When it was time for dinner, we walked back to the drawbridge. My sister walked in the front, Yalan was in the middle, and I was behind her. My sister took a big step, one foot left and one foot right, and put the bridge in a big swing. She had played like this as a child, and she forgot that there was a person behind her who was afraid of water. The drawbridge swayed more and more, and Yalan held onto the rope rail tightly, looking terrified. As I shouted stop, I rushed to Yalan's side and wanted to hold her hand. I didn't expect her to suddenly jump into my arms and hold on to me. What shocked me was not Yalan's actions but Donna standing next to the well not far away. She looked at me for half a minute, then left with a bucket, leaving a cold back.
After dinner, I sneaked out of the house and went to Donna's dormitory to find her, only to see Jialin alone in the room. She asked me, "You don't seem to come and see me, do you?"
I had to admit to coming for Donna. She said that Donna went to the rehearsal, and there was her performance in the evening.
I was about to leave when Jialin stopped me and asked, "Who is that beautiful woman with you this afternoon?"
"A classmate from high school."
"Oh, go. Donna will have a fight with that girl." She gave me this, and I didn't understand what it meant.
There was a party to bid farewell to Hai's leaving for the army. The last activity was a theatrical performance. When it was Donna's turn, both my parents and Yalan's parents had already left the scene, and my sister also went to find her friends. Yalan and I sat in the crowd, watching Donna and eight other girls come on stage and perform "Tea Picking Girls."
They were dressed in the colorful corset tops and tight-waisted long skirts of the tribe's girls. Between the tops and the long skirts, a charming waist that was palm width was exposed, with beautiful hand-woven belts slung across their shoulders, red scarves, and earrings on their heads, glittering on cheeks. That palm-width skin exposure was enough for confinement under other daily occasions. Their glamorous appearance caused a commotion in the audience.
In the cheerful music, the tea-picking girls showed their postures, swaying to the left and swaying to the right, looking up and down, turning their skirts, or with the sound of "Hey," they threw a row of neat legs into the air. They used moving body language to interpret the joy of tea picking.
The story of dance was much more than that. During the break of tea-picking, the tea-picking girls splashed water playfully on each other, admired their faces in the clear spring, and surrounded the tree to interpret a mysterious legend. Finally, the lead dancer – Donna – received a letter written on a tea leaf from the wind, and she suddenly turned into an elf of the tea mountain, performing a dazzling dance.
I guessed Donna made up this dance, and only she could do it. The life of picking tea was so wonderful that I wanted to change my job. Yalan couldn't help but exclaim, "The girl who leads the dance is so sweet!"
Donna changed her clothes and walked toward the audience. I stood up and wanted to introduce her to Yalan, but she walked in the other direction and sat down beside Siyan.
Just after Yalan's family left, my mother's face changed before I even entered the house. She was still calm, but the smile disappeared too quickly. She told me to follow her to the kitchen and let me sit on the small wooden piece by the stove, and I realized that trouble was coming.
"What's going on with you and Donna?" my mother asked, straight to the point.
"Donna?" I deliberately pretended to be far away from that name. "It's nothing."
"Why did you go with her that morning?"
"That day? When I was sketching, I met her by the river." I said, satisfied with the reason I gave.
"Then you two met by chance when you went to the lookout deck?" I bowed my head, speechless. It seemed that she knew it.
"Son, I thought you were a sensible kid. Usually, it's enough to say it once. I told you to stay away from that crazy girl. You still haven't heard?"
"I understand. I'm just chatting with her." I was a little aggrieved.
"You don't understand!" my mother said to me. She felt her voice was getting a little intense and then said soothingly, "You see, your father, other veterans, have worked hard in this primitive old forest for half their lives, and you think they don't want to get out of this mountain or go back to their hometown. That's not the case! Why did we ask for help and send you to a middle school in the county town? We hoped you could go further than us and have a good future."
My mother said this, her eyes a little wet. I got up and handed her a towel. She continued, "When I say Donna is crazy, I don't mean she is a bad girl. But, when it was not dawn, she asked a boy to go up the mountain! It won't be long before I don't know what will happen to you. If something goes wrong, you have to stay here for the rest of your life!"
I seemed to understand, "I won't go with her up the mountain in the future."
"You still didn't get it. Is it just going up the mountain? Stop it early, don't get attached. You can't stop yourself if you start to get into too much."
"Then I'll stay away from her in the future," I promised.
"That's what you said! I want to see your actions. I talked to Dr. Fang, and Donna agreed." My mother stated calmly but sternly, "If I find you sneaking around again, I will either transfer you to another battalion or transfer Donna away."
My mother's words were not unreasonable, but she wouldn't listen to my explanation. Donna and I really had nothing, and it wouldn't affect my future.
***
Sigh! I just had two close friends by my side, one went to join the army, and the other was grounded, so the only fun thing left was reading Siyan's collection of novels.
After reading And Quiet Flows the Don, I came to Siyan's dormitory and wanted to change to something more exciting. The last time I heard him say Pride and Prejudice was all about the vicissitudes of love.
It was just dark, and there was still some time before the sound of the lights-off bugle. The lights were on in his room. I called him, but no one answered. I pushed his door, and something blocked it. Trying it again, I heard the humming sound of Siyan, and a smell of alcohol rushed over. I squeezed through the door, pulled him up from the ground, and helped him onto the bed.