Ah Gong

Today is my ah gong's death anniversary. I don't remember when did he died, i only remember the day when my mum received a letter from China and she started crying. I was too young to apprehend her feelings then. I don't remember him much as he left when i was still a toddler. My mum will always tell me that he carried me before when i was just born into this world. Yup, my ah gong have another family in china. He is the typical immigrant to Singapore in the early 1930s, coming here to find a better life. He's a carpenter and he used to make my toys according to my mum. My grandma is his second wife. I never heard any stories of their love story before. All i heard from my mum is, he returned to China to his family and got cheated of his money by his friends over there. Even though he left us, my grandma still loves him the same. Every year she will still prepare lots of stuff (folding bags and bags of paper ingots) to burn for him. She will also prepare his favourite food as offerings to him. And we are actually on pretty good terms with the other family in China too - visited each other and calling each other without fail every chinese new year. Sometimes i hate my ah gong for leaving us back here, leaving my grandma to grow old herself.. But he have his responsibilities as well back in China..so i guess that was the hardest decision he have to make in his life. Look out for ah ma in heaven ah gong, and us, as well. :))