He replied, “I didn’t do anything foolish; I just didn’t want to go out… didn’t want to see anyone or do anything.”
“I’ll leave first; you rest well.”
As I stood, he suddenly grabbed my sleeve with his IV-attached hand, his grip weak, likely due to his lack of strength. But he held onto me, and my calmness began to fade. “I’ll call Yu Yin to come and keep you company.”
He let go of my hand and smiled bitterly. “Forget it, go if you want to go.”
I wanted to leave, but my feet were rooted to the ground.
“Do you know what it feels like to lose freedom?” he asked.
I didn’t know.
“I don’t remember when it started, but I became a person living in a cage… not to avoid reality, but locked in by others…”
I was drawn into his words and sat down.
He recounted how he used to be free until one day, he was locked in an iron cage. Others made him stand or sit, restricting both his actions and thoughts. No matter what was asked of him, he could only obey, with no right to say “no.”
For him, Yu Yin was also a lock, holding him down.
“Can a person develop feelings for a lock?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied.
“He won’t. He will try everything to remove the lock.”
What he wanted was simple: “freedom.”
Long-term confinement made him unbearable, and he often wished to break free from the cage but couldn’t.
“Why can’t you?” I asked.
“For responsibility, for…”
He changed the subject, then mentioned meeting a girl helplessly standing on the street one beautiful autumn evening. He liked helping those in need.
Not everyone appreciated him, but that girl was grateful and treated him to a delicious dinner.
She called him “Senior brother.” Her coquettish voice reminded him of calling his own brother. He liked this address and referred to her as “Little girl,” treating her like a younger sister.
Over time, he grew fond of this little sister and cherished her warm home filled with the smell of firewood. Whenever he felt tired, he longed to sit there for a while.
