Goodbye

Goodbye Gong-gong.

My earliest memories of you were how you could hold your liquor, and how my parents always bought a bottle of cognac for you from duty free after our overseas trips. Then, we used to always have Chinese New Year dinners prepared by Ah-po complete with hainanese delicacies like mutton soup, chap chye and the deep fried prawn fritters.

When you fell ill more than 10 years ago, all these stopped, no more elaborate dinners and liquor since then. While your mental health declined, you seemed more in the pink of health than ever. And your childlike innocence was actually quite cute.

Sad to say, as I never learnt to speak the hainanese dialect, I was never able to communicate with both you or ah-po except to greet you both happy Chinese New Year. And I think that will be a regret that I will always live with.

To express my last act of filial piety, I hope the intense origami sessions of folding paper ingots in the last few days will help somehow with your journey into the unknown, and may you rest in peace and look after ah-po wherever you are. It was so heart-wrenching seeing her, and old lady of 91, wiping away tears while the Taoist priests were performing the last rites.

Goodbye...