Yu Hua - Brothers

Another red-armbander suddenly jumped in front of Sun Wei and kicked him to the ground. When Sun Wei got up to continue running, the group of men tackled him. By this time Baldy Li had caught up and saw that Sun Wei's father was also rushing over. A gust of wind blew the father's dunce cap to the ground, so he ran back to place it on his head and then continued running toward his son.

Several of the stronger red-armbanders pinned Sun Wei to the ground and started pushing the razor across his gorgeous long hair. Sun Wei resisted with all his might; even after his arms were pinned down, he still kicked his feet as if he were swimming. Two red-armbanders sat on him, holding down his legs. Though his body was immobilized, Sun Wei strained to lift his head up, screaming, "Papa, Papa …"

The razor blade in the red-armbander's hand was slashing through Sun Wei's hair and neck like a machete. Between the red-armbander's downward thrusts and Sun Wei's struggles, the razor blade slashed deeply into Sun Wei's neck. Blood gushed all over the blade, but the red-armbander still slashed, ultimately slicing through the jugular vein.

Baldy Li witnessed the horrific scene as blood spurted in a two-yard-long arc like a fountain. The faces of the red-armbanders were sprayed with blood; shocked, they all leapt back like springs. When Sun Wei's father rushed over and saw that his son's neck was spurting blood, he pleaded with the group to spare his boy. As he knelt on the blood-drenched ground his cap fell off, but this time he didn't retrieve it. Instead he cradled his son in his arms as Sun Wei's head flopped over like a dolls. He screamed his sons name, but there was no response. With a look of terror he asked the crowd, "Is my son dead?"

No one answered. The red-armbanders responsible for Sun Wei's death were all mopping the blood from their faces and looking about in a panic, struck dumb by what had just happened. Sun Wei's father bellowed at them, "You! You killed my son!"

As he shouted he rushed at them. They backed away in terror, and he, with his fist clenched, didn't know who to pursue. At this moment four other red-armbanders walked over. When they spotted Sun Wei's father, they scolded him, ordering him back to his sweeping. Sun Wei's father's crazed fists crashed down on them, and the four beat him brutally in return. They rolled around like a pack of wild animals as the crowds hovered, rushing back and forth. Sun Wei's father used his fists, feet, and head, roaring like a crazed beast, and even the four red-armbanders together couldn't manage to take him down. He had once fought Song Fanping, and back then he had been no match for Song; but at this moment Baldy Li was certain that it would be Song Fanping who was no match for Sun Wei's father.

More and more red-armbanders congregated in the street. There were now more than twenty of them, and they encircled Sun Wei's father, taking turns beating him down until he was flat on the ground. Still, they continued to shower him with punches and kicks, and only when he was completely motionless did the red-armbanders pause to catch their breath. When he came to again, they bellowed at him, "Get up. Get going."

Sun Wei's father by now had resumed his former air of diffidence. Wiping at the blood on his lips, he dragged his bruised body up, but not before retrieving his dunce cap, stained with his son's blood. He solemnly placed it back on his head and, as he followed them with his head hung low, he caught sight of Baldy Li. He wept and said, "Go tell my wife our son is dead."

Shaking all over, Baldy Li arrived at Sun Wei's house. It was still morning, so when Sun Wei's mother saw Baldy Li standing by himself at her door, she assumed he had come looking for her son. Curious, she asked, "Didn't you two go out together just now?"

Baldy Li nodded his head. He was trembling so hard he couldn't say a word. When Sun Wei's mother saw the blood on Baldy Li's face, she gasped and asked, "Did you get into a fight?"

Baldy Li swiped his hand across his face. When he saw the blood on his hand, he realized that it was Sun Wei's. Shaking and sobbing, he said, "Sun Wei is dead."

Baldy Li saw the horror creep over Sun Wei's mother's face as she stared at him. He repeated himself and, feeling that she was not registering what he was saying, he added, "On the main street."

Sun Wei's mother stumbled out of her house and to the end of the alley until she reached the main street. Baldy Li followed behind her, stammeringly describing how her son had died and how her husband had battled the red-armbanders. Sun Wei's mother quickened her pace until she was no longer reeling with shock; speed gave her balance, and when she reached the main street, she broke into a run. Baldy Li ran behind for a few steps but then paused as she ran to where her son was lying. Baldy Li saw her fall to the ground, then heard a shattering series of wails, each sob wrenched from her chest as if with a dagger.

From that point on, Sun Wei's mother never stopped weeping. Even after her eyes became red and as puffy as two lightbulbs, her weeping continued unabated. In the days that followed, each morning she would support herself against the walls of the alley and walk to the end, then support herself along the walls of the main street and walk to the spot where her son had died. She would stand there, gazing down at the traces of his blood, and weep unceasingly. Only after the sun had set would she support herself against the walls and stumble home. The next day she would be there once again, sobbing. When acquaintances went over to comfort her, she would turn away, bowing her head deeply.

Her gaze grew unfocused, her clothes shabby, and her hair and face increasingly filthy. Her gait became odder and odder: As she stepped out with her right foot she would swing her right arm forward, and as she stepped out with her left foot she would swing her left arm forward. As they say in Liu Town, she was walking lopsided. She would walk to the spot where her son had died and sit there, her entire body slack as if she was barely conscious, her weeping sounding like the buzz of mosquitoes. Most people thought that she had lost her mind, but when she would accidentally catch someone's eye, she would turn away and stealthily wipe away her tears. Eventually, in order not to let others see her cry, she started sitting with her face against a wutong tree and her back to the street.

There was much talk among the people of Liu. Some concluded that she had gone mad; others noted that she was still capable of feeling shame, so obviously she hadn't gone completely insane. However, even they admitted that, judging by her odd behavior, she at the very least had fallen into a deep depression. One day her shoe fell off, and from that point on she never again wore shoes. Various pieces of clothing also fell by the wayside, and she never replaced them, until finally one day she sat there stark naked. By that time, the traces of her sons blood had been completely washed away by the rain, yet she still stared at the ground, weeping inconsolably When she noticed someone looking at her, she would turn away and lean into the tree trunk, stealthily wiping her tears. Now the people of Liu Town were all in agreement that she had, indeed, gone completely mad.

This pitiful woman no longer knew where home was. At nightfall she stood up and wandered the streets and alleys of Liu Town, looking for her home. Like a ghost she silently paced the streets, often giving the towns residents a good scare. Later she even forgot where her son had died. All day she rushed about frantically like someone trying to catch a train, running from one end of the street to the other calling out her sons name, as if she were calling him home for dinner: "Sun Wei! Sun Wei!"

Then one day she vanished from Liu Town altogether. She was gone for almost half a month before people realized they hadn't seen her for a long time. They asked one another, "How did Sun Wei's mother suddenly disappear?" Sun Wei's former buddies, Victory Zhao and Success Liu, however, knew where she had gone. They stood amid the crowds and pointed north, explaining, "She's gone. She's long gone."