Hilda was in the book, and he hoped she didn’t read too much into it that she died in the end. He was trying to make a point with this: simply, that everyone dies, that his death wasn’t going to be special or particularly unfair. It was meant to be a tribute to their family, a commentary on grief, on love, on relationships when time is short. A love letter to a lot of people, but especially to his wife. In this way, he processed his own demise well before that day in the doctor’s office, and in doing so he has processed the end of the world, accidentally, as well.
