CHAPTER 51

2025-05-29

I just finished writing the Chinese manuscript. In the past, I would immediately make a copy just in case. This time, I was careless and the original manuscript disappeared during the translation. I tried to save it, but it couldn't be saved. Only an empty word remained. The same is true for people who leave.

Articles can be rewritten, but people who have passed away cannot come back. The title of the article I just finished is "Last Words", in memory of the first anniversary of my wife's sudden death on May 26.

Because it was a sudden death, there was no warning, no last words, and no instructions for the funeral. This farewell came like a gust of wind and left like a trace, like a tornado, destroying a family.

Two days after my wife passed away, I was talking deeply with a senior and a close friend, and suddenly remembered what my wife said to me the Wednesday night before.

That night, we rested after dinner. I sat at the desk, facing the balcony ten feet away. My wife was watching the TV in front of me on the left, at the other end of the table. She turned her head to the left and slightly backwards, and said to me very calmly that the happiest time of her life was now. We had gone through many difficult years together. I was rescued from serious illness many times, and I was still able to take care of myself after brain trauma. Even the recovery of depression was much better than expected. Lun has received high-quality services from the government for many years, and we can rest assured. Little brother finally found his ideal career and has a clear direction in life. The apartment unit we lived in for 30 years will be rebuilt in a certain period, and little brother's residence will be guaranteed in the future. We have seen all the places we wanted to visit and enjoyed the fun together. She is very satisfied and has no regrets.

We have been through thick and thin for decades, and I fully understand and have no objections.

The next morning, my wife told me that she suddenly felt heart pain in her sleep in the middle of the night. After she was quiet for a while, she found nothing unusual, so she did not wake me up. In the afternoon, we went to the restaurant for tea together, but she had a poor appetite. Two days later, she showed signs of a stroke and passed away twelve hours later.

I recently filed taxes for my late wife. After reading the documents carefully, I found that on the night she went to the emergency room, her platelet count dropped from 250 two weeks ago to 5, while the normal count is 150 to 400. The red blood cells were damaged, that is, many obstacles blocked the blood vessels and destroyed the red blood cells passing through. The heart was also damaged and lost a lot of potassium. Multiple organs have failed.

She was already terminally ill on Wednesday night. Although she had no way of knowing it, she was one in body, mind and spirit. She could realize that separation was coming and it was time to sum up her life. Thinking of this, I suddenly felt sad that Victoria was alone at that moment, trying her best to comfort me and herself.