Chapter 3

My dead heart was rekindled.

God knows how much I wanted Sylvia to discover the truth.

I wanted to find, in the faintest of clues, proof that she still loved me.

But after her lips trembled for a long time, she still didn't say a word.

I'm not allergic to lotus seeds.

But in my memory, Egbert was allergic to them, and he'd told Sylvia so many times.

Now she'd forgotten it.

Did that mean she still held me in her heart?

Eustace glanced left and right beside her, tugged at Sylvia's sleeve, and whispered a little reminder.

"Mommy, it's Daddy who likes lotus seeds."

My eyes went hot, and I bit down hard on my lip and turned my face away.

I couldn't name the feeling in my heart.

Sylvia set down the bowl in her hand, held me, and kept apologizing.

"I'm sorry, Egbert... I forgot."

"Hudson really did used to like this. Whenever his stomach hurt and he had the porridge I made, he'd be happy for a long time."

"I just haven't gotten used to it yet. I'm really sorry."

"Give me a little more time, and I promise I'll remember what you like, and forget Hudson completely. All right?"

I bit my lip until it bled, letting the blood run down into my heart.

So be it...

Stop holding out any hope for Sylvia. Stop torturing yourself.

I leaned on her shoulder and nodded gently. "Just don't let it happen again."

Eustace nuzzled over too and said in his soft little voice, "From now on I'll keep an eye on Mommy and remember everything about Daddy."

Mother and son were true to their word.

They never got the things "Egbert" liked wrong again.

After I was discharged, Sylvia brought me home.

In the years after my death, I'd stayed by their side the whole time.

I also knew Sylvia couldn't bear to throw away the things I'd left behind, so she kept the house exactly as it had been and wouldn't let anyone disturb it.

Once, Egbert had the nerve to come over as a guest, and after he threw out the Lego set I'd half-built for Eustace, Sylvia threw an enormous fit.

Afterward, not caring how she looked, she dug through the trash can herself to find the Lego pieces, and together with Eustace put them back together one by one and set them back in their place.

But now...

I looked around the living room.

The Lego set that had sat on the entryway cabinet was gone.

The vase I'd bought was missing from the coffee table too.

And the family portrait of the three of us that should have been hanging on the living room wall had been taken down.

Only a few nails remained, marking where something had once hung.

Every trace of me had been completely erased by Sylvia.

My heart felt hollow and aching.

I said, without meaning to, "This home... is missing a lot of things."

Sylvia came around and held me from behind, and said softly.

"That's right."

"This home is missing a man of the house."

"Egbert, will you marry me?"

As she spoke, a diamond ring came into view.

Even though I'd long known this day would come, I still couldn't stop trembling inside.

Should I say yes to her?

If the real Egbert were here, he'd surely say yes, wouldn't he?

While my thoughts were in chaos.

Sylvia stepped up in front of me, holding up the ring.

"Egbert, I'm serious."

The next second, a crowd of people rushed out of the room, set off a burst of confetti at us with a bang, and cheered at the top of their voices.

"Say yes! Say yes!"

For a moment, I thought I'd gone back to long ago, to when Sylvia proposed to me.

Back then, so many people had wished Sylvia and me a long and lasting life together.

And Sylvia, just like now, had declared her love in front of everyone.

She thanked Egbert for lighting up her world, thanked Egbert for pulling her out of the abyss.

And she thanked Egbert for saving her and her child.

"Hudson was the love of the first half of my life, and Egbert, you are the salvation of my whole life."

"Let's get married."

The fire of light off the ring stung my eyes.

I knew Egbert would say yes.

I ought to choose to accept too.

But right then, I couldn't get out a single word.

I ask you—what man could hand his own wife over to someone else?

I couldn't do it.

Seeing that I still hadn't moved, Sylvia's parents came closer, their eyes red, and said gingerly:

"Egbert, we know—any man would mind that Sylvia has been married before."

"But after that man passed away, Sylvia was despondent for a long time, until she met you and got a little life back in her."

"As parents, our greatest hope is for our child to be happy. We hope Sylvia can move on from the past and live a good life."

"Egbert, will you agree to our request?"