Now I'm Older Than All of You

"When we were little..." he began, his voice soft. "You all said I was the youngest."

He paused.

"Now I'm older than all of you."

No one answered him.

Only the wind, and the sound of the Yong River in the distance.

He crouched down and took a piece of paper from his coat, pressing it beneath Shen An's gravestone.

Written on it were the words: "Find a foreign doctor for Big Brother. No matter what it costs, he has to be treated."

He stood and brushed the dirt from his knees.

Then he turned and walked down the hill.

Behind him, rows of gravestones stood in the dusk.

Like a family.