White Olive Tree

Chapter 63

Chapter 63
Returning to Cangdi, things are different and people are different.
The war in Candi City ended completely in early May this year.  Now, two months have passed, and the city has yet to recover from the ruins. Scaffolding is erected everywhere on the roadside and construction materials are piled up.  Forklifts and cranes rumbled.  The whole city is like a huge construction site.
Only the white Candi Temple stands silently on the eastern horizon, undamaged; even the outline of the marble dome looks so soft, reflected in the blue sky, and is magnificent.
"Can I go take a look?" She asked suddenly, lying by the car window.
Major Harvey followed her gaze and understood: "Of course it's no problem."
After the terrorists withdrew, the Tsangdi Temple was cleaned inside and out and has now been restored to its original state.  Many locals came to pay homage and pray, and foreign faces were mixed in the crowd, whether they were reporters or tourists.
Song Ran walked along the long approach road. Cangdi Temple was magnificent and the temple was white.  The natural marble shines with fine fluorescence in the sun, like an exquisite treasure box placed under the blue sky.
She took off her shoes and walked into the temple on the cool marble floor. The air became cooler and the light became a little dim.
Colorful beams of light are projected down from the patio, like a waterfall.
She looked up and saw King Candi and his queen painted on the dome that was fifty or sixty meters high, surrounded by various gods.  The sunlight shines on the huge round stained glass, making it colorful and dazzling.
Many civilians knelt under the dome and chanted sutras.
Song Ran walked up the stone steps to the fourth floor and found the observation deck behind the temple.
It was a small compartment. The blood stains on the surface of the marble wall had been cleaned, but there were absorption patterns on the surface of the natural stone.  Dark bloodstains appeared in large chunks, silently and irrevocably seeping into the lines of the floor, walls, and even the ceiling, like splashes of ink.
The wind rushed in from the window, making her heart feel cold.

She went to the window and looked down. It was very high. She was a little dizzy and tried to remember something.  But after being hit that night, she had no consciousness at all and could not remember anything.
Behind him, Major Harvey asked: "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"It's okay." Song Ran turned back, "Let's go."
Song Ran quickly settled in Cangdi, but the search was not smooth.
She walked through the refugee camps in Cangdi City, looking for them one by one; she saw the faces of countless refugees and disabled soldiers, but there was still no sign of Li Zan, not even anyone who had seen him.
She found it a little ridiculous that he had paid so much for this city, yet no one knew or remembered his appearance.
With Cangdi as the center, she radiated to the surrounding cities and continued her search.
Time flies, from the beginning of July to the end of July.  There is still no news about Li Zan.
On July 30, a government army encirclement and suppression operation against terrorist strongholds broke out along the national border 80 kilometers north of Candi.  Song Ran rushed there after hearing the news.
The stronghold was destroyed and government troops rescued some prisoners.
Those prisoners of war had been tortured to the point of being reduced to human form and unconscious.  Song Ran looked at their faces, looking for them one by one, and asked one by one: "Have you seen an Asian man?"
No one can answer her.
When the last prisoner of war was brought out, Song Ran's heart plummeted.
The government soldiers who came out told Harvey that there were many corpses of prisoners of war inside, some of whom had just been killed by the terrorists when they escaped.
Song Ran followed Harvey in and walked through cells, dark rooms, and water prisons.  She endured the horrifying chill as she searched the ground covered in bloodstains and torture instruments, turning over the bodies of the dead.
No, still no.
Luo Zhan said he disappeared.
He really seemed to have disappeared without leaving even the slightest trace.
On the way back to Cangdi, Song Ran was so tired that she closed her eyes for a while, but during this moment, she dreamed of a dark cell, mottled blood, and his low cry coming from the darkness.
She opened her eyes immediately, covered in cold sweat.
All the way back, silent.
As the car drove into Cangdi City, she suddenly said: "Colonel, thank you for your help this month, but you don't have to accompany me anymore."
Harvey was stunned: "Aren't you looking for it?"
"I will continue to search, but perhaps, this cannot be achieved in a day or two. You can go do your work, and there is no need to waste time with me."
Harvey hesitated for a moment and finally said: "I'll leave on Monday. If you need help later, please be sure to contact me."
   "I will."
One day later, on August 1st, Song Ran heard that a new shelter had been opened in the western suburbs of Cangdi, taking in many people who had recently strayed from the northern battlefield.
She rushed there immediately.
The stench in the shelter was so bad that the volunteers had no time to clean it up for everyone. Soldiers and civilians fell asleep on the ground with no clothes on and covered with dirt.
The weather is hot and flies are flying around.
She searched around but couldn't find Li Zan, so she asked one by one: "Have you seen an Asian man?"
She even asked people who had mental problems and slurred speech.
But no.
No one has ever seen an Asian man.
No one has seen her A-Zan.
On the way back to the hotel, Song Ran made a decision. She planned to pack her bags and go further north.  There must be more such shelters out there.
Entering the hotel, Harvey was waiting for her in the lobby.
Song Ran: "Are you here to say goodbye to me?"
"No." Harvey said, "There is someone who has been looking for you for a long time." He pointed behind her.
Song Ran was startled, and when he turned around, it was Morgan.
Their eyes met, Song Ran's eyes filled with tears, and she walked quickly towards him.
Morgan gave her a hug. The tough black man, who was over 1.9 meters tall, had red eyes at this moment, lowered his head, and choked out: "Ruan, I'm very sorry."
"It's okay. How are you doing, Morgan?"
"Not good." Morgan smiled with wet eyes, "Ruan, I must apologize to you in person."
"Don't say that..."
"We are all guilty, Ruan." Morgan insisted, looking straight at her, "Lee suffered tremendously that night. When he rescued us and saved the building, you were held hostage. As his  Comrade-in-arms, but no one could help him. When he cut the thread, I couldn't imagine the pain in his heart at that moment. But later when he went to save you alone, there was still no one among us who could help him. Later.  He's missing, and we can't do anything. But B is gone, and he..." Morgan's lips slumped, and he shook his head heartbroken and painfully, "He suffered inhuman abuse, but none of his comrades still..."  Man can save him. We are guilty, Ruan, we are guilty."
Song Ran burst into tears: "Morgan, this is not your fault. You are also hurt in your heart, and you need a doctor's help."
"I know. My mental state has not been very good." Morgan lowered his head and wiped his eyes hard with his big palms. "I tried to commit suicide. Because of my condition, my girlfriend also broke up. I always think about, G  Dead, B is dead, L is also...why am I still alive. Why?" His big black eyes were filled with tears, "Maybe, K, S, they think so too, so we don't contact each other. It's too painful.  ”
"Morgan." Song Ran held his hand firmly, "Listen to me."
Morgan raised his eyes. The eyes of this powerful man, who was indomitable on the battlefield, were filled with regret and pain.
"You are a gift from fate, Morgan. Living is a very good thing, not a sin. Do you know how I felt when I saw you? What I thought at that moment was: It's good to live, it's true to live.  OK, Morgan, you don’t know how happy I am to see you safe and alive.”
   Really.
How happy she is at this moment.
Morgan shed tears: "Thank you, Ruan, you can't imagine how much your words mean to me."
Morgan said he came here because he saw her tweet.  A week ago, Song Ran went to Su Ruicheng and posted a photo of the street where she and Li Zan first met.  Morgan had been paying attention to her, and when he learned that she had returned to Dongguo, he immediately contacted Harvey to find her.
"Lee has personal belongings left in the team. B used to hold them, and he gave them to me when I returned home. According to the rules, the belongings left by L must be handed over to relatives. I have sent you messages many times, but I can't get in touch."  Morgan took out a small piece of military green cloth bag and said, "I originally didn't want to go back to Dongguo, but his things must be handed over to you in person."
Song Ran opened the small cloth bag, which contained a harmonica, a pen, and a black notebook.  It was the same items she saw in his drawer when she went to borrow a comb from his dormitory in the peacekeeping force camp.
Some of the paint on the harmonica has peeled off, and the outer cover of the notebook has also faded some color.  She rubbed it gently, feeling a sense of comfort in her heart, and said, "Thank you for sending them over. These are very important to me."
……
Song Ran returned to the room, sat down at the table, and turned on the lamp.
She felt unexpectedly calm and gently opened the notebook.  Li Zan's handsome handwriting appeared in front of him.
The date on the first page was September of the year before last, which was the day she reunited with him in the camp and asked him to borrow a comb.
Only two lines of words:
"Start the peacekeeping mission.
What a coincidence that I met Reporter Song.  "
After that, every day is just a few lines, briefly recording the day's schedule and tasks.  From time to time, there are pages with her presence in them.
"I teased Reporter Song a little while clearing mines."
"Reporter Song looks different from her appearance."
"Reporter Song is very serious in her work."
"Reporter Song likes to blush."
……
"Reporter Song is a bit cute."
Song Ran tried to think back, but couldn't remember clearly. She wonder if it was the day she threw him into the mud.
She looked through his mediocre records and turned to the day when she went from Garo to Hapo:
"I saw white olive trees today, with Reporter Song.
   Very special.
Now in the eastern suburbs military camp,
It feels bad, and I worry about her safety.  .  .  "