Cave exploration, any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental.
Playing arcade games isn't free; it requires money. I feel like I've embarked on a path of crime.
Digressing#
After finishing writing, I realized I had rambled too much, outlining the general environment. Upon completing this piece, I found that this cave exploration hadn't even begun.
Then, a different location with various scenes is like the method of a memory palace; thinking of it is like seeing it, various past events are pulled from the brain's database, like the classic flowing subtitles in The Matrix, those letters in English might not be so clear, but this Chinese seems deeply engraved there, with a tactile sense of bumps and grooves.
Let me talk about my cousin. His studies are average; he went to a vocational school. His family believes that food is paramount, so he studied to be a chef, not a cooking major. I really forgot the specific name. At that time, it was popular to have job placements guaranteed, so he went to study. After graduation, he was assigned to a five-star hotel. Don't think it's glamorous; the kitchen is on the first floor, and sometimes there's a small kitchen in the basement, with no windows and stuffy conditions. They don't provide meals or accommodation, and the workload is heavy. The guests are picky, and they serve wealthy nouveau riche. The salary is fixed, but there are complaints and fines, with no bonuses. He takes a bus for half an hour or longer to work. Those with connections go to the cafeteria of government offices, where everything feels like a secure job, and they can also open their own restaurants. Let's not talk about him for now.
At this time, I was about 11 years old, in the fifth grade. My younger brother was also 9.5 years old.
Because I didn't like watching TV, as there was too little content, and I didn't have cable, I enjoyed climbing rooftops and tinkering with homemade antennas. I also illegally tapped into cable TV with a long enough wire, which caused others to be unable to watch TV normally. Later, when the repairman came, he found out it was my wire causing the problem. (I didn't check why this happened.)
I had finished reading all the books (there weren't many), and I generally didn't stay at home. My cousin hadn't graduated yet; he was still in vocational school.
There was a middle school near my home, which was my playground. Normally, we played soccer, table tennis, badminton, and when I was in elementary school, I didn't like basketball. I also climbed walls, sometimes several times a day; climbing walls was considered standard exercise. Why not use the front or back door? If the security guard didn't change, then every time we saw him, he would probably want to beat us up.
Sometimes the school would clear people out, and we would play real-life hide and seek with the guard. The most intense time was when I was being chased, probably more than ten meters away, maybe even further. There was a square platform about 3 meters on each side, nearly two meters high. Actually, there were other places to run, but in a moment of panic? My brother and I gestured to each other, meaning to go up. My brother was confused; I wanted to speak, but I quickly made a shushing gesture. He understood, and I pointed upwards, miming speaking without sound, meaning I would go up first and then pull him up. My brother is much stronger than I am (the name Armstrong suits him); he squatted down and let me step on his shoulders. He did a deep squat, and I could already see what was happening on the platform. I also saw the old man's head disappear, but I instinctively lowered my head to avoid being discovered. I realized that I had to crawl up there and couldn't stand.
I quickly crawled up, but awkwardness struck. My weak upper body couldn't pull my brother up. He was using his feet against the platform wall, and I couldn't contract my biceps. I couldn't shout for help either. I gritted my teeth, my face flushed, and I imagined pulling him up, but my arms felt like they were in a cast, unable to move. What to do? What to do?
I thought about it; if I couldn't get up, we would have to part ways and run separately. It felt like there were only a few seconds left. Although time felt like solidified lard, it was more like bullet time.
Just then, my right arm hurt sharply a few times, and then my head was yanked hard, feeling like my neck was about to snap.
In a flash, my brother was already half-crouched beside me. Maybe because of the pain, my vision seemed blurry, but my mind was still relatively clear. I looked at him, not using the word "crawl," but rather simple terms like "lie down." He didn't understand; he was already in that position but not low enough. I quickly gestured on the platform, making a covering motion, then opened my palm and repeated it about twice. My brother understood and lay completely flat.
While making those gestures, I found I could control my arms, at least not dislocating them, and slowly retreated toward the center of the platform, to a similar position. We both remained motionless, with the sunset's afterglow shining on us. I noticed our shadows on the platform, almost extending beyond it. This shadow made me nervous; should we move or not? Would the sun continue to set, causing our shadows to be exposed, or if we moved now, would our shadows shift and make noise, revealing us? In the end, we remained still.
The guard had already approached the platform. My heartbeat had no time to adjust; his footsteps were considerably slower than my heartbeat, which drowned out almost all other sounds, except for the guard's footsteps and mumbling, as if some technology had extracted them. The guard circled the platform twice? Then he stopped. I wondered if he felt we were circling him? Then he stopped to listen for sounds? Then quickly, he turned half a circle counterclockwise, then half a circle clockwise?
I really wanted to laugh; I lowered my head, pressing against the platform, and I discovered the platform was warm. This abnormality drained my motivation to laugh.
The guard muttered something like "little turtle" and slowly walked away.
I relaxed a little and recalled how my brother got up. Initially, it was with both hands, but I couldn't pull him up. Then, in a moment of inspiration, he used my right arm as a rope hanging down, alternating his hands while pushing off the wall with his feet. In the end, he even grabbed my neck, and his feet hooked onto the edge of the platform. I suddenly realized this was no different from climbing over a wall.
Now, looking back, I have no impression of whether there was a statue on that platform or not. I have no memory of it at all. If I have the chance to go back, I should take a photo and match it with a drawing.