     That was all he said; then he took it and went inside. I left without a word.

Visisiting My Garden at Twilight

     One year after I began growing flowers for sale, Dr. Lai's son was hospitalized at T'ai-chung Hospital with typhoid fever. One evening at twilight, just when it becomes too dark to clearly see the person's face in front of you, Dr. Lai suddenly showed up at my garden. He had called on me on his way to the hospital, and that was when I first heard of his son's hospitalization. Supposedly he had "Dropped in," but my place was in a wholly different direction from the hospital. At that time I lived in back of an old crematorium, pretty far from town.

     "How is everything? Are you making ends meet?"

     This was the kind of thing he asked me. Then he looked around the field, peeped into a large-size shed that was barely half-built after a year's work, and patted my child on the head. When it was pitch- dark, he left for the hospital.

     I had received his financial help more than once, but when I think about this particular time, I always feel tears coming to my eyes. He was never pushy with his kindness. He offered the most he could in a subtle way and was always careful not to burden the conscience of those who received his generosity.
The Funeral

     The day after Dr. Lai Ho passed away, I had gone into town to run an errand. When I returned in the evening, there was a note on my door-plate. I picked it up and looked at it. A friend had left a message informing me of his death.

     The next day I received a postcard of the same from a friend in Chang-hua.
     I sat stupefied the whole day, thinking of Dr. Lai.
     My thoughts kept wandering.

     I I felt as though he were here one moment and then was suddenly gone the next.
     It was the day of the funeral.

     "Even when Dr. Lai Ho was no longer able to get out of bed, all he would think of was his patients."

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