As his words faded, his father's hand slowly fell. He followed the love of his life into death.
The two people who had spent their entire lives loving Ze were gone.
Two tear tracks beneath Ze's dark eyes had yet to dry. He simply stared at his father's face, silent for a long time.
His younger brother could not bear to watch and stepped forward to bring Ze back to his senses.
"Ze... Dad..." But his brother's voice was even more choked with tears than his own.
Ze managed a smile and looked at his brother, who was more than twenty years younger than him.
At that moment, his brother even looked far more mature than Ze.
Ze looked at his brother's family and smiled. "I'm all right. You still have me, your wife, and your children. We're still a family, aren't we?"
"Yes." His brother's eyes were filled with sincerity.
Later, Ze left all the savings and property he had accumulated over the years to his brother's family.
After that, his brother never saw his last remaining relative again. He spent the rest of his life searching, but never found him.
Ze walked alone to the edge of the sea. Gazing out at the azure waters, he began carefully looking back over his life.
"I've had a pretty good life."
Ze recalled his parents' faces and his young brother.
Closing his eyes to the gentle sea breeze, Ze poked his own forehead.
Seagulls circled along the coast, and sunlight set the sea sparkling.
With my savings, his family should never have to worry about food or clothing again...
But there was still one question that had troubled him all his life, one he had yet to answer.
Ze returned to the place where he had gone just after graduating.