I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

Yu Wen fell silent.

He didn't know how to comfort the mother in front of him.

He would certainly say things like "please accept my condolences" and "take care," but when actually facing a mother who has lost her daughter, saying these words would have no real effect.

Yu Yin stood behind the wheelchair and also quieted down.

She looked at the woman, her eyes slightly dazed.

Of course she knows what it feels like to lose a loved one.

During the time when her father and mother passed away one after another, she would wake up from her dreams countless times, instinctively wanting to call out to them.

But when I open my eyes, all I ever see are the cold walls of the basement.

From then on, she and her brother became each other's only family in the world.

She may not be able to fully comprehend the pain of a mother losing her daughter.

But she knew how much pain the person left behind would have to endure to keep living after someone so important to them suddenly disappeared.

After a moment, Yu Wencai asked:

"Then why did you come to see me?"

The woman lowered her head, as if she had finally remembered the most important purpose of her visit.

"Before she passed away, she loved the book 'To Live,' and she also loved you."

She wrote you a letter.

"I must deliver it to you personally, no matter what."

As the woman spoke, she reached into her bosom.

Her cheap mechanical hand wasn't dexterous enough, and it took her several attempts to carefully remove a white envelope.

The envelope was kept very neatly.

Although the edges and corners were a bit soft, the surface was not covered with much dust.

Clearly, the woman had kept it close to her body the whole way, fearing that it might be damaged in the slightest.

She held the envelope in both hands and handed it to Yu Wen.

"She was already unable to move at that time."

"This was written down for her by her attending physician."

She said it was a letter addressed to you, and that I wasn't allowed to see it...

As she said this, the woman forced a smile, as if she could see her bright and lovely daughter again.

Yu Yin stared at the white envelope, her expression slightly taken aback.

This was the first time she had ever seen a real paper letter in real life.

Just a few days ago, her brother mentioned this ancient method of transmission when he was telling her about Harry Potter.

The letters in the story kept pouring in through cracks in the door, windows, and chimneys, carrying an exciting sense of mystery.

The letter lay quietly in the woman's hand.

To get it here, this mother didn't know how far she had traveled or what she had gone through.

Yu Wen also did not expect to receive a letter.

Strictly speaking, he simply brought the language of another world here.

"To Live" is not a story he wrote; the characters, the suffering, and the answers about life do not truly belong to him.

But now, someone has actually written a letter specifically for him because of those words.

The person who wrote the letter is no longer in this world.

Yu Wen reached out and took the envelope.

The woman watched as the letter fell into his hands, and her tense shoulders suddenly relaxed.

It was as if only at this moment could she finally confirm that the task her daughter had entrusted to her had been completed.

She didn't say anything more, but bowed deeply to Yu Wen, then turned around and walked out alone.

The old mechanical leg always took a step slower than the other leg.

The joints of his left arm also made a slight friction sound as he swung them.

Her back was very thin, and even somewhat hunched.

Yu Wen watched her gradually disappear into the distance, unsure of what else he could do.

He didn't even know whether chasing after her now would be comforting her or reopening the wounds she had just suppressed.

In the end, he didn't say anything.

Yu Yin didn't say anything, but simply pushed the wheelchair slowly into the apartment.

On the way home, the two siblings were unusually quiet.

Yu Wen placed the letter on his lap and gently pressed it with his palm.

After returning to his study, he looked down and examined the envelope carefully.

The envelope was still sealed intact, with no signs of it being torn open.

Even the glue at the seal, which had long lost its shine, was still firmly stuck there.

It's clear that the mother never opened it.

Even though she knew that it contained her daughter's last words to this world.

This mother, who had lost everything, respected her daughter's final wish in her own way.

Yu Wen remained silent for a moment before carefully opening the envelope along its edge.

Inside was a neatly folded piece of paper.

The handwriting on the paper was very neat, not at all like a doctor's handwriting, and there were obvious pauses in some places.

Yu Wen fully unfolded the letter.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hello, Teacher Yu:

Please forgive my intrusion.

This letter was written for me by my doctor because I am now unable to move.

I don't know whether I should call you brother or uncle.

Mom said that calling you "teacher" is definitely the right thing to do, so I'll still call you Teacher Yu.

I don't know what you look like, but I like you very much, and I especially like your book "To Live".

Perhaps it was fate that I was able to hear this book.

I was in my hospital bed when my mother saw a book called "To Live" and read it to me. I knew what my mother meant.

Life is so beautiful.

I want to leave the ward, to see the streets outside the hospital, to eat the real fruit my mother used to talk about, and to hug her again.

Unfortunately, I may have to go to another place first.

Teacher Yu, do you think I will see Fengxia, Youqing and Kugen in another world?

If I meet them, I will tell them that I have heard their stories.

My body is in pain every single second right now.

Many times I've thought that I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up again.

But every time I think of my mother, I get scared.

Because I'm all my mom has left.

I love my mom.

I don't know what my mother will do alone after I'm gone.

I'm really afraid she'll go with me.

So I told my mom that I had a wish.

I want her to find you and hand this letter to you personally.

I'm sorry, I acted impulsively again.

I know it will be difficult to find you. Maybe Mom will search for a very long time, or maybe she will never find you.

In this way, at least Mom can live on to fulfill my wish.

If Mom really finds you and delivers this letter to you, it will take quite a while. By then, Mom's pain should be lessened by time, right?

One by one, the characters in the book left Fugui.

But Fu Gui survived in the end.

Teacher Yu, if possible, I hope you can help me tell my mother.

I hope she can live a good life like Fugui.

Mom, please don't worry about me too much.

I'm doing well here.

No injections are needed here, and it won't hurt.

In my next life, I still want to be your good daughter.

Mom, I love you.

Teacher Yu, thank you, thank you for writing "To Live".

Wishing you good health.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Wishing you good health...

Yu Wen looked down at these words and fell into a long silence.