It was his father’s dream to see one of his kids grow up to be a doctor. When he was in grade 12, his father told the youngest son that he wanted him to study biology and pass medical exams. His sister, who_______in biology, had earlier tried for Medical Degrees but failed even though she was very_______. In August, he asked his sister to teach him biology. The_______started to give lessons but soon she realized that the guy was not_______for it. She tried to tell the father that the son was no good at biology and that he should_______his dream of making one of his kids a doctor. The father called the guy and in a_______way, he told him to try up to his capacity. The guy_______his father and gave it his best shot. The result was_______in June the next year but he didn’t pass it in that_______.

Just 20 days later the family faced a serious________when the father died suddenly due to a heart attack. The guy was not even 18 and those were________hard times.

He remembered his father’s dream and decided to work on that. For a(n)________guy, medicine isn’t a child’s play. With great________, he studied day and night to fulfill his father’s dream which became his own dream, too.

He________for the medical exam again and this time, he made it. He finally________the top medical college in the state.

I touch my father's shoulder to let him know we're here. But he doesn't _________ me. My daughter Charlotte notices and hides a quiet _________ I start to worry. I wonder whether I should have brought her, but she wants to see him. Like many with autism (自闭症), Charlotte is unafraid of difficult questions. However, she's not used to watching Alzheimer's (阿尔茨海默症)_________ so quickly.

In my mind I beg her _________ not to ask him about dying or memory loss. Now, they face each other across the empty _________. Both look uncertain. My heartbeat _________ the silence between them. Charlotte reaches her hand across the table. Dad looks at it for a long minute, not sure what she's doing. She _________ it there, resting halfway between them. Then instinct (本能) kicks in and he _________ her hand: the dignity of a man who knows this _________ is important while not knowing exactly who we are. Perhaps he is ____________ the need for a kind touch or recognizing an offering that would be rude to ____________.

The two of them remain quiet, holding hands. Every fiber of my being wants to ____________ questions they can ask each other and introduce a topic of ____________ about one of their shared interests.

Despite all the words in my head, something ____________ keeps me quiet. I look at them. Their body language is relaxed, at peace. Neither is straining (拉紧) to talk. And then, out of the silence comes the first ____________.

"I love you, Grandpa."

"I love you, too."

He doesn't speak her name but it doesn't matter. Names aren't all that important.

“I had a lovely dream last night,” my mum said, a wide smile filling her face. “All you grown-up kids were there. We were _________ together, all of us under one roof.”

“Oh,” I replied. “ You _________ you had a nightmare(梦魇）.”

Perhaps it's an Asian thing, but if it was up to my mum I would _________ live at home. I see her most weeks and we speak almost daily, but it's never _________ . Whenever I look for a new flat to rent, she sends me _________ : all a two-hour ride from work, yet just a five-minute walk from her house. Once, she even saved her address as “ _________ ” in my satnav(导航).

“Think of the money you spend on rents,” she said. “You could _________ it and live with me.”

However, like many young people, I need space to _________ and to make mistakes. At Mum's, there was never enough space. I _________ at 18 and have only had three flat requirements since: cheap rent; __________ enough to Mum's for regular visits; far enough that they are not too regular.

But something has __________ my life recently. I fell ill and was home alone. Mum came as soon as she could, and only at that time I felt her __________ . I wished then, strongly, that she lived a little nearer, a “stone's throw away” __________ .

I __________ have no plans to move back in with Mum, but I've come to learn there might be some method to her madness: my next flat will be the closest to her. We all need __________ but ideally we stay near enough to someone who will help pick up the pieces.