The old man, who has always had strong bones and is not afraid of the minus 20-degree wind in the Gobi desert. He turned down a decent official position and supported his family with his hands. For the rest of his life, he was trapped in one thing and tortured himself day and night.
His hometown in Hebei was his lifelong obsession. In his sixties, he returned home alone to rebuild his ancestral home. He wanted to end his homesickness, but a sibling dispute left him with an unforgettable guilt. Since then, my grandfather, who used to love playing chess, humming Hebei Bangzi, preparing New Year's goods every year, and waiting for relatives to pay New Year's greetings, has become increasingly silent and insomniac, and he is the only one sitting alone in the large living room all year round.
In the ICU, when he was dying, he only thought about the repaired house in his hometown, and repeatedly said "I'm sorry" in his mouth; accompanied by the old radio with a broken antenna and listening to rural operas for half his life, he stayed in the desert forever, where he had been wandering for half his life, unable to return to his roots.
Many years later, my granddaughter dug out a stack of old photos in a yellowed cowhide envelope. The back of each photo was covered with his clumsy handwriting, and she was shocked to realize that he had been writing a long love letter using photos for twenty years. She picked up a pen and wrote a reply letter to heaven, and dropped it into the unsigned mailbox. The wind and sand blow over the small town every year, and the nostalgia, debt and unspoken tenderness hidden in the years are all hidden in this regretful past in the desert.
Intention: The granddaughter understands the belated tenderness of her grandfather, writes an undeliverable reply, and completes the emotional response that spans life and death. Expressing regret cannot make up for it, but the tenderness, experience and love of the deceased will remain in the lives of future generations. Living well with the expectations of the deceased is the best way to let go of the past.