The door was opened and a golden ball welcomed him before her owner could.

Henry laughed at the happy golden retriever. "Gyah, Hope, not my face!" He giggled when the dog tried to over his face.

"Kangin-sshi, Sooyoung-sshi. It's nice to see you again," Mrs Kim said. "Henry-ah, I'm glad that you could come. And Hope is, too."

The boy smiled brightly. "I'm glad we could come, too!" He looked down at the excited dog. "Can I go for a walk with her later?" he asked the older woman.

Mrs Kim's old, rough laugh resonated. "Of course you can! As long as your parents don't mind." With her last sentence she adressed Henry's parents.

The two adults nodded. "He likes your dog so much... I don't mind." Sooyoung said, causing Mrs Kim and Henry to smile.

Afterwards, they went to the table in the dining room. Everything was already prepared, even the dinner itself was already on the table. The dinner was soup because Mrs Kim had problems eating hard things due to her age.

They all sat down and started to eat in comfortable silence. A big smile appeared on Henry's face as he only noticed a slight pain when he swallowed the rice. His parents were just as satisfied with the soup as he was. Henry's mother even asked, "Mrs Kim, you're such a wonderful cook. Is there a way you could give us the recipe for this soup?"

The old woman giggled, making her seem a little like a high school girl whispering with her friends in Henry's eyes. "It's a meal that has existed for generations in our family. I don't even know if there is a recipe, Sooyoung-sshi."

"So you always cook it following the way you feel?" Henry continued and Mrs Kim nodded. The boy smiled, amazed. "Wow! You really are a wonderful cook!"

Suddenly something was at his leg and when he lifted the table cloth, Hope was looking at him with her big eyes. Henry smiled brightly. "I know, sweety. We'll leave soon, okay?" The dog barked once as if to tell him she had understood what he said, then she walked back to her blanket and lay down there.

Henry looked up at the others. "Is it okay if we go already?"

"But you haven't even finished eating!" Hope's owner protested.

The youngest smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. But you know - I don't really feel hungry lately. But it was really delicious, thank you." The woman nodded and Henry stood up. He quickly put on his shoes and jacket, then grapped Hope's dog leash, fixed it at the dog collar and took off, waving goodbye before he closed the door. He walked the usual route and as soon as they reached the river, he removed the dog leash and gave Hope the freedom to run almost as fast as she wanted to. He happily followed her, running past the bench he usually sat on. But soon he felt his condition fading and when he had to cough, he stopped. It was worse than it had been before, not only air leaving his body this time. He couldn't even call Hope but still he felt the golden retriever by his side only seconds after he had sunk onto his knees. It hurt. The blood on his hand made him feel dizzy. Suddenly Hope vanished. Where did she go? Why did she leave him alone?! This was torture! Something like that couldn't be called living!

Without a warning someone placed their hand onto his shoulder and Hope was back, too.

"Henry?" that someone said in a soft voice. Whoever it was had a Chinese accent.

Finally he could stop coughing. He had to stare at his hands that were partly covered in red. Blood. Dizzy. Something white. He looked up and saw the stranger from a couple of days before handing him a handkerchief. He took it thankfully and cleaned his hands and his mouth.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice sounding husky.

"No problem. Can you stand up?" Henry tried to but almost lost his balance. Zhou Mi caught him. "Are you okay?" he asked but Henry only diverted his eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't even know you and you don't know me either. Why do you even help me?"

"I don't know. I guess I just had to. I couldnt just have walked past you."

Tears started to burn in his eyes. "Thank you."

They started walking into the direction Hope was already going. "Will you be here again tomorrow?"

"I'm here everyday."

"How about... you being here at about seven pm? Would that be okay?"

"I guess. But I don't know."

They continued their way in silence and Henry suddenly felt really embarrassed. He wasn't weak. He had never been. Was this now the real beginning of his end? He felt tears welling up inside him. No, he wouldn't cry! He had known that he would die fairly soon. And he had never cried just because of the fact that he would die. Only because of the things he wouldn't get to see because of it...

He shook his head. "Is everything okay?"

Henry looked up. "Huh? Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

"You seemed to be a little sad just now..."

Henry shook his head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"If you say so..."

Yeah, he said so. He always said so. Because others would freak out, pity him or do other stuff he didn't want them to. Treat him as if he were made of glass instead of being a normal human. He hated that. Ask him every other second if he was okay. Or do other things where he just thought that they had to be crazy to even think about the possibility to do something like that.

They walked in silence for a while and Henry had to think of all the ones who pitied him. All the ones who surely already had forgotten about him. Was that what would follow if you passed away? That everyone just forgot about you? Wasn't that sad? Yes, it was. He couldn't believe that when he died he wouldn't be nothing but a corpse becoming one with the earth he stood on now. He didn't want to believe that! But... who would remember him? Mrs Kim? Hope? His parents? Four...