Long ago, there lived two brothers who were very poor. They lived in small houses at opposite sides of their wheat field. Each year the brothers divided the grain they had grown into two equal parts. Although they worked hard from sunup to sundown, they hardly had enough to eat. In spite of this, they were happy because of their great love for each other.

But one year, Simon, the younger brother felt a great sadness. He was worried about his older brother, Ruben. Ruben was alone in the world, with neither wife nor children. “Who will care for him when he gets old and can no longer work? If only he had some money to save for his old age! It isn’t fair that we share the harvest equally. But he will not accept gifts from me. What shall I do?” he thought.

At the same time, Ruben was sitting under a tree, thinking deeply. He thought his brother, Simon, needed to support a family. “I have no family. It isn’t fair that we share the harvest equally. Surely he deserves more than I! I must think of a plan to help him.”

That midnight, Ruben went quietly to his barn (粮仓) where he filled a sack (麻袋) with wheat and put it on his shoulder. Then he crossed the field to his brother’s house and secretly placed his wheat with Simon’s.

The next morning Ruben was very surprised.

But this time unexpectedly they chose the same moment to carry their sacks.

Ben was worried these days. His father Michael was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease.

Michael was once proud of his good memory. He would keep a note, a list of daily activities, in his pocket as a reminder in case he forgot something. Also, he would prepare Ben a similar note. The family would like to call it “the magic note”.

Michael loved his family. No matter how busy he was, he never failed to show himself at the school gate every day. He made it a duty to pick up Ben at 4: 30 p. m. in the kindergarten. When Ben grew into a big boy, he would still do his duty, but in a different way. He would wander about the school area at round 4:00 p.m., keep an eye on the school gate, and check his watch a thousand times before greeting Ben in a natural, yet awkward way.

“Hi, Ben.”

“Hi, Dad. What are you doing right here?”

“Well. I was just passing by. Well. You see. I grabbed some fruit for meal tonight.”

“Really?”

“Sure thing. Let’s go home. How is it today?”

Whenever Ben recalled these sweet moments, a wave of warmth swept through him.

However, Michacl’s condition was becoming worse recently. This week, he lost his way in the neighborhood once more. Ben attempted to keep him home in case he got lost again. “Are you joking? Me? AD? I know where I am and who you are.” Michael argued, “You are always the tenth to come out when the school day finished. You see. I remember everything about you, your voice and look!” Ben had no other choice but to put a note with the address and a phone number into his pocket.

This afternoon, when Michael was at home alone, he decided to get some fresh air outside. Though he kept telling himself not to go too far, he lost his way and ended up at a crossroads. “Where am I?” he whispered. He kept moving forward and found himself at a school gate, the gate of Ben’s primary school. Looking at his watch, he realized it was about 4:30 p.m. “Right! Ben is waiting for me!” he almost shouted.

There went the bell and children kept walking out of the school gate.

“Not my Ben,” he sighed, putting his hand into his pocket habitually.

It had been 5 years since Zahida’s husband passed away due to a heart attack. Every day, she buried herself in her embroidery (刺绣), feeling her waist ache due to the long hours of work. She would grow tired faster these days.

The doorbell rang. Her son Aamer returned from the office. Entering the house, Aamer threw his bag at a sofa. “I have told you again and again not to throw things everywhere!” Zahida complained. “Mom, why do you find fault with unimportant things every day? Boss at office, you at home... Oh so tiring!” Aamer slammed (砰地关上) the door to his room.

Such unpleasant exchanges always happened now. Zahida would often recall the days of Aamer’s childhood fondly, which would bring smile to her face. She could remember the days when the little Aamer had parted unwillingly on his first day to school or had shouted excitedly at spotting a sleepy bear during a visit to the zoo. Zahida wondered if Aamer too could recollect these memories or had piled them in a forgotten corner of his mind.

Following a quiet dinner that night, Zahida happened to pass Aamer’s room. She could hear Aamer’s voice floating out. “Yes, yes... you do understand that she is a picky woman. She cannot adjust easily anywhere. You must take care of that...”

Zahida was caught by a sudden sense of anxiety. A few days ago, a neighbor’s children sent her neighbor off to an old age home. They were too busy to have time for the old woman. What did Aamer talk of? Was she also...? No, surely Aamer couldn’t be doing that. Zahida retired to bed.

“Please be sure to deliver the tickets for our trip to Egypt as soon as possible,” Aamer continued.

A few days later, a postman rang the doorbell when Aamer was away for work.

“Mom, here... Look what I’ve got in the envelope!” Aamer shouted with joy like a child.

After little William’s parents died in an accident, he lived with his grandparents Julia and Todd. Todd loved writing children’s books. William often listened to Julia read him Trees, his favorite book written by Todd. And every New Year, William and Todd would sit by the fireplace, listening to Julia read that book.

When William was 22, he got a job and moved out of his grandparents’ house. Years later, Todd died. Before long, Julia had a fall and lost legs. William moved in again to care for her. Later, Julia bought a smaller house. When the moving company was moving their things to this house, the book Trees got lost, which made them quite sad.

After moving into the new house, William began working at home to take better care of Julia. Months later, William became quite busy with his work; he often stayed in his own room, doing his work. Julia wrongly felt William had got tired of caring for her. “Dear, I know you’re thinking I’ve become a burden (负担). You can leave and live your life to the fullest,” Julia said one afternoon.

William was surprised and felt sorry for failing to spend enough time with her. When deciding to show Julia that he actually still loved her, he thought about Trees. Being a limited edition, the book had few copies. After theirs got lost, William failed to find another copy. Thankfully, he learned a woman in another city just had one. So he decided to fly to the woman’s city, begging her to give it to him.

After buying the plane ticket, he employed a woman to care for Julia. William would keep his journey a secret. The next day was New Year’s Day. He wanted to bring Julia a surprise. The next early morning, William left for the airport. When Julia woke up, she only found a stranger. The woman introduced herself.

Hearing it, Julia said to herself, “William surely has planned to move out of my house.”

Just then, to Julia’s surprise, William appeared at the door, smiling, with a book in his hand.