"Although they were well aware that their regret and sadness would be nearly impossible to forget, the hope remained that a small measure of happiness might slowly facilitate a beneficial if only momentary respite from their woes. It was truly a new London or New York for those who had been disappointed in love..

He had come alone, without family members or servants. He had brought with im only a leather portfolio which he seemed to treasure like a precious jewel, never letting it out of his sight. When he slept, the portfolio was his pillow and it served as his backrest...

Although all of the men and women on the Island of regret had experienced the tribulations of lost love, when they were bored and restless, they still liked to share their woeful tales of romantic ruin with one another to pass the time and comfort of one another in their fief. Only the lovelorn one remained silent, never seeking comfort or understanding from others. He usually avoided the company of others, preferring merely to cultivate a few close friends, all of whom were also chinese. The men and women on the island could not help noticing that the Lovelorn one never mixed with the others, never spoke of his own love story, and that a smile never came to his face. He looked as if he were holding all the glaciers of the North Pole inside. "

Why did the lovelorn one have to be SO encased in doing nothing but grief over his loss of his lover? Why didn't he just go along with the rest of the men and women at the Island of Regret and just move on? Ultimately, he died in sorrow, sending a phonograph of his last words to his lover, leaving her feeling helpless where later, she too died in heartbreak.

That bothers me.