Cold wind blows under the dim moonlight. Facing me, a man is coming. He looks at me and so do I. It seems that on two faces, both are trying to search for something that has been lost. It is so quiet and so cold.

      

Cold—is it the wind, the light or he? I really feel cold. The coldness seems looming in the distance far far away, but right here and right now, it’s just so close to me, stiflingly close. It is Ken, my best friend in childhood.

 

Our old fellowship can be traced back to sixty years ago, when we were both children who were addicted to all the new thing of the colorful world, children who would be happy for a whole day for verbal praise, and children, who still cannot tell from good and evil.

 

Since his parents were working in the other city far away from home, he was raised up by his grandma, a kind old female farmer unfortunately got Alzheimer in an extraordinarily early age. So Ken gained nothing more about the world from his guardians in childhood except foods and understated affection from his poor grandma. And I, his best friend from the first day he was sent into nursery school, was the only one who he would share his real world with. 

 

From morning to night, we had fun together---- laughing together for the feces-shaped sugarloaf, trying to catch the tadpole near to the bank of the pool, and chasing for a dragonfly which seemed to be too weak to escape from a child’s little hands, or a little gray bird that even couldn’t be distinguished from chicken.

 

As time went by, Ken and I both grew up and entered the rebellious period. In contrast to Ken’s being totally free from his guardians, I had to inform my mother and ask for permission every time I wanted to out at that period----a period when my mother would be crazy for my being out of her control for a single minute and when I felt the unfreedom mostly. So as time went by, I was gradually kept away from my previous brother, Ken.

 

Ken then became well-known around the village for some uncertain affairs while I was sent into Kadettenschule far away from home and began my military career. We were out of contact with each other. And before long Mom told me that it was said around the village that Ken gained a big fortune soon after I left, which was the last time she mentioned Ken, who left the small village as well later. From then on, Ken seemed to be disappeared in my life.

 

After graduating, I served in the state army and was promoted to be an official commander latter.

 

Forty years slipped away. One day, I was sitting in the office and waiting for the result of an important appointment nervously----dismantling the country’s biggest criminal gang, a gang that we even have no idea about its ringleader’s real name. It was finally succeed. However, when the assistant sent me the report about this enormous and mysterious gang, I was hit heavily on my heart. It was named Ken, ringleader of the country’s biggest criminal gang.

 

Several days later, he was sentenced to death for the innumerable crimes he did. The night before he was executed, I made a call to the warden for seeing the offender in the execution ground. After hanging up, I drove to the prison immediately and arrived at the destination so quickly. Minutes later, an emaciated old man about 5’6’’ approached, with long heavy chains on both his foot and hand. He looked wan and sallow. Under the light of the moon, he appeared to be a dead one who was being pushed by the warden of the hell.

 

He stopped and kept silent in front of me, waiting for another endless interrogating. I didn’t know how to begin the conversation and was just stiff for a minute. Finally, he broke the silence. Staring at me, he asked, “What do you want…sir…” His voice trembled, babbled and stuttered. I gave him no answer, and kept silent still. It was him. No matter how much Ken changed, his voice could tell me who he was. We just stand there and kept silent for another minutes before the warden asked him to back to the jail. And I left as well with my blank heart. 

 

I walked on, but suddenly I stopped and looked back. I watched the thin body of his, with long hair on the shoulders, disappearing into the dark.