The Hand Reaching into the Vase chapter 4

I Don’t Want to Lose My Hand

Tom thought about his bleak future and the easily – obtained $1 million. With tears in his eyes and gritted teeth, he nodded. Mr. Brown immediately wrote two agreements. The content was that Tom voluntarily agreed to have his right hand cut off, and he and Mike would each pay $500,000 as compensation. After writing, Mike went into the kitchen. They could hear the sound of him sharpening a knife for a while. Then he came out with a shiny kitchen knife. He found a bottle of alcohol to disinfect it. Mr. Brown sighed and said, “Let me do it.” Mr. Brown seemed to know what he was doing. He asked Jack to stand in the yard and be ready to call 911 at any time. He tightly wrapped a nylon rope around Tom’s right elbow to stop the bleeding, and then asked Mike to hold the vase firmly…

At this time, Tom turned his head towards the yard and saw his father squatting on the ground, smoking with his back to the door. Only then did he notice that his father’s hair had turned gray. He remembered how much effort his father had put into him over the years. His heart ached, and tears streamed down his face. But things had come to this point, and he had to take the plunge. He gently placed his right hand with the vase on the table and waited for the knife. Mr. Brown rolled up the sleeve of Tom’s right arm, whispered, “Kid, I’m sorry!” Then he raised the knife high above his head…

At this moment, Tom stared blankly at the sharp kitchen knife in Mr. Brown’s hand. Suddenly, Mr. Brown let out a loud “Hey!” and the kitchen knife came down towards Tom’s right wrist with a whoosh. At this critical moment, Tom suddenly let out a wild scream of “No!” and jerked his body back. His right hand was actually pulled out of the vase! The blade grazed Tom’s right index finger, cutting a little bit of the skin, and blood gushed out. The cricket also suddenly jumped out of the vase and disappeared after a few hops.

Tom tightly held his finger, crying and laughing at the same time. He said, “Dad, come and have a look. My hand… my hand is out!”

Jack rushed into the house. Seeing the situation, he stepped forward and held Tom’s finger. The father and son hugged each other and cried. Jack sobbed and asked Tom, “Son, why did you pull your hand back just now?”

Tom said with a mixture of pain and regret, “I… I don’t want to lose my hand…”

“Yes, son, it’s already terrible for a person to lose a hand. What’s even more terrible is to be willing to lose a hand in exchange for temporary wealth!”

Tom burst into tears and said, “Dad, I was wrong. I know I was wrong!”

Mr. Brown paid the money to Mike and then left with the vase. Mike also took the money to save his daughter. After that, the story of Tom almost losing his hand because of cricket – fighting spread in the old city. As a result, fewer and fewer people played cricket, while more and more people got into antique collection…