Past two weeks, i finally had some time to fulfill a promised made to myself a while back. This round i did not go anywhere. Waking up every morning at 630am, went for a brisk walk with both my parents. Came back an hour later and we had breakfast together. We would talk about all the stuff in life...about our views on things happening around us; watching tv together. When i got tired, i would sneak up to my room and take a short nap. Waking up to lunch or sometimes tea. Life for the past two weeks have been a life which i have not lived for a long while. It felt really good.
Grandma came to stay with us for a few days, in those few days...i spent alot of time with her. She would sometimes fall asleep in the chair while watching tv in our living room. The weather was cooling for those few days she was with us. Before i went home this round, i bought some paper facial masks from Face Shop, wanting to try them on my grandma...my colleagues laughed and teased saying i'm using her as my 'lab rat', i was just thinking it would be cool to let her try it for once. On a quiet afternoon when everyone else was out, my grandma sat in the living room watching her afternoon drama, i managed to persuade her to try on one. She has never done this in her entire life, and was reluctant intially, but gave in to my persuasion eventually. 20mins later, she looked into her mirror...gently patted her face few times, she asked me how much was the mask :) it seems better than her face cream she said. She wanted me to get her a few more packs when i get back next. I can't help but laugh. I took a picture of her sitting at the chair with the mask on. Showing it quietly behind her back to the rest of my aunts/uncles/parents, they were surprised i managed to convinced her into putting that on.
Aunt came over and fetched us out for breakfast almost every morning. Everyday we will try different places and sometimes we would go for a walk at a nearby mall only coming back in the noon, I've never felt so at home for such a long time.
One morning when we were having breakfast together...grandma suddenly mentioned about her past...she said her sister once asked her when they first came to the city, if they were 'sua-ku' and couldn't catch up with the town-culture; married to my grand uncle and my grandfather; they were from a poor fishing village about an hour drive from the town my grandfather lives, and so happens that my grandfather and my grand uncle were cousins. So both the sisters married into the same family. Life was tough for her back then, having born into a family of 6, being the third daughter she never had a chance to study. She never met my grandfather before the wedding, just like most couples were back then. My grandfather was considered quite well to do back then, having his own sundries shop...business was pretty good. And when my grandma married into the family, she of course would have to help out around the shop...as well as taking care of my great grandmother. My grandma said life begins very early but she was used to the hours having grown up in a fishing village where most people will have to be at sea way before dawn. Back home, she would carry a bucket and a small shovel...and she would follow people to the beach and start digging for shellfish or clams. When she got married and moved to the town, life is alot different. Even the clothes the town people wear are so much different compared to hers. Having no close relatives nearby(my grand aunt stays some distance away), all she has was an unfamiliar guy she has to call husband. These stories she has told me plenty of times, but one thing she never mentioned until that morning...whenever my grandfather wasn't in a good mood or feeling agitated...he would tell my grandma '620 ringgit, we bought you back to do work!'. When she told me this that morning, i can see tears welling up in her eyes. I can almost felt her ache. I never would have thought my grandfather would say such thing...but i guess i will never understand how life and how people view lives back then. Even so, they have been married for 50 over years. When my grandfather died 7 years ago, she still pretended to be strong and tried so hard not to cry in front of us. Whether there have been any love or not, when you've spent so much of your lifetime together, no matter how much the pain has wrought your heart, how little the joy it has been...it will always be a memory that will never been taken away till you hit the grave.
Two weeks went by in a glimpse, I'm already back to my own life. But i will return again, very soon...i want to hear all of the other untold stories.
1 comment:
I like this!!
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