ollowing the same rhythm over and over again, and so did he. but every time i was about to give up, he would lift his head and give me a little smile, as if he could guess my thoughts. i think it was actually his eyes that impressed me most. they were so dark and straight, and though they seem to be hiding anything, i couldn`t get rid of the impression that somehow he must be hiding something.

　　since i first saw him, he had always been around, and every time he gave me one of those smiles, he would spread a bit of warmth into my heart, a bit of friendliness. i guess, at the end of the day it must have been him who gave me the strength to go on somehow, just by being there.

　　well, to make a long story short, he died only a year after he started working with us. it was a car accident and he didn`t have to suffer very long. i must have been his only friend in town, at least that was what i thought when i went to his funeral. the only person i met there was an old lady, maybe his mother. she told me that he had lost his family just the year before and after that he didn`t speak any more. he hadn`t said a single word. first i didn`t believe her. i just thought that he was a fairly quiet person; besides there was nothing much to say anyway. but suddenly i realized that i couldn`t recall ever having heard his voice at all. only then did i realize it!.

　　he gave me so much and i knew so little about him. he had been my friend and now i had lost him without having had the chance to give anything back. he had been so strong that he was able to give whatever had happened.

　　i felt weak in those days. and guilty. but after that i started to care for the people around me. i think i started to live.