I wrote them."

Old Zhou rummaged through his bag, took out a letter, and handed it to Lin Feng. "Yours."

Lin Feng took it; the envelope was addressed to "Lin Feng", in crooked handwriting.

He opened it, and inside was just a single sheet of paper with one line of text: "Lin Feng, thank you for helping the ant. It is moving faster now."

Lin Feng looked at that line of text and remembered. That day, he had helped an ant move a breadcrumb an inch forward. Someone had seen it. He smiled.

He took out his pen and paper and began to write a reply. "No need to thank me for the ant. It could have moved it on its own. I helped it, so it arrived today. Once it arrived, it didn't need to move it anymore."

He finished writing and stuck the letter on the wall. Old Zhou looked at the letter. "Someone wrote about you helping the ant too?"

Lin Feng said, "Someone saw it." Old Zhou smiled. "Whatever you do, someone is always watching."

Lin Feng said, "Yeah. Even when squatting, someone is watching." Old Zhou stood up and patted his pants. "I'm heading back." He got on his bike, the chain jingling, and left.

That night, Lin Feng sat on the steps at the entrance of the restaurant. Not squatting, but sitting. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him.

The two of them sat, looking at the sky. The stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday.

The cat crawled out of the tree pit, walked to their feet, squatted down, and looked up at the stars. It watched for a long time, then closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and began to purr.

Margaret looked at the cat. "It didn't go to the church today." Lin Feng said, "It did. It went in the afternoon. It squatted in front of the wall, watching me reply to the letters."

Margaret looked at him. "Did it understand?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "It doesn't look at the words. It looks at people. It watches me write, so it knows what I'm doing."

Margaret smiled. "You understand cats even better than the cat does." Lin Feng said, "If you squat for long enough, you'll understand."

The wind blew over, carrying the fragrance from the Coffee Shop, the rustling sound of letter paper from the church, and the fresh sweetness of mushrooms from the farm.

Lin Feng closed his eyes and took a sniff. He opened his eyes, stood up, and patted his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret also stood up. "Will you reply to letters tomorrow?"

Lin Feng nodded. "I will." Margaret asked, "If someone writes, you'll reply?" Lin Feng said, "Yeah."

Margaret asked, "What if nobody writes?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "If nobody writes, I won't reply. If I don't reply, I'll just squat. When I'm squatting, I look at the trees, the sky, and the cat. The trees are growing, the sky is changing, the cat is sleeping. I see it, and I know it."

Margaret smiled. "You're more talkative than the letters." Lin Feng said, "Letters don't talk. Letters are on paper. I talk, and when I'm done talking, I go to sleep."

He turned and walked into the restaurant, with Margaret following behind him. The door closed, and the lights went out.

The cat jumped down from the steps, walked back to the tree pit, curled up on the blue cloth, and closed its eyes.

The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting its shadow on the ground—small and round, like a ball of yarn.

The wind blew over, and the shadow swayed, but it didn't disperse.

Lin Feng stood inside the restaurant, looking out the window. He saw the cat's shadow, the tree's shadow, and the moon's shadow. He watched for a long time, then pulled the curtains shut and went to sleep.

[Chapter 152 End]