my paternal grandma passed away on mother’s day when i was in primary 3. that was my first experience with death.
it was sudden and totally unexpected as she had always been in good health. the entire clan was present as it was one of the usual sunday gatherings that we always had at our grandparents’ place.
my grandma had not been feeling well for a few days since the exhumation of my great-grandmother’s grave. it had been so long ago that i was too young to remember if she had passed away before or after we had reached her place.
she had checked the almanac on hindsight only to find that she shouldn’t have gone for the exhumation as it was taboo for women to engage in such activities on that day. a gp was brought in to certify her death while she laid on her bed in the bedroom.
after that, it was a week of colourful, traditional chinese funereal rites and rituals.
and then, there was this one night where the whole clan cramped into my grandparents’ tiny flat because my grandma’s spirit was supposed to be back for one last look of her loved ones.
an elaborate feast including chinese wine was laid out for the ghost constables, niu tou and ma mian so that they can eat their fill and hopefully get drunk, giving my grandma more time to see us.
no sightings by me though.
No comments:
Post a Comment