It's really heartbreaking: Out of mourning for his great love, this widower has been wearing the same polo shirt for two decades.
A truly great love is meant to last forever. And if a partner dies prematurely, love works beyond the shadow of death – no matter how many years pass. A Japanese Twitter user named "Ria" has now revealed a particularly bitter and sweet chapter in her family history: The reason why her father has been wearing the same shirt for 20 years.
Much more than a shirt
Until recently, it was not clear to the young woman herself what the cause of the green polo shirt was. Only one day did she notice that her father always treated the polo shirt with particular care – and hadn't thrown it away after several decades. On the contrary: if small holes formed in the shirt, he always lovingly sewed each one up so that he could carry it on. In the distance she noticed that her father always took out the shirt on special occasions. A strange habit – because the old shirt was really not particularly elegant, especially since it was now badly worn.
A death brings the story to light
It wasn't until Ria's grandfather passed away that she understood what exactly made this shirt so special. In the legacy of her grandfather, she discovered a photo that showed her mother, who had died many years ago, next to her father – and suddenly understood why her father would never part with his special shirt.
Great love leads to a touching gesture
The discovery gave Ria at least a new perspective on her father. "I always thought it was a little uncool of him to keep wearing that old polo shirt," she told the British "Sun". "I kept wondering why he wouldn't just buy a new shirt. I never thought that he would have such special memories with this shirt."