Sent to the bandits, enduring endless torture, his fingers disabled, hypnotized to play the fool, and later having the child’s legs disabled-what did all this amount to! Some things are not worth forgiving. It has nothing to do with generosity. Everyone has their own bottom line. She endured all the hardships alone, died in that big fire. Why should she forgive the person who forced her to death step by step?
Elisa untied the disposable hair tie from her hair. As she tidied her hair, she said, “It’s not impossible for you to want me to forgive you.”
In that moment, Hamish was left speechless. The surprise came too quickly, making it unbelievable and difficult to regain composure.
But the next moment, he saw Elisa casually throw the disposable hair tie from her hand into the river. “If you pick it up, and if you find it, I will forgive you. How about that?”
Such a small hair tie thrown into the river, how could it possibly be found? The river held all sorts of things, mixed with the silt and stones at the riverbed. Even if Hamish grew ten hands, it would be difficult to find.
The hair tie fell into the river and sank, lightly and insignificantly, not even creating ripples on the water’s surface like raindrops.
“Do you feel troubled? Then you don’t have to pick it up…”
“Is it that as long as I find it, you will forgive me and give me another chance?”
Elisa stared into Hamish’s serious eyes, and with a gentle and mocking smile, said, “You’ll find out once you’ve picked it up.”
Her smile was deceptive, and Hamish knew Elisa was punishing him. She knew he couldn’t swim and was afraid of water.
In this world, anything you want comes with a price.
Without hesitation, he took off his jacket and jumped into the river. Fortunately, these days the river was being cleared of garbage, so much of the water had been drained. Hamish was at the water’s edge, the river only reaching his thighs, not enough to drown but enough to make him feel the bone-chilling cold of the water.
Hamish seemed entranced, his ears filled with Elisa’s words. If he found the hair tie she tossed into the water, she would forgive him and give him a chance.
This was his obsession, the obsession that had consumed him for three years.
Bent over, Hamish earnestly searched. Whenever his hand was about to touch the riverbed, his head had to go in. The water, which had been clean just moments ago, was now murky after his thorough stirring.
Hamish couldn’t swim, and now he had forgotten about his cleanliness obsession. Yet here he was, earnestly searching for that inconspicuous hair tie in the river.
The riverbed was covered in mud-encased stones, uneven and slippery. Hamish stumbled into the water several times, covered from head to toe in muddy water, his palms scraped by sharp rocks, looking utterly bedraggled.
He forgot about his cleanliness obsession and the pain, repeating his actions mechanically, single-mindedly searching the river’s stones, his fingers weaving through the mud, the stench assaulting him.
Where was the hair tie that Elisa had thrown into the water?
The rain from above seemed to be playing a joke, stopping and then starting again. His body, already filled with cold, was now even colder. Hamish’s face turned pale from the cold in the river.
Elisa stood on the bank, holding an umbrella, her eyes filled with mockery. The sound of the rain fell on the river’s surface, shattering the whole water mirror.
Elisa glanced at the time. It had been eight minutes. If he didn’t find the hair tie, Louis might become worried. She reminded the man in the river, “If Hamish can’t find the hair tie, then don’t come to see me. It’s getting dark. I’m going back.” With that, she turned and left without a backward glance, her indifference reminiscent of the old Hamish.
Hamish paused slightly, then continued searching in the river. He searched for a long time, but found nothing. His body was shivering from the cold, his breathing becoming increasingly difficult. Even so, he refused to come out.
His clothes, soaked by the water, clung tightly to his body, almost transparent. If Elisa were here, she might have been able to see the burn on his chest.
Hamish’s hands were already swollen and pale from soaking in the water, his fingertips feeling like they were being pricked by needles. Pieces of his skin had peeled off, and the cold wind, accompanied by the rain, had left his vision completely blurred. He could only rely on his senses to search.
He didn’t know how long it had been. His body was freezingand he began to cough. He covered his throat, coughing uncontrollably, his chest heaving irregularly.
Initially, a clot of blood had been stuck in his throat. Now, as he coughed, it flowed out of his mouth into the muddy river water.
Every part of his body ached, especially his stomach and heart, as if there was a cactus ball lodged inside him. He wavered, managing to steady himself after almost falling, propping his forehead with his hand. His steps weakened, and as his foot slipped in the water, he finally collapsed into the river.
The water reached his thighs, and as he fell, he sank like a stone.
For a moment, Hamish thought he might die in this manner. He reached out, trying to grasp something for support, but found nothing.
“Mr. Burns!” Tobias’s voice briefly brought him back to some semblance of consciousness. Hamish attempted to stand up, but he was too exhausted. He knew he couldn’t stop, not when Elisa had returned. How could he die now?