Goodbye Po Po. Wish I had known you better. Wish I knew about your childhood and where you were from originally, who your brothers or sisters were, who your parents were, who your other relatives were. Wish I had learnt to speak your language, my mother tongue, Hakka. Wish I knew your story, what you did during the Japanese occupation of Malaya, how you had met Kung-Kung (grandpa), and other stories. Wish I knew how to make the sauce you make for chicken. Wish so many things which could now only be wishful thinking…
But I’m glad that I made it a point to visit you on every trip I made to Malaysia in the later years, after I married. Glad to see you strong and healthy even on our last visit to Ipoh in 2019. Glad to see you finally recover from the loss of your beloved daughter, my mom who died at such an early age. I remember seeing you suddenly becoming grey and old, almost overnight. And even though my mom passed away in 1985, I remember seeing you with tears welling up in your eyes every time you see us, even after twenty years of her passing. It must have been hard on you to have to experience the loss of so many dear and close to you in your lifetime, first my mom, then Kung-Kung, and then my uncle, your son.
You have earned your rest now Po Po. I will miss you. You are my link to my mom. I am glad that at least God did not allow you to suffer the hardships of not being able to walk, or being in pain or in sickness, or having to go through dementia that affects so many aged people. Rest in peace now Po Po, you can now join the family you’ve lost. Farewell.
Po Po in 2015. She was 90 then (that’s by my own calculation coz she said she was born in the Year of the Ox). During her funeral, they announced her to be 98 years old, and in Chinese traditions, they would add 3 years to that (don’t ask me why), making her 101…
My mom’s last surviving sibling, my uncle – here with Justin in 2015. And of course I still have my cousins…
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