a story in progress

Dear Gong Gong,

We just cleared your paraphernalia yesterday. Although it has been awhile, we are only able to go through them in detail yesterday. I do suppose job of such nature requires a delicate balance between acceptance and brevity. I think you will be glad to know that everyone especially Po Po was in good spirit. Before we started the clearing we even celebrated her birthday. Needless to say it kept her in a jovial tone through out. She has recovered much since her minor stroke attack. I would even go as far as saying she is almost back to her former self.

Going back to the matter of clearing up your possessions, I would say that I have learn much about you during the process. I know we do not have the tightest relationship prior to this. May it be due to the family setting, language barrier or even the generation gap for that matter. But I will always recall you in fond memories. In life, I know you as a well educated Chinese tailor who spent most of his days in the town of Alor Star. But at this very moment, you are much more than that. Through your paraphernalia I seen a glimpse of your extensive traveling in your youth. It is through the plethora of postcards, souvenirs and well kept letters from your friends that offer me a better insight into you. Your meticulousness for details and sentimentality speaks of man of good principles that were upheld even to the very end. However, I hope you won't mind me keeping a few of those tokens as mementos of you for my own.

If there is a message I ever need to send across to you it would be that everything is well at our end. Know that we will always have you in our hearts and thoughts. Your gift to me in the form of my chinese name is also something I will carry on proudly for the rest of my life. As illiterate I am in chinese, knowing how to write those three characters and the meaning it hold will be my own little way to cherish you.

Thank you.

With Love,
加孟