Less than a month ago, my mum got a shocking phone call from a close relative informing us that Kam Poh had passed away. With tears choking on the phone, my relative said her mum died because of sudden heart failure. Then, she informed my mum that the funeral would take place in the small town of Batu Pahat instead of Melaka for specific reasons. Being close-knitted with their side of the family, she invited all of us to attend the wake and pay our last respects to the deceased.
So later that evening, the entire Lim family made our journey to Batu Pahat. My 70-something dad, being the leader of the Lim clan naturally took charge of driving the family's car since a 30- something I was too chickened to manoeuvre the chunky four-wheel drive vehicle. Thankfully, the road to Batu Pahat wasn't painfully long hours since we took the fastest route available using the Air Keroh Highway.
We arrived at our destination at around 7 pm. Naturally, the deceased's two adult children came out to greet us. With tears welling in their eyes, they said that they were touched deeply by the magnitude of our kindness and generosity to their deceased mum. They said none of their other relatives is willing to travel this far just for a funeral, except for us.
Without wasting time, we went to see the deceased's body for the last time since the family would cremate her ashes the next day at the Sek Kah Yin Temple in Gajah Berang, Melaka.
Barely a month after Kam Poh's demise, my mum received another unexpected phone call from another relative. This time, the heartbreaking news revolves around my mum's younger brother. Initially, we did not expect any call from his side of the family. That is primarily because our families have grown apart over the last couple of years. And also, to be frank, this uncle of mine was defined as a "particular" character. Behind his back, we call him Uncle Scrooge as he was penny-pinching to the very core. In all niceties, he was frugal and good at managing his finances. But the reality is that he is the biggest miser in the world and a freeloader at its very best.
Okay, take one primary example. Many moons ago, when I was still a student in high school, Uncle Scrooge invited me with his kids for some swimming activities at the Melaka municipal public pool. Already starving and tired from all the swimming activities, we went to the vicinity's only A&W fast food outlet for a quick bite. In total, there were five of us in the group( 2 full grown adults and 3 growing up teenagers). As an innocent teenage girl, I thought my uncle would treat me to a meal of delicious coney dogs, curly fries, and quench-thirsting frosty root beers. But to my horror and dismay, he only brought back the smallest packet of regular french fries for all five of us to share. I swear I nearly cried on the spot. When I asked him why there wasn't even a drink or a burger, he gave the lamest al-cheapo excuse by fat-shaming me and said I was overweight and needed to cut down on fast food.
However, Uncle Scrooge's disgraceful penny-pinching antics didn't stop there. When my elder brother D was still a cash-strapped undergraduate student in university, the notorious Uncle Scrooge took my brother's brand new Kancil car to the KLIA airport from Melaka as an excuse to pick my aunty up from Australia. After driving back home from KL, he didn't even bother to fill up the nearly emptied petrol tank even though my brother needed to use the car to get to campus.
Just recently, Uncle Scrooge called my mum out of the blue and said he was not living well lately. First, he was diagnosed by the doctor with dementia and other memory-related problems. Second, he has also hurt his leg due to a motorcycle fall. Even worse, his wife had a near-death brush with breast cancer during the MCO period and went for a mastectomy to have her left breast taken off. By the way, this was the same wicked woman who refused me her two packets of instant noodles even when I was practically starving and deadbeat exhausted after coming back home for a well-deserving college break from KTAR.
As they say, what goes around does come around. After all, karma's a b***h! But surprisingly, I bear no ill feelings or grudges upon good old Uncle Scrooge and his wife. Neither do I wish to hex them with some evil sorcery or sarcastically say," Padan Muka, or Serves Them Right!". Instead, I put coal over the fire by sending them my best regards and kindest wishes - not only as a niece but as a decent human being. But, until now, I have not heard anything from their side of the party.
The moral of this story is that despite a person's material riches in the mortal world, it is futile if they do not take good care of their health and be kind to their loved ones. Like Uncle Scrooge and his wife, it's back to square one in the end. Most importantly, let bygones be bygones of all the petty and trivial stuff. Why rake up on past misdeeds that used to happen a century years ago? If you still harbour a grudge against an old schoolmate for not inviting you to her birthday party as she chose the popular kids, perhaps it's time to patch things up and make amends. Look at the bigger picture and take out the venom from your heart. After all, life is short and fleeting. Thus, you never know who will be greeted by the Grim Reaper next!
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