7:50 p.m. - 2002-09-28
farewell
24th of Sept, 2002, 4pm....departure.
i received a call from mum at around 1 something while i was in school crammed on the lecture seat listening to 201 lecture.
Seconds after the call, i remained where i was and thought whether i should go. Do i still have time till the 201 lecture ends and after 222 tutorial? I decided to go.
so halfway, i stood up carried my bag and walked out of the lecture theatre.
i boarded 179.
Reached jurong point. remembered that i still two library books overdue...hesitated whether i have time to return them...decided to return them for convenience's sake.
Sat on the mrt.
Reached Novena.
Took the lift, didn't walk up the steep stairs. Walked into TTSH. Felt hungry. Grabbed three char siew baos at 7-11 and qeued up at the counter. Paid for them and walked to the lift lobby. Went up to ward 7D.
as i walked out of the lift and looked up at the signboards for directions, auntie something pointed a direction. i walked inside, remembering which bed grandma lies on.
i remembered that her bed section is after a pretty young girl's bed section.
As i walked in, i saw father and uncles and mother and aunts. The long green curtains were drawn all around grandma's bed and they were huddling there. The other patients looked on quietly.
i walked in and mum told me to say goodbye to grandma. she is passing away. i looked at grandma all dressed up nicely in her favourite green samfoo. They had changed her clothes from her drab light green hospital pyjamas after the doctor told young aunt that grandma's blood pressure is falling and she is passing away.
i touched grandma's hand and said something stupid...grandma, how are you.
she lied there, eyes closed, breathing intermittently with an oxygen mask over her mouth.
later, a few cousins came and baded farewell too. i dunno if grandma could hear us.
Then, uncle hai walked in, touched grandma's arm gently and said that grandma can go away rest assured now...we are all well...everyone is alright...we will take care of things...make it a nice funeral for you...dun quarrel or fight with great grandmother down there...
then grandma breathed slower and slower. Few aunts and mum whispered as they looked on..."grandma's face is changing colour".
Then the nurse came with a doctor and they drew the curtains close.
we took grandma's body back to my block void deck. All wrapped up in the white hospital bedsheets like a mummy. Brother looked at grandma and said he felt that grandma is very pitiful, all alone covered up, in the canvass partitioned area.
later, the coffin came. mum and second uncle and other uncles went to pick it. it was light maple wood brown with gold engravings and a chinese character "FU". Uncles dressed up grandma in those classic silky clothes and help her wear black cloth shoes. second and third uncle cried and other uncle's eyes reddened.
The coffin was closed and four days of folding incense paper and ingots and tending to visitors and arranging tables and passing peanuts and melon seeds and burning joss sticks and drinking pokka packet drinks and guarding the funeral passed. Uncles slept on the straw mat downstairs. mum busied herself tending to a myraid of matters...ordering food, buses, accounting the "white gold" money and reminscing about the past with other aunts while folding yellow paper ingots.
small cousins ran about the place, quite oblivious about whats happening.
all in all, it was a great time of family bonding.
Aunts and uncles arranged a "siam teng" show for grandma on the third night. we caught it on my bro's video cam.
we woke up early on the fifth day, saturday to see grandma off. brother took a few video cam shots of little cousins wandering about our house playing by themselves or walking up to the camera saying "dun shoot me".
Then grandma was cremated. young aunt told grandma not to be scared of fire and to go peacefully.
and now she is gone.
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milo and biscuits at 3 o clock with the afternoon drama serial.
eggs and rice after school.
umbrella and reassuring arm walking home.
pressing my nose, calling me "flat nose".
waking up with bro and cousin at grandma's place on dumpling festival day to the smell of dumplings.
celebrating grandpa's funeral in primary three. reading lao fu zi comics and playing at the see-saw.
crying at grandma's place when mum left me there to go to work
young aunt telling me my voice is loud!
playing vampire priest with young cousins.
......this is not only farewell to grandma but also the childhood times spent with her at her place.
