Josh's funeral was very simple, not so much a proper funeral as a simple ceremony.
Only his name but nothing more was engraved on the tombstone.
Holding an umbrella, Ruben stood beside Sharon, "He made his own bed and lied in it.He can blame
no one for this end."
It was their last duty to bring his ashes back and to find a cemetery to bury them.Sharon did not say
anything.
After staring at Josh's tombstone for a while, she said, "Ruben, let's leave here."
No matter what unforgivable things Josh had done in the past, it ended here.She was finally relieved.
After leaving the cemetery, Sharon and Ruben returned to the old house and tidied up the things left
behind by Josh.
This house was in an old-fashioned residential building.
The location was not good and was not worth much money.
However, according to Josh's personality, he should have tried to mortgage this house to pay back the
money.
However, for some reason, he never seemed to think of that.
It should be a long time since Josh came back.
Everything in the house was dusty.
After entering, Ruben waved and said to Sharon, "Wait outside.There's too much dust inside."
Sharon nodded, "OK."
Ruben found a cardboard box and packed Josh's things.
Sharon stood on the balcony and looked at the place where she had grown up.She couldn't tell what
she felt.
From the moment she could remember, Josh had always been a scoundrel.
However, when she was young, he had not become an inveterate gambler.
Although he was addicted to alcohol and always in debt, he could occasionally realize that he still had
two children and vowed to change his behaviors.
However, it would not be two days before he returned to a scoundrel.
The further he went, the fiercer he became.
When Sharon was lost in thought, Ruben took out a locked old-fashioned suitcase from Josh's room.
Judging from the marks, it had not been opened for years.
When Sharon saw that Ruben was looking for a tool to pick the lock, she asked, "Do you want to open
it?"
"I saw him open the box once before.There should be something important to him inside,’ Ruben said
as he looked for the tool.
Sharon opened her mouth, but did not say anything.
After all, she also wanted to see what was inside.
However, she guessed that it was most likely about their mother.
Her mother died in childbirth and there was no picture of her at home.
Not only did Sharon forget what she looked like, but Ruben had never seen her before.
Soon Ruben unlocked the box.
After the dust against her face, Sharon saw what was inside.
There were several yellowed photographs, a diary, and a pocket watch.
Ruben picked up one photo.
On it was a picture of a beautiful woman and a man.
However, the man's face was scratched by an edge tool, so he could not see who he was.
However, judging from his figure and clothes, it was obvious that he was not Josh.
The second photo was of a family of three: a woman, a man with a scratched face, and a little girl
sitting in the middle of them.
Ruben flipped though the photos, and found that the rest were all with the scratched man.
Sharon picked up the diary and did not notice Ruben's pause.From the narration, she could tell this
diary had belonged to Josh.
It Recorded the entire process of how he had carried a torch for a girl.
However, it did not specify the identity of the girl.
It was about the mood changes when he saw her every day.
The diary had ended when the girl had gotten married.
Sharon flipped through it and found that there was another line on the last page.
"She promised to marry me.This day finally comes.’’ The handwriting showed that this line was written
a long time after the previous ones.
Sharon put down the diary, turned around and saw Ruben sitting there and staring at the photos
without a word.
She asked softly, "Ruben, what's wrong?"
Ruben handed her the photos in his hand and got up to leave.
Sharon looked at the photos and gradually widened her eyes.
If she was right, the photos should have been scratched by Josh.
The man on it...
After a long time, Sharon put them back into the box and walked to the living room.
Ruben lowered his head and continued to pack quietly.
When he heard the Sharon coming, he did not raise his head, "You can go back.I'll do the rest."
"Ruben,’ Sharon whispered to him, "I saw the photos.It doesn't mean anything.’
Ruben said after a silence, "Every day in my dreams, I wished if it was possible that I'm not Josh's
biological child.Even when I opened the box just now, I was hoping that there might be some of his
secrets inside.Perhaps we were just adopted by him, but I didn't expect..."
Unexpectedly, Josh's secret was hidden inside.
However, only Sharon was not Josh's biological child.
Before this, Ruben only hated himself for having such a father and promised to protect his sister, but
after knowing the truth, he did not know how to face Sharon.
Without Josh, she would not have been forced to go this far.
Now, Ruben felt himself nailed to stigma.
"Ruben, in those desperate days, I thought what if Josh wasn't my father.I might be able to get rid of
him completely and to start my own life.But now, is there any difference in whether he was or not?"
Sharon said calmly.
"No matter what, I called him father for more than twenty years.The man in the photos is a pure
stranger to me.He has never come to see me for so many years.Maybe he is no better than Josh."
Seeing him keep quiet, Sharon continued, "Ruben, even though I'm not Josh's child, I'm still your
sister.We have the same blood."
Apart from their different fathers, they had the same mother.
After a while, Ruben said dully, "I know.’ Sharon smiled, "That's right.There's few left.Let's go."
"Wait."
Ruben returned to the balcony, and took out all the things in the box.
He handed the photos and pocket watch to Sharon, "Keep them.They might be useful in the future."
As he spoke, he threw Josh's diary into the cardboard box and carried them away together.
Sharon looked at the photos and then at him, "Ruben, do you want to keep..."
"No.I've never seen her before.To me, it doesn't matter what she looked like."
Sharon said, "Then I'll keep them.If you want to see her, you can ask me for the photos."
She knew that Ruben did not want the photos because their mother was not alone on them.
She was with that man.
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