When the narrator is young, he wishes he could become a pigeon, so that he would have friends and be free to fly. He tells his grandfather and grandmother that he is going to work and tells them to be good and listen to them. He also tells them that if he had fought back against his parents, they would always have been there for him. He says that he often thought that maybe his parents didn't exist. When he was young, his parents were away for work and he would often go without seeing them. His grandfather would make him his favorite poached eggs, and then he would wash his hands first. He would think that maybe he had lost his parents. One day, he remembers, his mother and father rushed home to care for his father's funeral and then left again. He never saw his parents again. The teacher tells him that he must attend a prep class to get good scores on the entrance exam to college. He asks if he remembers when he used to drive his parents to work. The narrator tells him he has not seen his parents in a long time and asks him why he is taking him to the hospital. He explains that he knows he is their friend, but that he has to be prepared for the fact that his parents might not even be capable of love. He is afraid of being alone.