The first day of the lunar Chinese New Year is supposed to be a joyful day of family reunion. On that very day this year, however, a tragedy happened in our neighbourhood.

When Mother came back from her morning workout, she looked in bad shape with a pale face. I asked her what was the matter. Trembling she said, “On the way back, when I was approaching the gate of our apartment complex, I found a pool of blood on the ground. A white cloth covered a body there.” Immediately I realised that someone in our neighbourhood had jumped off a building. It was the first time that Mother had witnessed such a death with her own eyes. The bloody scene lingered on her mind. I tried to make Mother feel better by comforting her for a long time.

The next day we learned that the woman had been divorced from her man for a few years. They had a ten-year-old son. She had been suffering from depression for some time. The day she died she was all alone.

Nowadays the suicide rate has been on the increase year by year as the pace of life accelerates. Not only the common folk but also celebrities have chosen to commit suicide. I am convinced that those who have chosen to end their lives this way did not have people to talk to and that they could not feel the love of the world. Should we give them more attention, more greetings, and more warmth, a lot more such tragedies could be avoided.