Lorelei, Ethan’s first word spoken was “stars.”
Perhaps it was from hearing songs frequently, with the word “stars” appearing most often in the lyrics.
The second word was “mom.”
Only the third word was “dad.”
On their first birthday, the two children sat on the floor as the household servants prepared props for drawing lots. Ethan picked up some money, while Lorelei grabbed an apple.
One loved money, the other loved to eat, showing no interest in anything else.
Linda asked Finn, what did he hope for Lorelei and Ethan as they grew up?
Finn replied, “As long as they are healthy, happy, and know how to love.”
In a person’s life, there are birth, aging, illness, death, and ups and downs. One must understand love, as it can make one strong, compassionate, resilient, fulfilled, and content…
This year, Hattie was released from prison. When she came out, she still remembered her agreement with Aoife, that she would come to pick her up. But there was no one waiting for her outside the prison.
She had to ask Micah for news about Aoife and eventually learned that Aoife had passed away a year ago.
Hattie couldn’t believe it. She went to the graveyard in a daze until she saw Aoife’s tombstone… Tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
Back when she was in prison, she never cried. She endured inhumane torture in there and even managed to hold back her tears. But on this day… maybe it was because the autumn wind was too cold, as soon as it blew, tears rolled down her cheeks.
The sobs grew louder and louder, and Hattie lost her strength, kneeling on the ground, her entire body convulsing.
“Deceiver, didn’t we agree that you would pick me up when I was released from prison? Why did your words prove untrue? I was waiting for you the whole time. Why… why didn’t you wait a little longer for me?”
She still remembered the words Aoife said to her in prison when she came to visit her. She said, “Hattie, I’ll wait for you to come out.”
At that time, they both believed they could make it through, confident that they would outlast these scum. But two years passed, and everything changed.
Why are there so many bad people like Aoife in this world?
Hattie was hoarse from crying, and in the end, she even vomited blood and her hands were covered in it.
Unfortunately, she never got to see Aoife one last time.
…
Eighteen years passed in the blink of an eye. The two children grew up, and Finn also weathered the toughest times.
Finn, now 52 years old, with graying temples, still had a handsome face, and over the years, many women had pursued him, all of whom he had rejected. He had dedicated all his energy to his two children.
Lorelei and Ethan had asked him such questions when they were very young.
“Dad, why don’t we have a mom? Did she not want us?”
“Your mom loved you the most. It’s not that she didn’t want you, I lost her.”
Children’s thoughts are naive. Just thinking about how Dad lost Mom made them imagine how scared Mom must have been alone in a strange place.
“Then go find Mom. Don’t leave her alone.”
“I can’t find her. She’s too far away.”
“How far is it? Can’t we find her by car or plane?”
“It’s as far as the stars in the sky, visible but out of reach…”
On their eighteenth birthday, a foreign woman came to their house.
After introductions, her name was Annie, a journalist abroad. She came here to find her benefactor.
She had been in a car accident when she was eight years old. If it weren’t for Aoife and Ethan saving her back then, she might have died already. Thanks to them, she was separated from her original family, kept safe by the police, and now became an outstanding journalist.
Finn was momentarily lost. It had been twenty years, but looking back now, it felt like yesterday.
During that time, Aoife had fled abroad to live with Ethan.
Back then, she and Ethan had saved this little girl. Their actions were reported by the police, and that’s how he slowly found out about her.
Finn still remembered how he had sarcastically called Aoife a saint that day. He hadn’t even cared about himself, let alone others.
Aoife’s kindness was never wrong. The girl they saved had come from afar to find her.
Unfortunately, Aoife was no longer there.
One person’s actions often affect many things. Despite all the hardships in the world, there will always be someone to carry on your kindness.
Finn made a decision on August 7th, Aoife’s memorial day: he went to Evergreen Village alone. After sitting by the earthen mound for half a day, he returned to Chiwood Police Station to turn himself in.
“For eighteen years, I imprisoned a woman and forced her to have an abortion, illegally took humiliating photos and videos of her, which were leaked. These are all evidence of the crime. I surrender myself and request the death penalty.”
Finn placed the file in his hands on the table. The police opened it and the more they read, the more serious their faces became. When all the big and small pieces of evidence were put together, there were over twenty charges.
Apart from illegal detention, there was violence and indirect murder…
Finn’s surrender attracted high-level attention. The investigation was thorough, and Aoife, the victim, had committed suicide eighteen years ago, leaving behind only two children.
Finn wasn’t sentenced to death but to life imprisonment without parole. On the day he entered prison, only Lorelei and Ethan could visit him.
Lorelei’s eyes were swollen from crying. She didn’t understand why Finn had surrendered himself to prison. She didn’t know what kind of person her father used to be. She only knew that in these eighteen years, Finn had been really good to them, a responsible father.
Ethan on the side remained silent, but his eyes were also red. He knew that this was what Finn had always wanted to do, and he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
“Raising you is my responsibility, but I am guilty. My sins are unforgivable. People have to pay the price for the mistakes they’ve made. I killed your mother. Without a father by your side in the future, you must still live well. Remember not to become someone like me.”
The visitation time was brief. After the two siblings left, Finn returned to the prison. He only carried one thing with him-a worn-out cell phone. Inside was an audio clip recorded on the day of Aoife’s death.
It was fifteen minutes long, and he had always carefully preserved it. He had only listened to the first ten minutes, never bringing himself to hear the last five minutes until now. He didn’t want to let go, fearing what he might hear.
When naming their children Lorelei and Ethan, Finn had envisioned a beautiful meaning for the rest of their lives together.
After Aoife’s death, Lorelei and Ethan caused him pain, hence his need for penance.
In prison, Finn developed a habit of writing a diary. He stopped taking his medication, his hysteria resurfaced, and he saw Aoife’s figure every day. He was the only one left in the prison, and when the guards saw him talking to himself, it seemed as though he was conversing with someone on the other side.
The ruthless man who surrendered himself with evidence found himself crying and laughing in prison, talking to himself throughout the long and lonely nights.
He said the most: I miss you, Aoife.
Life is so long, and you are unforgettable.
Finn’s Diary.
August 15th, sunny.
Aoife, I surrendered myself to prison. You were right. Evil begets evil, and the law will punish me for all my wrongdoings. Time really flies by. This year, Lorelei and Ethan are both 18 years old. Ethan has become a good brother, establishing a charity organization, while Lorelei has pursued painting. Your daughter painted you, and it looks just like you.
…
December 2nd, snowing.
Chiwood’s winters are so cold. I remember how much you hated this type of winter. I wonder if you’re feeling cold down there. Lately, my mind has been troubled. Sometimes, the guards talk to me, but I hear many voices in my head.
The old, the present-making it difficult for me to differentiate. They’ve been suggesting that I see a psychologist and have the children bring me medicine to take.
What they don’t know is that I deliberately haven’t taken the medicine. I’ve had enough of it after eighteen years. I don’t want to take it. If I take the medicine, I won’t see you anymore, nor hear your voice.
Christmas has come. Today, Lorelei and Ethan brought me a grand meal. There’s even candy wrapped inside the turkey that they made for me. What they don’t know is that I dislike sweet things the most. Christmas this year must be lively outside, but in the prison, it’s quiet and desolate. Everyone wants to go home, and I do too. But I’ve realized-I have no home without you.
March 9th, sunny.
Aoife, my memory is deteriorating along with my health. I sometimes doubt my memories. Maybe you only exist in my delusions. I’ve never actually seen you.
May 30th, raining.
Compared to not being able to see you in the future, I fear forgetting you even more. I’ve decided to start taking the medication.
August 7th, cloudy.
Today is your memorial day. Ever since I started taking the medication every day, the hallucinations have reduced, but today, I still see you. sitting beside me. I counted, and this is the 12, 352nd time I’ve seen you.
September 1st, sunny.
Aoife, I’m 58 years old this year. My hair has turned white, and my face is lined with many wrinkles. I look in the mirror and can barely recognize myself. You mentioned below, but would you still recognize me?
I suppose you wouldn’t want to see me.
I used to think that if I reached you down there, I would carry you on my back. But I am disabled-a hunchbacked old man. The idea of carrying you has become a luxury.
October 1st, sunny.
“One Hundred Years of Solitude” is the punishment you gave me. But I can’t take it anymore, nor do I want to endure it. Time has passed so long that I’ve forgotten how old I am. I only remember this as the 30th year after your death.
Let me tell you, you’ve become a grandmother and great-grandmother. Ethan has a son, and Lorelei has a daughter.
If you were here… you would love them dearly, wouldn’t you?
…
On this day, the elderly Finn wrote his final diary entry in prison.
He took out his phone, trembling, and played the audio clip he had listened to millions of times.
Is forgetting one person’s beginning from her voice to her appearance?
If you keep listening to her voice, will you never forget her?
This time, Finn listened to the end of the audio clip…
“Finn, by the time you hear this, I will have died. I don’t want to forgive you, nor do I want to hate you forever. We are not destined to be together in this life, make sure you be a good father for the rest of your life, and in the next life… I hope you become a good person.”
In that moment, everything seemed to fall silent, with only the sound of tears dripping onto the table, disrupting everything.
Finn had always thought that the words Aoife left for him would be a “curse,” words filled with hatred and resentment. He dared not listen and feared what he might hear. Each time he held onto the phone, he did so with trepidation.
But what he didn’t expect was that as he listened further, Aoife simply said one calmly written sentence.
-In the next life, I hope you become a good person.
Finn couldn’t contain his emotions and broke down, tears streaming down his face.
…
Finn died alone in prison, with no one by his side. He collapsed on the table, still clutching the pen as if he had just fallen asleep.
The sudden incident came without warning. Just that morning, he had been fine. The June night sky was lit up with stars, and he saw a cluster of white flowers by the roadside, somewhat resembling a full bloom of stars. At the time, he had told his cellmate, “Aoife would love these small flowers.”
As he said it, tears welled up in his eyes. The flowers grew in the yard and were never picked. With time, they bloomed and withered.
Longing never rushes through like a raging torrent, yet it continues to ripple incessantly at the heart, stirring up emotions time and time again.
Time aged his appearance, blurred his memories, but Finn always remembered his eternal love for Aoife, unmatched by anyone else.
Ethan and Lorelei came to the prison to collect Finn’s body. As they sorted through his belongings, they discovered the diary that he had yet to finish writing.
June 1st, sunny.
Aoife, I have finally completed the task you entrusted me with-to raise Lorelei and Ethan, watch them get married and have children. I have strived to become a good father. If in the next life, I could be a good person, I might be able to see you…
Those were the last words he had written before collapsing. Finn passed away on the same day of Aoife’s birthday, just like the previous life.
Once again, Finn hadn’t returned after entering prison, but this time, unlike the previous life, Aoife didn’t come to take him home.
“Mr. Snearl, in the rest of our lives, may we finally be at peace.”