Random Thoughts

I was told that my grandpa was quite alright on Saturday..my uncle was playing boxing with him and he was still reacting..but as the sun was setting, they saw my grandpa sitting on a bench in his room looking far away..and he looked very sad...The sadness in his eyes was phenomenal, as if he wanted to tell something..Since few months ago, his mind has come to the point where he could not utter an intelligible word..He would try to communicate with syallables that made no sense at all no matter how hard we tried to understand him..only my mum and her elder sister can...and, that night..He wasn't eating..when my aunt scold him, telling him that he will die if he doesn't want to eat..for the first time in many months, with eyes that sparkled with the wise knowledge he displayed as a young man, he utter a MOST intelligible sentence.. "I'm not afraid to die, I'm ready to go..my sins were already forgiven by God"...He died the next morning, on the way to the hospital..

I grew up knowing my grandpa as a great and loving person..He always seemed very accessible and was not threatening or intimidating to me as a little kid like many adults were. This is probably because he dealt with kids all day (his grandchilds and great grandchild)...one thing I remember about him is that, he has a very good workmanship..He could turn wood into nicely carved furnitures or iron into sharp and very useful 'parang'..I wasn't raised up in my mum's kg, so I didn't get to know my grandpa that much..but, I remember, I was really close to him when I was a young boy..

I was told many stories about my grandpa by my Mum..Great stories that made me admired him very much..Whenever we went home to my grandpa's last time (when I was a boy)..I would always wake early morning to follow him to his 'parang' making workshop...He would wake up as early as 4.30 or 5, and he will start making parang...My brother and I would be there helping him or disturbing him..but, he has never once raise his voice or was mad..that's the thing I love so much about my grandpa..

I remember there was one time, he gave my brother a baby buffalo..and I wanted one as well..but he said, there was only one baby buffalo, and I have to wait for the next one to come..but, being a very irritable boy I am..I cried hard, and forced him...What he did was simple...He said, I'll give you a rooster instead..This one is smaller, you can carry it around..like a pet..but that buffalo is going to stay here (in Kg), but you can take this rooster back to your house in Timbang...wow, I was really happy...and the baby buffalo problem was solved..and now, when I think of that, I can smile...how simple things were for him..

I'm gonna miss my grandpa very much..
The sweet loving grandpa that I once knew.
Is away from me, far, far away.
He’s gone away from the world,
Gone to a land with no worries
And for me he has left behind a treasure trove of memories..
May your soul rest in pace...