Dad who shunned showing emotion scribbled odd note on his deathbed—his daughter was shocked when stranger deciphered it

The man's barely readable note left his family surprised, as it revealed a side of him that they never knew he had.

PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO

(L) An elderly man wearing an oxygen mask and lying in a hospital bed ; (R) A young Asian woman reading | Representative Cover Image Source: Unsplash | (L) Engin Akyurt ; (R) Hisu Lee

Society often tells men not to express their emotions as openly as women. This is especially true for traditional men in Asian families who are viewed as the pillar of their households. However, one father from China left a heartfelt note for his family while on his deathbed, reported South China Morning Post. The man's daughter took to the Chinese social media site Xiaohongshu or RedNote and shared the piece of a handwritten note from her father.

Close-up shot of a man writing on a notepad (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Tima Miroshnichenko)

At first glance, the note was barely readable as the dying man was struggling to write in Chinese texts. According to Taoyuan E-News, the man's daughter shared the picture online and captioned the post, "I can't recognize the words my father wrote before he died. These are probably the last few words my father left behind. Can anyone recognize it?" She also revealed that her father had passed away after suffering from cancer at a hospital in Shanghai and in his final moments, he held his wife's hand and tried to speak.

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But he failed to form coherent words and his wife couldn't understand him either. So the man's family decided to hand him a pen and paper to try and write something. After the man was done scribbling, no one in the family could decode its true meaning. As a last resort, the man's daughter sought help from the online community. Thankfully, a skillful fellow on the internet seemingly managed to decipher the dying man's last few words. Within 24 hours, the netizen contacted the grieving family and revealed that the note consisted of nine Chinese characters that translated to: "Don't be sad. I want you to be strong."

A man lying on the hospital bed as a heart rate monitor shows his vitals (Representative Image Source: Pexels |
Engin Akyurt) — A man lying on the hospital bed as a heart rate monitor shows his vitals (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Engin Akyurt)

The man's daughter also expressed her regret for not staying at her father's side when he passed away. She was swamped with the hospital bills that she had to pay. On Xiaohongshu, countless people were moved by the message left by the loving father for his family. "It doesn't have to be so sad. I just burst into tears", one person wrote under the post on the Chinese social site. Some people came forward to comfort the daughter of the man.

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"Loved ones leave but as long as we don't forget them, they will always be there", another netizen commented. "When my dad was dying, he said that he had no strengths in this life and did not leave me anything. I cried and I couldn't speak. I wanted to tell him, that's not the case. You gave me a good soul and a long life," one netizen opened up about their own story. The power held by a few written words on a piece of paper can surely have a transformative effect on people.

In a similar story, a stranger at the Christie Cancer Hospital managed to cheer up the staff by leaving a simple note. The hospital shared a picture on its Facebook page that consisted of a handwritten message left by the stranger on a snack machine. “Please find a variety of snacks at the bottom of this machine that have been paid for. Hopefully, there may be something in there that you can enjoy. Finally, you can spread the act of kindness,” the note read. The hospital staff and visitors were equally delighted to witness the stranger's kind gesture.