Pkchukiss – Reality Wine

I’ve just returned from a trip to Malaysia. My maternal grandmother passed away last Monday evening, and so I went up north for my grandmother’s funeral.

I hadn’t seen her in 3 whole years, and then another 6 more years prior to that. I nearly broke down when I found out the news, because I have not had a proper chance to talk to her these two years. It’s the kind of regret you have when people you miss die suddenly while you’re away. You don’t have the chance to talk to them. You miss the experiences you’ve had with them. Most importantly, you miss out on the fantastic stories that person has to tell you.

The stories of hardship during the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1942. The story about how she met my grandfather. The story on how they decided to live in Sungai Petani and give birth to my mom and my uncles. All the memories she didn’t tell me in person before she passed away: gone.

My mom, uncles and aunt can probably tell me these stories if I ask them, but it just isn’t the same as my grandmother telling me these stories herself.

If there’s anything I’ve learnt from this, it’s the fact that I need to communicate more often. Life is too unpredictable to be embarrassed about expressing myself. Who knows? Something might happen to me, and nobody would ever know the tons of stuff I’ve ever wanted to tell them about, but were too shy to say. I just wish that I’ve talked to my maternal grandmother more often than this.

May she rest in peace.

I’ve recorded the GPS coordinates of my grandmother’s grave, please email me if you would like to visit. It’s at Sungai Pasir, Kedah.

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