Every evening, the caretaker of Hu Song's house on Pike Street would bring the elderly father, who had been sitting in the garden all day, back into the house and remind him to eat and take his medicine.
Most of the time, the elderly man was very quiet, much easier to care for than other seniors with dementia.
Around six o'clock, the caretaker would head home first. Hu Song's eldest son would come by around eight, after tidying up the restaurant business, to coax the old man to sleep.
The old man's memory had already declined, but his body was still relatively robust.
Such days passed year after year, day by day, for more than five years.
From six to eight o'clock was the elderly man's free time.
Before leaving, the caretaker would turn on the satellite Chinese channel that the old man loved to watch, and only after ensuring that all doors and windows were properly closed, would she lock the door and leave.
