Fight for Life 一生迎戰

《Ahua's Life》

Ahua remained silent. Even in the face of life and death, her expression and eyes always showed distrust and fear.

Under modern medical care, with doctors prescribing medicine, Ahua transformed as if awakening from a nightmare. She reflected on a life of suffering: losing a daughter due to her own lack of courage, enduring bullying in a complex and unfamiliar environment, all because of this man (Ajun).

Ahua shed her old burdens and revealed her lifelong sorrows, recounting the layers of her past and the helplessness in the phases of her life as a woman.

It seemed Ahua knew her end was near. The physical pain was no longer as intense as the emotional wounds. Unburdening herself was like laying everything down heavily. Ahua gave her children only four months to get to know her.

Traditional House in Taiwan 台灣傳統三合院

《The Lonely Journey of a Married Couple》

Men marry and women wed, and the six children each have their own families. In the end, only Ajun and Ahua are left in this house.

Ahua goes through her days like she's on a forced march, carrying heavy bags and sitting down panting. Day after day, for her whole life, she’s left with nothing but loneliness. Ajun and Ahua look at each other, having to handle three meals a day. Ahua's life now seems to revolve solely around Ajun's concern for her.

As the years go by, their physical strength and patience wear thin. The more Ahua thinks about it, the more frustrated she becomes, grumbling constantly, as if this is what gives her life meaning.

(1980s Taiwan)

《Ahua's dilemma》

Ahua received red envelopes from her children as a gesture of filial respect, and money she managed to steal from Ajun.

Poverty was deeply rooted in Ahua's subconscious; money was her best comfort and distraction.

After more than 10 years, Ahua had accumulated several hundred thousand Taiwan dollars. She sewed the money into her undergarments, a mix of big and small bills, coins, all stitched together. She also carried a large bag containing the gold she had saved when she was younger.

(Everyday Life of Taipei in the 1970s 台北生活的日常)

《Ajun’s difficulties》

Ming’er is the fourth child in the family. If heaven could shed tears, this child was really born at the wrong time.

Ming’er’s arrival brought no joy to the family. In a household on the verge of collapse, under the care of a mother who was not herself, he neither received the nourishment of breast milk nor benefited from the crucial early years of language development. Lacking the chance to learn during his golden years, he was labeled a slow learner. When he started school at seven, he was a blank slate in many areas and was placed in a special education class.

This felt like a knife to Ajun’s heart, causing immense pain. Where did it all begin?