My aunt’s younger brother passed away today due to cancer, only in his early 30s, at the prime of his life, which is even more unfortunate than my father’s situation.

I thought my father’s illness was already unfortunate enough, but I didn’t expect… At the end of last year, my father was critically ill and almost passed away. Although the hospital did everything to save his life, it’s almost impossible for him to recover to his former state. After accompanying my father for surgery at Xiangya Hospital, it only served to alleviate his condition. Now, every day is uncertain, and for more than half a year, I’ve been living in constant fear, dreading the phone calls from my mother.

During the surgery, my aunt’s brother was also at the same hospital for a re-examination, and his condition was basically confirmed at that time, but everyone kept the truth from him.

However, when it comes to illness, no one knows better than the person themselves, and since cancer usually comes with immense pain, he must have known it himself.

Before the start of this semester, my aunt went back to her parents’ home for many days in a row, and only later did we find out that her brother had uncontrollable nosebleeds, which is a sign of advanced cancer.

About a month ago, my family asked me to send my blood donation certificate back home for this reason.

When my father fell ill last year, he received a blood transfusion of 2400 milliliters at once, so my blood donation certificate wouldn’t be of much use, and since we’re not direct blood relatives, of course, the hospital probably doesn’t check these things, and with acquaintances at the hospital, I sent it back as they wished.

He has always been very kind to others. For many years, my father worked under the projects he contracted, and my living expenses were often advanced and sent by him. Since his surname is “Zuo,” the last phone number in my phone is his, though I haven’t called him for over half a year.

When my uncle got married, this younger brother-in-law was only in his teens, so he often came to play at our house. When I was a child, I even went with them to cut wood in distant mountains to sell. What I remember most clearly is that from carrying so much wood, their shoulders were completely peeled, in a way that was heartbreaking to see, almost the entire shoulder flesh was rotten.

Looking back now, those times were really tough.

What he regretted most was not having much education, but to ordinary people, he seemed like a very capable person.

He always managed to secure large projects from government departments, and when some projects didn’t turn out as well as hoped due to various reasons, he always found the most appropriate way to make amends and recover.

He had two children, both only a few years old, and now he has left them behind. Alas! Heaven is truly unfair.

He was one of three siblings, with my aunt being the eldest and him the youngest, with an older brother in between who has three children, and now he leaves behind two…

These things are too real, too cruel. I hope he finds peace in heaven!

Rest in peace for the departed, strive for the living!