45: Chapter 46 Mental Massage

The church in Xinfeng Town has a history of 120 years.

It was built with stone, has a pointed roof, and is surrounded by stained glass.

One hundred and twenty years ago, miners dug coal, made money, and then pooled their funds to build this church.

Every Sunday, everyone in town would come here.

Weddings, births, funerals—everything happened here.

Now, the church is on the verge of collapse.

The roof is leaking, the walls are cracked, and half of the stained glass is shattered. The pews are covered in dust, and the space in front of the altar is empty.

Lin Feng squatted at the entrance of the church, watching for a long time.

Margaret stood beside him and said softly,

"The day I got married was right here."

Lin Feng turned his head to look at her.

Margaret smiled. "My husband was also a miner. We made our vows here, promising never to be separated for our whole lives."

Lin Feng was silent for a second.

Then he asked, "Where is he buried now?"

Margaret pointed to the graveyard behind the church.

Lin Feng nodded.

He stood up, pushed open the church door, and walked inside.

Dust floated in the sunlight.

He walked to the front of the altar and stood still.

Then he squatted down—squatting in front of the altar, like someone who had come to pray.

Margaret followed him in, watching his back, stunned.

"Lin Feng, what are you doing?"

Lin Feng looked back at her:

"I'm wondering what can be done here."

The next day, Lin Feng called Jenny over.

Jenny is a psychological counselor; she used to run a clinic, but it went bankrupt.

Lin Feng asked her, "What was your clinic for?"

Jenny said, "It was just for letting people come in and talk."

Lin Feng asked, "Is talking useful?"

Jenny thought for a moment and said seriously,

"It's useful. Many people bottle things up, and if they bottle it up for too long, they get sick. Saying it out loud makes it better."

Lin Feng nodded.

He pointed to the church:

"Then this place will be the place for talking from now on."

Jenny was stunned.

Lin Feng continued, "No fees. No appointments. Whoever wants to come, can come. Say whatever you want to say. Cry if you want to cry, laugh if you want to laugh."

He looked at Jenny:

"You are responsible for listening."

A week later, the church renovation was finished.

Rachel didn't change its structure—the pointed roof remained, the stained glass was repaired, and the stone walls were reinforced.

Besides that, she added a few things.

Soft cushions were placed in the corners, for sitting or lying down.

A circle of chairs was set up along the walls.

In front of the altar, a giant "ear" sculpture was placed—made of iron, hollow; if you speak into the ear, the sound is amplified.

A line of text was carved at the base of the sculpture:

[Someone is listening]

Lin Feng squatted beside the sculpture, watching it for a long time.

Then he asked Rachel, "What is this?"

Rachel said, "It's called 'Echo'. You speak into the ear, and the sound will come back. But you can hear it, and others can hear it too."

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow, "So it's not a secret?"

Rachel smiled, "Secrets are only painful when bottled up. Saying them out loud means letting everyone hear them."

Lin Feng stared at the sculpture for three seconds.

Then he smiled too.

"Fine."

On the first day of opening, no one came.

The church door was open, and it was empty inside.

Jenny sat on a soft cushion in the corner, waiting.

She waited for a long time, but no one came.

Lin Feng squatted at the doorway, holding a straw in his mouth, watching the street.

Margaret walked over and asked, "No one came?"

Lin Feng nodded.

Margaret sighed, "They aren't used to it. They've bottled it up for a lifetime; they can't just open up on command."

Lin Feng didn't speak.

In the evening, an old man walked over slowly.

It was the old miner who asked "What do you want us to do?" in the church on the first day.

He stood at the doorway, looking inside.

Lin Feng didn't move.

The old man hesitated for a long time, then walked in.

Jenny stood up and went to meet him.

The old man looked at her, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Jenny pointed to the giant "ear" sculpture:

"Just speak into it. After you finish, sit here and listen to others."

The old man walked to the front of the sculpture, standing before the iron ear for a long time.

Then he spoke.

The voice was soft, but the "ear" amplified it so the whole church could hear:

"My name is George. I've mined coal for forty-five years. My wife has been dead for ten years. My son is in California; he hasn't returned in three years. I live alone, and I don't know who to talk to every day."

After he finished, he froze there.

Then he walked over to the soft cushions and sat down.

Five minutes passed.

Another person came in.

It was an old lady, looking to be in her eighties, leaning on a cane.

She walked to the front of the sculpture and said into the ear:

"My name is Edna. My husband was also a miner; he died twenty years ago. I never remarried. It's not that I didn't want to, but I didn't like anyone who was introduced to me."

She paused, her voice trembling slightly:

"But actually, I never even tried. I was afraid."

After she finished, she also walked to the soft cushions and sat down.

Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth.

Before dark, more than thirty people were sitting in the church.

Some cried, some laughed, some stopped talking mid-sentence, and some cried while listening to others.

George sat in the corner, listening all night.

When he left, he walked up to Jenny and said:

"I'll come again tomorrow."

A month later, the reputation of the "Soul Massage" center spread.

It wasn't Lin Feng who promoted it.

It was those people who went back and told others themselves.

George's son returned from California—not because George called him, but because a neighbor had called to tell him.

He stood at the church entrance, watching the people sitting inside, stunned for a long time.

George saw him and didn't speak.

The son walked up to him and squatted down—the same posture as Lin Feng:

"Dad."

George nodded.

The son said, "I heard about it."

George asked, "Heard what?"

The son said, "I heard you were talking here."

George was silent for three seconds.

Then he pointed to the giant "ear" sculpture:

"Speak into it. Once you finish, you'll know."

The son walked to the front of the sculpture and spoke into the ear:

"My name is Tom. I haven't been back in ten years. It's not that I didn't want to come back, but I didn't dare to. I was afraid my dad would ask me how I was doing. I haven't been doing well."

He paused, his voice a bit hoarse:

"But I missed him."

The church went quiet.

George stood up and walked to his son's side.

The father and son stood in front of that ear, silent for a long time.

Then George spoke:

"I missed you too."

Lin Feng squatted at the church entrance, watching this scene, smiling like a fool.

Margaret walked over and squatted beside him.

"Lin Feng."

Lin Feng turned his head to look at her.

Margaret pointed at the people in the church:

"Do you know what they call me now?"

Lin Feng shook his head.

Margaret smiled:

"They call me 'the person who wrote the letter'."

Lin Feng was taken aback for a moment.

Margaret continued, "They say I wrote a letter and summoned a madman. The madman turned the coal mine into a farm, and the church into a place for talking."

She paused, her eyes turning red:

"If my husband were still here, he would definitely want to come here and talk too."

Lin Feng was silent for a second.

Then he pointed to the graveyard behind the church:

"He can hear it."

Margaret was stunned.

Lin Feng said, "He is buried here, listening to you talk every day. You just don't know it."

Margaret stared at him for three seconds.

Then she smiled.

It was the kind of smile she hadn't had in a very, very long time.

[Chapter 46 End]