Two Fish In A Bottle Chapter 8

Upon reaching home,  I heard Aunt and WenQiang talking to each other.

“Next time when we have the chance, we will go as a family.”

“Next time? When’s that? Ten years later? Twenty years later?” WenQiang questioned Aunt.

When I walked closer, WenQiang went up to his room without saying anything.

“MiMi, your mom asked me to tell you something last night……

“What does she want now?” I felt very irritated.

“She said that she would pick you up to go to Singapore for a week.”

“I won’t go! I don’t want to go!” I suddenly felt very repulsive.

“Is it because of the incident from last time?”

I didn’t say anything.

“MiMi, that happened a long time ago.” Aunt sighed.

“I can’t just forget about it!”

“Let it go! The relationship between mother and daughter should not have any hatred in it.” Aunt persuaded me patiently.

“I just don’t want to live with her!”

“In the end, she is still your mother.”

“I am thoroughly disappointed in her!”

“How could you say things like this?  That is only a very, very small incident, you should not be still angry after such a long period of time!”

“To me, it’s nothing small!”

“You're so narrow minded!” Aunt’s patients has reached her limit.

“Of course you wish that I’ll forget about it, that incident was caused by your dear son!” I shouted angrily.

I glared at one another. This incident has always been buried in my heart, but for Aunt, I decided not to bring it up, until today, when everything exploded.

Suddenly, tears started dropping from Aunt’s face. I panicked, feeling guilt tripped.

I pretended to remain cold hearted, letting Aunt cry.

After a long while, Aunt started taking: “I watched you grow up, you never spoke to me this way before, . Your expression is scary! As though a devil.”

“You  guys forced it on me.”

“Who forced it on you? Me and your grandmother adores you so much, it’s not like you don’t know!”

I thought in my heart: Who? Your son, my mom, Ms Chou, JiaHua and GuoXiang.

I turn my face away.

“I hope that you don’t live your days with hatred, the fire of hatred will eventually burn yourself.”

I am speechless.

“If you really don’t want to go, I will tell your mother just that. But you will have to tell her the reason yourself.”

Aunt threw behind this sentence and left for her room, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the living room.

Every time when something happens, it would be my fault because I’m petty. I can’t even be angry!

I went back to my room, closing my door with a loud “Peng!”

I lied on my bed, tears wetting my small pillow.

This small pillow accompanied me from my infanthood. On it is milk residues that I split from when I drank milk, the snot when I was sick, the tears when I had amnesia, and the blood from when my skin was severely irritated.

The blood from irritated skin…...I would never forget about it ever in my life.

Some random day last year, a old maiden came to our house, people call her “Old MiXi  （米西  MiXi means nurse).

Aunt said that she is here to pierce ear holes for me and NaNa. There is a local belief that if girls get their ear holes punched on a  certain day, they would be prosperous for life.

Old MiXi uses an old hole punching method, sharpen a piece of ginger and piercing it straight through our ear lobes, then tying a string through it.

I never thought that ear piercing would be painful. The girls in my cla.s.s all had ear piercings, they punched them in the shops, saying that it’s like getting bitten by a big ant, hurting only a while.

I shouldn’t have agreed, if I didn’t, nothing would have happened.

Old MiXI marked both of my ear lobes, then smeared antiseptic over it.

A piece of ginger that was sharpened came close to my ears. Old MiXI forced it onto my ear lobes!

PAIN! A wave of heart tearing pain attacked me! I struggled, wanting to get Old MiXi off me. But both of my hands were tied held down by grandmother and aunt, I couldn’t move at all!

Tears flowed down my eyes, it felt awfully painful, as if I was a living chiken getting butchered.

After piercing my right ear, Old MiXi let me rest. Grandmother poured tea for me but I was in too much agony to drink it..

Old MiXi then turned to NaNa to “operate” on her, after witnessing my “miserable condition”, there was no way NaNa would just listen to them obediently.

However, NaNa got held down immediately by Aunt and Grandmother, letting Old MiXi to pierce her ear.

That day, from the tall house, came terrifying screams, one after another.

The older generation says that it is for the better good, but in the end the younger generation have to suffer the pain of it.

Two weeks later, because of NaNa refusing to avoid certain food, her ear holes were inflamed and rotten, declaring a failure.

Mine, on the other hand, recovered just fine, after a while, there would be two little holes.

Translator note: There was a weird jump in scene here… so maybe add in a pause here??

……

I sleep in a room downstairs, the door lock of that room isn't working, meaning that every time I sleep, my door won’t be locked.

I remember that it was on a Friday afternoon, it was raining cats and dogs outside, the rain hit the roof with a uncomfortably loud noise.

Aunt accompanied Grandmother to the hospital for her check up, NaNa went to her friends house to play, leaving me and WenQiang home alone.

I had a habit of taking a afternoon nap. That day was no exception, I laid on my bed and closed my eyes to rest.

Even through the floor, I could still hear the loud crashing of the waves.

I quickly fell asleep listening to these white sounds.

Don’t know for sure how long I slept, but I was sure to be woken up by the sound of the door opening.

Because of the rain, the room was dark like night.

I squinted my eyes, and a dark silhouette stood in front of me!

I hurriedly sat up, but the silhouette jumped onto me!

“Ahh…….” I couldn't get that scream out, my mouth got forcibly covered by a pair of hands.

Through the dim lights, I recognised that person, its…….!!