One month 【小题1】 my high school graduation, my father died. I was so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance, and I didn’t care whether I had a new dress or nor. My mother,【小题2】 her own sadness, however, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to be always happy. In fact, my mother wanted her children to see 【小题3】 much like the gardenia: lovely, strong and perfect, with perhaps a bit of mystery.

I got married at the age of 22. My mother died ten years 【小题4】 I was married. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.