The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 13 Old John's Gift

The moon was bright and the stars were few. Tonight, the moonlight in the town seemed exceptionally bright, and the silvery moonlight spilled onto the quiet streets, silently covering the earth with a layer of white.

From Old John's old house on the street corner, a series of melodious sounds emanated from the room.

Upon closer inspection, it was the tone that bards used when telling stories.

Inside the house, Ino was telling a story with great enthusiasm, the story of the Little Match Girl.

"...In the long, cold night, the little girl struck the first match, which emitted a warm and bright light, like a small candle, which was pleasant. The little girl felt as if she were sitting next to a large iron stove with polished brass corners and decorations."

"...All the matches were lit! The light illuminated the little girl's surroundings, and in the light, she saw her beloved grandmother again, the kind old woman who had passed away. 'Grandma, please take me with you, because everything will disappear when the fire goes out,' the little girl pleaded as she ran towards her grandmother."

"This time, the grandmother in the light did not disappear, but instead hugged the little girl tightly... The two walked across a bridge made of light and came to a garden where there was never hunger, never cold, and never carefree."

A dozen minutes later, Ian finished telling the whole story of the Little Match Girl.

Contrary to his expectations, old John did not shed tears or show any signs of sobbing; instead, he felt only relief and a faint sense of comfort.

"Little Ino, do you know, the day we first met a month ago, you said: All life has light, like a burning match, faint, warm, and brilliant. And if it can illuminate others before it goes out, then it shouldn't be called a regret."

Old John repeated his words, each one pronounced with force and conviction.

"Do you know how much comfort and confidence those words gave me? My daughter's life was brilliant; she used her own life to illuminate others, to illuminate the man she would call 'Uncle.' After the tragedy, he also kicked his alcoholism and started his own life in another city."

Hearing this, Ino decisively picked up the thread, saying, "Both the redeemer and the redeemed are reborn. The difference is that the life of the redeemer is indeed brilliant and radiant, not filled with regret."

"You're right!" Old John said resolutely. "So, I also want to make up for my mistakes, use the rest of my life to illuminate others, and become a true redeemer."

"So that's why you've been constantly hammering stilettos and making shoe soles all this time?" Ino asked rhetorically.

After all, he's not blind; anyone could notice the changes in Old John during this period.

"I'm a shoemaker, I have no other skills. But when I came back, I learned that on the day my daughter passed away, she was barefoot, and even the clothes she was wearing were the apron left by her grandmother."

Although he had made up his mind, old John's face still showed undisguised sadness when he spoke of his painful past.

"So I thought, with my limited abilities, I can do my best to help those who are barefoot to have shoes to wear. Even if I only help one person in the end, I will be satisfied."

……

No matter how long the night, the sun will eventually rise at dawn.

The next morning, Ino opened her eyes somewhat wearily.

I chatted with Old John until midnight last night, so I got up early this morning, feeling a bit tired.

Although I don't necessarily have to get up early, the thought of possibly returning today instantly dispelled any lingering sleepiness I had.

"Time to go home again. I feel like I didn't earn anything on this trip, except hone my talking skills."

As Ino pondered these thoughts, she tidied herself up and washed, all the while also calculating what she would gain from the trip.

I didn't realize this until I counted... three baskets of bread, several large bags of mushrooms, two small cans of kerosene, dried wild vegetables, scraps of cloth...

All the scattered bits and pieces add up to a huge pile of stuff.

But he didn't have a single gold coin, silver coin, or even copper coin that he truly wanted.

Looking at the pile of annoying odds and ends in the corner, Ino didn't want to take any of them and decided to leave them all to Old John.

After breakfast.

Old John, unusually, didn't go to work at his stall, but instead looked at Ino's neatly packed luggage.

"Are you leaving today?"

"Yes! They're leaving today."

Ino responded easily, and then pointed to the supplies beside her, adding:

"You can keep all those things. Don't refuse. They're just a burden to me. Bandits love to ambush travelers with heavy packs."

Old John instinctively wanted to refuse, but after hearing the reasons that followed, he silently nodded, which was considered as acknowledging Ino's words.

"In that case, I'll send a return gift too, otherwise people will say that old John is taking advantage of the little guy."

Old John glanced at the pile of supplies, stood up, and walked to the cabinet in the corner.

It was such an old object that it had to rely on several stones to maintain its balance.

Old John rummaged around in the wooden cabinet for a while.

Soon, Ino saw the return gift that Old John had mentioned.

A small linen bag jingled and tinkled; you could tell just by the sound that it contained at least silver coins, because copper coins couldn't produce such a clear and melodious sound.

Next to the small cloth bag was a very old box of matches, which appeared to have been used, with some burn marks on the edge of the matchbox.

But Ino showed no disgust whatsoever; instead, she carefully took the matches from Old John's hand.

"Thank you for the return gift, I really like it. As for this..."

Glancing at the money pouch on the table, Ino decisively shook her head and refused:

"No one is richer than a bard, and although our gold coins are all stored in our heads, isn't that safer?"

He was resolute in his refusal, but he was also heartbroken. If he could, who would be foolish enough to give up the gold he had already obtained?

But that's how the world is; unless under specific circumstances, any act of greed can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Without giving old John a chance to speak, Ino raised the match in his hand and explained:

"I already have the most precious gift; I cannot greedily ask for more."

He spoke these words sincerely, without a trace of falsehood.

In this fantastical world, many things cannot be valued solely by their appearance, just like that unassuming divination die.

Moreover, this box of matches is a key item that connects the two stories, so its special nature is obvious.

at the same time.

After handing over the matches, Old John also carefully examined Ino's eyes.

However, he saw no disgust in those amber eyes, only sincerity and joy, clearly indicating that the other person really liked the gift.

"To be honest! I didn't originally intend to give it to you; the only gift I gave you was this bag of gold coins."

Old John stretched out his calloused hands and clumsily untied the rope binding the money bag, revealing the captivating color of the gold coins.

However, neither Old John nor Ino gave the gold coins a second glance.

Especially for Ino, who had seen far greater treasures, a mere bag of gold coins was hardly worth his attention.

But the appearance of this bag of gold coins also dispelled his previous doubts.

That is, even though Old John didn't have much of a knack for making money, he was able to live a stable life for decades after returning to the small town.

Now, we've finally found the root cause.

New book release, a new journey begins. Thank you to all the big names for your support.

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(End of this chapter)