The man laughed and said, "Isn't that what you want? Material things, money, power, women… those are the things we spend our whole lives trying to obtain."
Rover listened and nodded with a smile. He took another bite of salad, pondered something, then said, "In truth… I don't actually need those things."
"Hm?!" The man looked at him, somewhat confused.
Rover took a deep breath, his eyes lifting to a sky that was nothing but black: no moon, no stars, like his future, completely uncertain, with no idea where he was headed.
He said, "Up to now, I've lived twenty-five years. I've called other people 'brother,' 'sister,' 'boss'… but… I've never once been able to say the words 'Dad' or 'Mom.'"
"At the very least, I just want to meet them, be able to call them 'Dad, Mom.' If they could hug me, that would be even better."
The man said, "What if they're already dead?"
Rover eyed him suspiciously and asked softly, "Do you… know my parents?"
