5 YEARS LATER.
"Elizabeth Li, you get back here RIGHT NOW!"
The sound of tiny feet running and infectious giggles echoed through the house. Nana stood in the middle of the living room, hands on her hips, watching her daughter zoom past in a blur of dark hair and mischievous energy.
Elizabeth was four years old—soon to be five—and was the perfect combination of both her parents. She had Zayne's hazel eyes, sharp and intelligent, already showing signs of his analytical mind. But she had Nana's pouty lips, her expressiveness, her ability to charm her way out of trouble with a single smile.
And from her father, she'd inherited a secret sweet tooth that was decidedly not-so-secret anymore.
"Ellie!" Nana called again, using the nickname that made her daughter giggle. "I know you took the candy! Come out!"
More giggles, this time from two sources.
Nana eyes narrowed. She moved toward the kitchen and found exactly what she suspected—her husband, Dr. Zayne Li, renowned cardiac surgeon and supposed responsible adult, crouched behind the counter with their daughter, both of them holding contraband chocolate with guilty expressions.
"Zayne Li," Nana said in her most dangerous voice—the Mama Voice that could make both of them freeze instantly.
"Hello, darling," Zayne said with false cheerfulness. "We were just—"
"Stealing candy. Again. The candy I specifically said Ellie couldn't have before dinner."
"Papa said it's okay!" Elizabeth piped up, chocolate already smeared on her face.
"Papa," Nana said slowly, "is in big trouble."
Zayne had the audacity to look sheepish.
"In my defense—
"is no defense." Nana crossed her arms. "Both of you. Living room. Flamingo punishment. Now."
"But Mama—" Elizabeth started.
"Now."
Father and daughter trudged to the living room like condemned prisoners, and Nana had to bite back her smile. This had become their routine—Zayne would "help" Elizabeth get into trouble, Nana would catch them, and they'd receive their "punishment."
Minutes later, both Zayne and Elizabeth stood in the living room, balanced on one leg like flamingos, arms out for balance. Elizabeth was already wobbling, giggling despite trying to look serious.
"Papa?" she whispered loudly. "Is Mama a doctor too? Why is Mama so scary?"
Zayne bit back his laugh, whispering back: "No, sweetheart. Mama is more powerful than a doctor. She's the queen of this house"
"Are you afraid of Mama?"
"Yes," he said solemnly, though his eyes were twinkling. "Very afraid."
"I can hear you both," Nana said from the kitchen, though she was smiling. "And you should be afraid. You're both on thin ice."
"We love you, Mama!" Elizabeth called out, still wobbling on one leg.
"That won't get you out of punishment!"
"We really, really love you?"
"Nice try."
From the kitchen, Nana watched them—her husband and daughter, mirror images of each other, conspiring together, completely in sync. Her heart swelled with so much love it almost hurt.
Five years ago, she never could have imagined this. That she'd have a home, a husband who loved her completely, a daughter who was the light of their lives.
That she'd be here, in their beautiful house with the apple tree in the backyard, watchingfamily be silly and happy and whole.
After exactly five minutes—their standard punishment time—Nana released them.
Elizabeth immediately ran over and threw her small arms around Nana's legs.
"I'm sorry, Mama! I won't steal candy again!"
"You say that every time," Nana said, but she was already kneeling down to kiss her daughter's chocolate-covered face. "But I forgive you. Because I love you."
"Even when I'm bad?"
"Especially when you're bad. Though please try to be less bad." She wiped the chocolate off Ellie's face. "And you—" She looked up at Zayne, who'd come closer. "You're supposed to be the responsible parent."
"I am responsible," he protested.
"Responsibly ensuring our daughter has access to adequate chocolate consumption."
"That's not what responsible means."
He leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Are we forgiven?"
"Maybe. If you both behave at the cemetery later."
"Cemetery?" Ellie's eyes lit up. "We're visiting Grandpa Li?"
"Yes. So both of you better be on your best behavior."
.
.
.
.
.
Grandpa Li's grave sat on a quiet hill overlooking the village, with a view of the rice fields he'd loved. The headstone was simple but well-maintained, always covered in fresh flowers.
Today, Elizabeth carried a small bouquet she'd picked herself—wildflowers and daisies, bright and cheerful. She walked solemnly between her parents, holding both their hands, suddenly serious in the way children could be when they understood something was important.
They reached the grave, and Nana helped Elizabeth place the flowers carefully at the base of the headstone.
"Hi, Grandpa Li!" Elizabeth said brightly, like she was greeting a living person. "It's me, Ellie! I brought you flowers! Do you like them?"
She waited a moment, as if expecting an answer, then nodded satisfactorily.
"Mama and Papa love each other SO MUCH," she continued, settling down to sit cross-legged in front of the grave. "They kiss all the time and it's gross but also nice. And they never leave me alone! Papa reads me bedtime stories every night, even when he's really tired from the hospital. And Mama makes the best breakfast and helps me draw and plays with me in the apple tree."
Zayne's hand found Nana's, squeezing gently as they listened to their daughter talk.
"And they tell me I'm important," Elizabeth said, voice getting softer. "That I'm special and loved and cherished. That I always come first. Papa says you wanted them to be happy, and they are! Really, really happy!"
She turned to look at her parents, her little face so earnest. "Grandpa Li, thank you for making Mama and Papa find each other. Because they're the best parents ever and I love them so much."
Then she stood, ran to Zayne, and threw her arms around his waist.
"Thank you for loving me and Mama, Papa. For always being there. For never leaving like—like your parents did."
Zayne breath caught. His eyes filled with tears immediately.
Because Elizabeth knew. They'd told her, in age-appropriate ways, about his childhood. About parents who chose work over their son. About the loneliness he'd carried. They'd told her so she'd understand why family was so important to them, why they always made her the priority.
"Elizabeth," Zayne said, voice rough with emotion. He knelt down to her level, pulling her close. "Sweetheart, you don't have to thank me for that. You're my daughter. Loving you is the easiest thing I've ever done."
"But your mama and papa didn't—"
"I know." He cupped her small face gently. "But I'm not them. I'll never be them. You're my priority. Always. You and your mama—you're my whole world."
"Really?"
"Really" He pulled her into a tight hug, and Nana saw tears streaming down his face.
"I'm going to be here for every birthday, every school event, every moment you need me. I'm going to love you so much you'll probably get tired of hearing it. Because you're important, Elizabeth. You matter. You're cherished. And that will never, ever change."
Elizabeth hugged him back fiercely, and Nana knelt down too, wrapping her arms around both of them.
"We love you," Nana whispered to her daughter. "More than anything in this world. You're our miracle."
"I know," Elizabeth said, voice muffled against Zayne's shoulder. "You tell me every day."
"We'll keep telling you. Forever."
They stayed like that for a long moment—a family wrapped together, complete and whole and exactly where they were meant to be.
When they pulled apart, Elizabeth looked back at the grave. "Did Grandpa Li hear me?"
"He heard you," Zayne said with certainty. "And he's smiling. Probably being smug about being right about everything."
"About what?"
"About your mama and me. He knew we'd be happy together. He knew we'd have you. He knew—" Zayne's voice cracked. "He knew we'd build this. This family. This love. This life."
Nana took his hand, and Elizabeth took both their hands, and they stood together looking at the grave of the man who'd brought them together.
That evening, after Elizabeth was asleep, Nana and Zayne sat on their back porch, watching the stars appear one by one in the darkening sky.
"She's getting so big," Nana said quietly. "Sometimes I look at her and can't believe she's ours."
"I know." Zayne wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Remember when we brought her home from the hospital? She was so tiny. I was terrified I'd break her."
"You were so gentle with her. You still are."
"Because she's precious." He pulled Nana closer. "You both are. My two miracles."
"Your parents still haven't—"
"No." His voice was sad but accepting. "They sent a card when she was born. Haven't visited. Haven't called. They made their choice five years ago when they refused to accept you. And I made mine—I chose you. I chose us. I chose the family we built."
"Does it still hurt?"
"Yes" he admitted. "But less than it used to. Because I have this now—I have you, Ellie, this life. I have everything they never gave me. And I'm making sure Ellie never, ever feels the way I did. She'll know she's loved. Every single day."
"You're a good father," Nana said softly. "The father you deserved to have."
"I'm trying." He kissed the top of her head. "Every day, I'm trying."
They sat in comfortable silence, and Nana thought about the journey that had brought them here. From that rainy day in the park when she'd saved Grandpa Li, to the dying wish that brought them together, to the wedding on a yacht, to this—sitting on their porch, their daughter asleep inside, their life built from choice and love and stubborn determination.
"Do you ever wonder," Nana asked, "what would have happened if I hadn't been in that park that day? If I hadn't helped Grandpa?"
"No" Zayne said firmly. "Because I refuse to imagine a life without you. Without Ellie. Without this. Maybe it was fate, or luck, or Grandpa's meddling from beyond. But we found each other. And that's all that matters."
"We found each other," she agreed. "And we built this."
"The best thing I've ever built," he said. "Better than any career achievement, any research breakthrough, any award. This family—this is my legacy. This is what matters."
Inside, they heard Elizabeth call out—not distressed, just wanting reassurance that they were close.
"I'll go," Zayne said, standing. "You stay here. Enjoy the peace."
Nana watched him go inside, heard his gentle voice talking to their daughter, heard Elizabeth's sleepy response, heard the love in every word.
This ,she thought: This is it. This is what happiness looks like.
Not perfection. Not wealth or status or impressive credentials.
But this—a family built from broken pieces. A love that healed old wounds. A child who would never know the loneliness her father had carried. A home full of laughter and silly punishments and chocolate-covered faces and unconditional love.
A life where every day, they chose each other.
Where every morning started with cuddles and breakfast.
Where every evening ended with bedtime stories and forehead kisses.
Where mistakes were forgiven, wounds were healed, and love was given freely, abundantly, without condition or reservation.
Zayne came back out, settling beside her again. "She wanted to make sure we were still here."
"We always here," Nana said.
"Always," he agreed. "That's the promise. We're always here. For each other. For her. For this family we built."
They watched the stars come out—so much brighter here than in the city, just like everything else about their life.
And somewhere, somehow, they both felt it—Grandpa Li's presence, his approval, his overwhelming satisfaction that his dying wish had created not just a marriage, but this: a family, a home, a legacy of love that would ripple forward through generations.
Well done, my children, his spirit seemed to whisper. You took my wish and made it real.
You took broken pieces and made them whole.
You took loneliness and made it love.
Well done.
.
.
.
.
.
20 years later, Elizabeth would bring her own partner home to meet her parents. She'd tell them, with tears in her eyes, that she'd found someone who loved her the way her father loved her mother—completely, unconditionally, with a love that chose her every single day.
And Zayne and Nana would hold hands and smile, thinking about the letter from a dying man that had started it all.
The letter that had said: two broken people could save each other, if only they were brave enough to try.
And they had been brave.
And they had tried.
And they had built something beautiful from the ruins of their separate pains.
A love story for the ages.
A family that chose each other.
A legacy of love that would echo forever.
__________________
For Grandpa Li, who knew that sometimes the greatest gift you can give is the gift of possibility.
For Nana, who learned she was worthy of being loved.
For Zayne, who learned he was worthy of giving love.
And for Elizabeth, who will never know what it means to be unloved, unwanted, or unimportant.
This is their story.
A story of rain and soup and apple trees.
Of swans and bicycles and sunset confessions.
Of chosen family and healing wounds and love that saves.
A story that proves: sometimes the greatest adventures begin with a dying wishand two people brave enough to believe in second chances.
And they all lived—not perfectly, but truly, deeply, beautifully—happily ever after.
Forever
_________________________
From: Linkon City : Grandpa Li.Final Wish
By: Deepspacelore.
South Korea 2026.January.27.
THE END.