True Love on Earth
That year, I was heading to Shenzhen. The train sped through the night, and my seatmates were a middle-aged couple dressed in clothes so old their original colors were indiscernible.
The woman was eating a steamed bun while the man nibbled on sunflower seeds. After finishing a bun, the woman leaned on the table and dozed off. The man quietly watched her, cracking sunflower seeds one by one, seemingly lost in thought.
Suddenly, the woman jumped up from her seat, singing loudly and dancing wildly. The man quickly grabbed her hand and tried to push her back into her seat, gently urging, “Don’t make a fuss, don’t make a fuss, you’ll disturb others.”
“Take your hands off me, I don’t want you to control me!” The woman glared at him and pushed him away. “Listen to me, sit down,” he continued to coax her softly.
“If you stop me, I’ll jump off the train!” she cried, inexplicably starting to cry as she moved towards the door of the car. The commotion attracted the attention of the train attendant, who rushed over and asked, “What’s going on, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, nothing, it’s her old illness acting up again,” the man said, rubbing his hands, embarrassed. A passenger whispered to the attendant, “I’ve thought something was off since I got on the train. The man has a northern accent, and the woman has a Sichuan accent. Could he be a human trafficker who kidnapped this woman?”
The train police soon arrived. The man showed his ID and explained, “I’m from Xingtai, Hebei. I work in a factory. I married her eighteen years ago through a matchmaker. Later, she developed hysteria. To treat her illness, we spent almost all our savings. Last month, she insisted on visiting her family in Sichuan. I was afraid she’d get lost if her illness acted up, so I came with her.”
After the police left, the woman gradually calmed down and leaned on the table to doze off again. The man looked at her with pity and told those around him, “When she’s not having an episode, she’s very capable. She manages all the fields at home by herself.”
It was already very late. The train clattered along. The man let the woman sleep on the seat while he laid out two newspapers under the seat, using a large bottle of mineral water as a pillow. He quickly fell asleep, his snoring steady and even. The summer air conditioning in the car kept blowing cold air.
The woman woke up from the cold. Seeing the man lying on the floor with his thin clothes, she stood up and struggled to take a woven bag from the luggage rack. After rummaging through it for a while, she took out two cloth jackets and gently covered the man with them, carefully tucking them in.
When morning came, the attendant pushed the breakfast cart down the aisle. The man asked the woman, “Are you hungry?” She nodded. The man took out 10 yuan from his pocket to buy a portion, but the woman stopped him, unhappy, saying, “Don’t buy it, it’s so expensive. We don’t have money at home.”
The man said, “You’re hungry. Don’t worry about spending money if you need to eat.” The woman firmly shook her head, “Then I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Noodles! Noodles! 3 yuan a bowl, 5 yuan for two bowls,” called out a vendor selling instant noodles. The man insisted on buying one bowl, carefully made it with hot water, and placed it in front of the woman. She didn’t hesitate and ate it with relish. The man continued to nibble on his sunflower seeds while watching her eat.
The woman, while eating, asked him, “Aren’t you hungry?” The man firmly shook his head. After she finished eating, she contentedly pushed the bowl to the man and asked him to throw it away. The man glanced at the bowl, drank the remaining soup, and then disposed of it.
The train pulled into a major station and stopped. The woman said she felt stuffy in the car and wanted to go out for a walk. The man repeatedly warned her, “Just stand at the door, don’t go far.” She nodded. A few minutes later, she returned, carrying a paper bag and a bottle of beer.
She gently placed them in front of the man and softly said, “Eat quickly. It’s been a whole day and night. I know you’re very hungry.” The man’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. He silently reached under the table and tightly held the woman’s dirty, calloused hands.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
