Laura Collins burst into tears in the car.
After calming down, she took the envelope and left quietly.
Nora Scott watched her figure fade away, without leaving herself. After a mont of silence, She exhaled, pulled out her phone, and made a call to Joseph Sutton.
This ti, Joseph Sutton answered.
"Did you send her back?" Joseph Sutton asked bluntly, as if he had foreseen it.
"Yes."
"Ask away."
Joseph Sutton spoke straightforwardly.
"Besides wanting to seize the last opportunity..." Nora Scott didn’t finish her sentence, pausing for two seconds before asking each word deliberately, "What else does he want to do?"
The call suddenly went quiet.
The gentle breeze was soft, like the sound of breathing on the other end of the phone.
After a long while, Nora Scott heard Joseph Sutton whisper, "He wants to find a place to die."
"He—"
"What if it were you?"
Before Nora Scott could voice her reproach, Joseph Sutton’s gentle question stifled all her words.
What if it were you?
Would you choose to wait for death comfortably, or do the things you wish you had done, see the sights you wish you had seen, walk the paths you wish you had walked?
Nora Scott suddenly had nothing to say.
She wouldn’t wait for death.
After a long ti, Nora Scott leaned back in her chair, "So, he just left like that."
"Yes."
"Alright."
Nora Scott’s gaze fell outside the window, her expression distant.
With current dical technology, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is still an incurable disease. Although there are targeted treatnts to prolong the survival period as much as possible, this ti limit is ultimately limited.
The average life expectancy is 2~5 years, over 90% don’t live beyond 5 years, and very few can reach over 10 years.
For a young person in their twenties, two years, five years, ten years... are all so brief.
And, for soone who is physically healthy, able to jump and run, watching one’s body slowly lose control, muscle atrophy, weakness, respiratory failure... the pain is slow and enduring, yet powerless. Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching oneself die little by little.
The unpredictability of life—it’s truly inexplicable and inscrutable.
Those who love life try everything to stay alive, yet always face unexpected disasters; those who are disillusioned and want to die often find it hard to achieve their wish despite painstaking efforts.
"Didn’t he leave any words for Laura Collins?" Nora Scott asked again.
"No. The only thing he said..." Joseph Sutton replied, "He deeply regretted getting involved with her."
To this day, Joseph Sutton still rembers that snowy night when Michael Quinn, slightly tipsy, walked down a snow-filled road, smiling at him while tears stread down his face.
—"You tell , why on earth did I ss with that young girl? Isn’t that just causing trouble?"
—"Nora Scott said, doing too many heartless things would bring retribution. But this ti, why does it affect others? They did nothing wrong."
Finally, Joseph Sutton added, "He also said, don’t take it to heart when you find out. We co from the earth and the mountains and must eventually return. He wants to use the remainder of his life to find the place he cherishes most and leave with grace."
*
Nora Scott hung up the call with Joseph Sutton.
That day, she drove from south to north of the city, then from north to west, circling the whole city, only to end up at Bernardo Quinn’s ho for dinner by nightfall.
By the ti she returned to Cloudwater Haven, it was near midnight.
Upon entering and slling the aroma of food, she was slightly taken aback, turned on the lights, and glanced over the living room and dining room, only to find the table full of dishes.
They were already cold.
In a daze, she rembered—it was Friday, Marcus Shaw would co back.
After changing her shoes at the entrance, Nora Scott walked into the living room and heard the sound of the side door opening.
Looking up, she saw Marcus Shaw standing at the door, asking, "Want to eat?"
"You’re still up?"
"...Yes."
After hesitating for a mont, Marcus Shaw nodded slightly.
"And too." A head popped up from Marcus Shaw’s shoulder, Oliver Scott hanging onto Marcus Shaw and blinking as he explained, "We couldn’t reach you by phone and were worried sothing happened, but didn’t know where to find you."
The implication was: they stayed up late waiting for Nora Scott to return.
"..."
Marcus Shaw frowned slightly, nudging Oliver Scott, who had most of his weight leaning on him, aside.
"Oh, my phone died." Nora Scott casually made an excuse, then asked, "Did you tell your family?"
"Yes."
Oliver Scott nodded.
Because of the scene Nora Scott caused at the Scott family banquet, Alma Ferreira and Sophie Scott were not themselves since returning. Sophie Scott went back to school, and Alma Ferreira was absent-minded all day, leaving Oliver with a lot of freedom.
He just needed to inform the family.
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