Crutches of the soul

It has a black case, a wide but slightly thinner body, a large rectangular screen and buttons about the size of a fingernail.

This is a mobile phone, an "old man's phone". At the moment it is being held in the hands of the old man, rough fingers gently rubbing the fuselage, gentle and touching. The old man was waiting for something, and while he was waiting, he could slowly remember something.

That was a dozen years ago. In those days, there were no phones, let alone cell phones. The only way to communicate was by letter. A stroke of missing, a word of concern, was put into a simple envelope, affixed with eight stamps, sent to the unknown distance.

A letter may be sent, but it may not reach the wandering children. For several years, I lost contact with my daughter who worked abroad, and stared at the returned letter with tears in my eyes. I can't. I have to wait for my daughter. During the day, there was always a lot of farm work to do, so he often went to the village at night, hoping that his daughter's letter had been delivered to the village chief's home. Mountain is not plain, every family scattered in the mountain, a return, at least two hours. When I went to the village near the setting sun, my heart was eager, and I took two steps at once. When I approached the village, I looked at the light in the mayor's house, and I moved up again. He went to the village a lot. The village chief knew what he was coming for. Seeing him running around every now and then, he didn't get any news. It is common for young people in the village to go out to work, such a worry, the village chief also deep experience, see him like this, is even comfort words can not say. And when he saw the face of the village leader, he knew that his hope had failed again. When he returned, his pace slowed markedly, and he turned back a few steps, knowing that there was no possibility of a postman delivering a letter during the night, but he could not help expecting it. Gradually far from the other people, alone in the lonely lonely mountains, see a round of the moon lock a Wang sad thoughts in the eyes of the cloudy.

But even though he was disappointed again and again, he never thought of giving up. As long as there is that hope, as long as the crutches of the soul, what is the harm of a few more nights? But the thoughts and care in the heart, supporting him, but also tortured him.

Then came the telephone. The red landline phone was placed next to the old black and white television, facing the window, and the signal was intermittent. There was no caller ID, and they did not know if their children had called or if there was an emergency. They had to wait at night. He and his wife were afraid that they could not hear the bell because of their poor ears, so they took their food and ate it in the room. When I looked up, I saw the phone sitting quietly in the corner. After eating, the two men stood by the television, saying they were watching television, but their hearts were tied to the red thing. Sometimes it lasted for hours. They used to go to bed early, but they didn't wait until they couldn't stand it any longer before they thought about calling their children. He got up and changed the channel several times before he finally picked up the phone. Just pressed a few keys, hesitated again, put down the receiver, and turned to discuss with his sleepy wife to wait a little longer. Although the children said they would not interfere, he was always afraid of interrupting their work. Until the familiar ring, the spirit of a shock, busy pick up the phone. In this way, this night to sleep soundly.

Three years ago, she bought him a Nokia phone. I can't use it at the beginning. When I see a call coming in, I either forget to answer it or hang up by mistake. After talking to the mobile phone for a long time, I don't think there will be any reaction at the other end. It is not easy to learn, then every day mobile phone from the body. When I went to work in the mountains, I took it with me, but I was afraid of falling down. I put it in my coat pocket carefully and took a look at it from time to time. It's hot. Hang your coat carefully on the branch. While we were at work, we suddenly felt the bell ring, but it was difficult to put it down at once because we were chopping or sawing in our hands. We had to speed up our movements and look sideways at the branches of the tree, listening only for the sound to last longer. The bell, however, was not what one would have liked, intermittent and absent. When he put down his work, he wiped his hands on his clothes and went straight down the tree. I took out my jacket and took out my cell phone. Where are the missed calls? I was so nervous, the page boy. In fact, the children are also busy, it is impossible to call every day, but he is afraid of missing even a call.

The old man was replaced this year. He accidentally mentioned to his daughter that the screen of the phone was too small to see clearly, so she brought him an old man's machine when she came home. Large screen, large font, easy to use, and voice messaging. Such a thing in the hand, always feel a warm.

It was unthinkable that such a small thing could transmit sounds from thousands of miles away. Now, it is really true for him to support a day, support the missing, so that he can be in such a remote village, enjoy the happiness of family......

The grey screen suddenly lit up and a familiar bell rang. The old man's machine vibrated, calling back his distant thoughts. Looking down, he clearly saw the word "granddaughter" on the screen and skillfully pressed the answer button.

From the other side, a cheerful voice said:

"Grandpa, we came back for the Mid-Autumn Festival, brought you and grandma moon cakes..."

...

The old man lay leisurely on the old cane chair, the corners of his mouth turned up, the moonlight shining down on his eyes filled with happiness and satisfaction.

In two days, the moon will be round...