A few days ago, my colleague Lao Song told me a very strange thing that happened to him.
He said that in recent days he always dreamed of his old mother who had passed away for more than 20 years. In the dream, his mother cried to him and said that she lived a miserable life over there and that the place she lived was very cold and damp! Old Song, who never believed in ghosts and gods, did not care at first, but he was a little surprised to dream about his old mother for several consecutive days. Old Song said to me: "Since my mother passed away, I have rarely dreamed of her. When she was alive, the three of us brothers were very filial to her. We also took good care of her during her illness. After my mother passed away, we also built her tomb beautifully. Although it is not luxurious, it is acceptable for an ordinary family. It should be said that for our mother, the three of us brothers have no regrets." After that, Old Song sighed as if he was talking to himself or to me: "But my mother has been appearing to me in my dreams these days, saying some very sad words. For this reason, I specially burned more paper money for her, but it did not have much effect. I really don't understand. What on earth is going on?" Seeing that Lao Song looked a little sad, I comforted him and said, "Lao Song, don't think too much. As the saying goes, when a person dies, it's like a light goes out. There is no such thing as ghosts and gods in the world. Everything is just due to your own psychological reasons! You just had a few dreams, which is no big deal. Maybe you miss your mother a little, right? As the saying goes, you dream about something at night when you think about it during the day! Don't take it too seriously." Lao Song nodded when he saw me say this and said, "Maybe! But my mother has been dead for more than 20 years. I rarely think of her unless it is some important festival or her birthday or memorial day!"
For a period of time afterwards, Lao Song's mother who had passed away for many years did not appear in Lao Song's dreams again. Everything seemed to have returned to normal. Sometimes I would occasionally joke with Lao Song: "What do you think? Dreams are illusory and unreal after all. You were tossed around like a soulless person in those few days. All you talked about was how miserable your mother was living over there. You claim to be a materialist, but I think you are a fake. Your mother has long turned into a handful of ashes. Can ashes eat, drink water and sleep in the underworld? I think you have read too many ghost stories?" These words made Lao Song laugh.
On June 10th, a heavy rainstorm fell throughout the province overnight, and the rainfall hit the highest level in history during the same period. The next morning when I went to work, the originally dry city suddenly became a water city. You can even go boating in low-lying areas. The heavy rain can be seen! After going through untold hardships, I finally got to the company. When I opened the office door, I saw Lao Song leaning on the chair in a daze. I saw something was wrong; I saw that his face was frighteningly pale, his eyes were a little scattered and dull, his eyes were red, and his expression was sad as if he was worried. Seeing that the ashtray was full of cigarette butts, I knew that Lao Song didn't smoke much, and I was sure that he was in big trouble. "Lao Song, what's wrong with you?" I shouted several times in a row before Lao Song woke up from his trance. "Lao Song, did you catch a cold from the rain or feel uncomfortable? You look so scary!" "I dreamed of her again!" Lao Song murmured to me. "Who did you dream of?" I asked. "My mother!" His voice was very low but I could hear it clearly.
I couldn't help but be shocked. It was indeed a bit abnormal for Old Song to dream about his mother who had passed away many times. A few days ago, when Old Song dreamed about his mother, she was not as depressed as today. I really don't know what this old lady who had passed away many years ago said to her son? "Oh! I am so miserable." Old Song sighed, his eyes already filled with tears. "In my dream, my mother's hair was disheveled and she was no longer in human form. Her whole body was soaked in water. Due to being soaked for too long, her skin and flesh had swelled and turned white, and fell off layer by layer. In the end, only a skeleton was left. Although her eyeballs were gone and only two empty holes were left, tears still kept flowing out of her. Even so, my mother's skeleton was still trying to climb out of the water, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't climb out. Although she was just a skeleton, her voice had not changed at all, and it was still the same as when she was alive. She cried and shouted at me, saying that the water was too cold and asked me to save her. I woke up from the dream all of a sudden, and I was already sweating profusely. Although I knew it was just a dream, my mother's shrill wails kept echoing in my ears. I really didn't know what was going on. She had been dead for so many years, why did he ask me to save her? How should I save her? Is there really a soul after death?" As I listened to Lao Song's narration and looked out the window at the city washed by heavy rain, my heart suddenly moved…
I said to Lao Song, "Lao Song, why don't you take some time to go back and sweep your mother's grave?" Lao Song nodded and said, "Yes, I think so too. Otherwise, Fei Meng, can you accompany me?" I readily agreed to Lao Song's request. Without hesitation, I dreamed of my father's ghost and left as soon as I said I would. The next morning, Lao Song and I boarded the long-distance bus back home. Lao Song's family is in the countryside. His brothers work in different cities. His old father lives with his eldest brother, and there are no relatives at home. The village where Lao Song's family lives is about two hours away from the city where we work; but because it rained heavily at night, some sections of the road were impassable and had to be detoured. In addition, there was a serious traffic jam. When we arrived at the destination, it was almost noon. This is a very remote village, and the cemetery is about 1.5 kilometers away from the village. We didn't have time to rest, so we walked along the bumpy muddy road to the cemetery. When we arrived at the cemetery, we couldn't help but be surprised…
But I saw Lao Song kneeling down in front of his mother's grave and crying. Oh my god, I was stunned by the scene in front of me. Lao Song's mother's grave had been washed away by the heavy rain, and even the tombstone in front of the grave was tilted to one side; this is not a grave, it is clearly a puddle! Lao Song jumped into the puddle desperately and used his hands to feel around… Finally, he took out a black box covered with mud and held it tightly against his chest. There is no doubt that this black box is Lao Song's mother's urn. I understand, I finally understand, the dream that happened to Lao Song no longer needs to be explained. Lao Song cried so hard that he slapped himself in the face. I had to persuade him to stop crying.
That day, I took a car back to the city, while Lao Song stayed in his hometown. He wanted to build an unbreakable "new home" for his mother so that she could rest in peace forever. A week later, Lao Song came back and told me that his mother's tomb had been built, and her soul would no longer suffer from the wind and rain. I was quite relieved to hear him say that. A few days later, Lao Song quietly told me that he dreamed of his mother again. I was shocked and thought that something went wrong again. He saw what I was thinking and said hurriedly: "No, my mother appeared to me in the dream and told me that the house she lives in now is very spacious, warm and comfortable; she also praised me for being a filial and good son!" After that, Lao Song laughed and breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
After this incident, I finally understood that people’s past lives, present lives, and afterlife actually exist, and the underworld and the world of the living also exist. Facts speak louder than words. Don’t you still believe it?