Unconditional love: To Love Her One Last Time with His Own Life
She was thirty years old, charming, with fair skin and a slender waist. However, she was unlucky. First, she gave birth to a mentally disabled daughter. Then, at twenty-nine, her husband died.
Later, she chose to remarry, to a man fifteen years older than her.
She couldn’t bear hardship, especially with a disabled daughter. The important thing was, he was a miner. Regardless of his income, if an accident happened, the mine owner would generally compensate three or four hundred thousand yuan.
She was terrified of being poor. Otherwise, why would someone so attractive marry a man with leg issues? He was old and unattractive, with crooked eyes and a twisted mouth.
He knew he wasn’t a match for her, but he still treated her like a treasure.
He handed over every penny he earned to her, but it was only about 1,000 yuan a month, barely enough for food and clothes. She was dissatisfied. Her disabled daughter would need money in the future, and she didn’t want to live her whole life like this.
There were mining accidents everywhere. Why hadn’t he encountered one? She thought about the three or four hundred thousand yuan. If he died, she could take the money and leave. It was a malicious thought, but the most honest one.
She bought clothes and makeup to doll herself up and flirted with the neighbor’s men. People said to him, “Look at your wife, using your money to dress up and fool around with other men!” He just laughed and said, “Let her have her fun. She’s bored.” But it hurt him inside; he didn’t want her to be so wild.
One day, she mentioned she wanted to eat red tangerines, so he went to town to buy them, without telling her.
When the mining accident happened, her first thought was, “Great, thirty thousand yuan is coming my way!”
They brought out many bodies, and she looked at each one, disappointed when she didn’t see him.
Suddenly, she turned around and saw him holding the tangerines, walking towards her like an innocent child.
“Here,” he said, “I went to town to buy tangerines for you and swapped shifts with someone!” She cried out, but it was because her hope was dashed. He comforted her, “I’m fine, don’t be scared.” He thought she was frightened. Eating the tangerines, she felt like a terrible person.
He cared for her even more, and he also cared for the daughter. Secretly, he planted trees in the mountains, four or five each month. Someone asked him, “Why are you planting trees?” He smiled and said, “For her and our daughter. When I die, these trees will grow and support them.” When she heard this, her heart ached, and she nearly cried.
Later, she caught a cold and fell ill. He cared for her day and night. One night, she woke up to find him holding her feet.
“Why are you holding my feet?” she asked. He said, “So that I’ll know when you wake up and can help you if you need to get up.” She really cried, choking out, “You’re so silly.”
After recovering, she said, “Let’s not go to the mines anymore. There are always accidents. A few people died just the other day, and I’m scared.” This time she was sincere because she realized that people are the most important thing. Without him, there would be nothing.
After that, she stayed home, no longer dressing up provocatively. She opened a small shop and lived quietly with him.
Soon after, he felt chest pains. After a bit of work, large beads of sweat would fall, so he secretly took painkillers, five or six at a time, but the pain in his chest remained.
He sneaked into town to see a doctor. The doctor said it was late-stage liver cancer, with at most three months to live. “Eat whatever you want and don’t deny yourself.”
On the way back, he spent all his money, buying her new clothes, a floral coat for the daughter, and perfume, but nothing for himself.
The next morning, he said he planned to go back to the mines. “The boss asked me back.” She said, “No, it’s too dangerous. You absolutely can’t go!” He just laughed and went anyway.
He told the boss, “Give me the toughest job. I’m not afraid of hard work.” The boss was pleased and sent him to the deepest part of the mine. When the pain was unbearable, he called out her name in the darkness.
On the third day, the mine started to flood. He had a chance to escape but thought, with three or four hundred thousand yuan, she and the daughter would be set for life. So, he didn’t run or call for help.
When she heard the news, she ran over without even combing her hair, scraping her hands raw on the mine entrance.
Seeing his body, she called his name, gritting her teeth, “I told you not to go, not to go, not to go!”
From his pocket, she pulled out the hospital diagnosis. Only then did she realize that he had used his life to love her one last time.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
