It was dark before she returned to Yun Village. Someone was heading up the path with a flashlight. It was the young man who was taking care of Tauber.

“How is he?”

“Perhaps the moment is near, either tonight or tomorrow.”

“I have to go home first to put my things down, and then I’ll go up the mountain with my husband. I want to keep him company during his last hours. Thank you for telling me that.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Yi. You’re Tauber’s favorite person.”

After eating dinner, the couple hurried up the mountain.

As they neared Tauber’s cabin, they saw the light. The night birds were fluttering in the woods, squirrels were running along the path, and the mountains were a little restless. A question came to both their minds at the same time: Were these omens of the coming event? When they pushed the door open, the fragrance of fresh flowers wafted out. Oh, there wasn’t a hint of depression in this atmosphere! Good for you, Tauber!

He was half-lying in bed, and the wide-mouthed vase on the table was full of wildflowers.

She held his hand and noticed that he was short of breath.

“I . . . I don’t feel any pain,” he said to the couple. “Many familiar people over there are calling me . . . It’s good to have you here.”

“We’ll see you off,” Mrs. Yi whispered in his ear.

“Something small came in.”

“It’s your bird. It also came to see you off. You are blessed,” Mr. Yi said at the bedside.

“I see them. They are walking over the cliff. I’m going to sleep. Good night, you . . .”

He fell asleep. Mrs. Yi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a towel. Mr. Yi dressed him in new pajamas and new cloth shoes.

The couple could see no suffering in Tauber’s calm expression. Outside the house, all kinds of birds and animals clamored, as if a festival were starting.

The door opened, and the young man who had been taking care of Tauber came in, followed by several other men. The young man said that they were all Tauber’s friends, coming to see him. They looked at him one last time and agreed to take him into the mountain the next afternoon. One older man said admiringly, “It was a pleasant and refreshing departure.”

Going down the mountain and returning home, Mrs. Yi felt the clear night sky open up. Everything was quiet except for the tiny insects. She sighed, “What a dignified death!”

“Nothing could be more touching,” her husband agreed.

Beside the herb garden, the couple saw the weasel. It was lying on the ground, dead. Next to it was the black-and-white chicken, also dead. The chicken’s neck was snapped off, but they found no wound on the weasel’s body. How could it be dead?

They went into the house to fetch a basin, and placed the two dead animals in it. They would bury them the next day.