Yesterday afternoon I received a message from my younger sister, telling me that the family's neighbor and best friend, as well as my teacher before, died in a car accident. The moment I felt like I had a heart attack and a stroke, so painful. Later when I calmed down a little bit, I called my mum, only to confirm the sad news. But still I felt that it was so hard to accept it. It was the first day of the new semester. And he is a teacher, such a good person, and still at a young age of his early 40s. It was just unbelievable.

My hometown suffered 'the flood of the century' this July. Our secondary school was all flooded, and some facilities were badly damaged. Since the school now opens for the autumn-winter semester, two reporters from the provincial government were assigned with the task of visiting the school, performing an investigation and making a report, for the reconstruction if needed. Mr. Yin drove the reporters to the train station after the work had been done, while unfortunately the tragedy happened on the way. Mr. Yin was killed instantly at the scene, and reporters were heavily injured and sent for ICU. This was what my mother knew about it. And the news actually arrived hours later after the accident, with a phone call from the police, to check the identification number of the car. Suddenly the whole school was trapped in great sorrow, and all his colleagues and friends drove to hospital.

I have known Mr. Yin for more than twenty years. I remember the time when I was still a small girl in the secondary school, our head master introduced several young teachers to us in the morning exercise section. He was among them. A math genius who won the 1st prize of the National Mathematics Olympiad. He was assigned to our class for two-weeks teaching. In his early twenties, he was just an elder brother of us, smart, humorous and shy.

Later I went to a high school far away from my hometown, and his small family moved to the new apartment above ours, then we became neighbor in the school. For almost twenty years, the two families have become very good friends. Although I can only go back home during school holidays, we always exchange greetings and have a short chat with each other. I remember the time I was doing my undergraduate study, every week when my dad and mum called me on the phone, they always mentioned him, how capable he was, how kind he was, how cute his son was...

Later my father left us because of sickness, and my mother lives alone at home. Thanks to all the good neighbors around, whenever there is something my mother cannot handle with, they will lend a hand to her. Mr. Yin do helped us quite a lot. The telephone line, wifi, the computer network, and all things related to the handphone and laptop in the household, are rely on him. He is always ready for help. Not only for my home, but also for others where only the elders are living. People in our school all pay their respect and gratitude to him.

His public account was circulated online after his death. I just found that he himself had done so much for the people of this small town during the recent flooding. He published and updated the disaster on the internet the first time it happened; he called for local authority and helped organize the rescuing of people being trapped in the flood; he helped raise the disaster relief funds and visited the poor people in villages. Pitiful that I only got to know this after his passing, with deep condolence.

The tragedy had already taken place. We had to accept it although we were reluctant to. I'd like to be a person like him, with great love to people around. As Laozi said, 'What is natural, or at least more so, is properly acting toward the aged and the young in one's family and then extending that to the aged and the young in other families.' We will take care of your family like what you did to us. May him rest in peace. We'll miss him forever.

As a student and a friend,

Judy, on 2nd-Sep-2016.