Tribute To My Late Grandma 1- Her History

I had on many occasions wanted to do a post on my late grandmother during the whole of last week but just didn't have the time to do it as we're all busy with her funeral and the documentations here and there. Time passed very very quickly. Quickly she became weaker and weaker, quickly she lost her ability to speak, her muscles... Quickly she left us without a word, quickly her funeral was over, and before I too quickly forget these strong feelings and memories I had for her, I better eternalise them here before they are gone too...

She was a fighter. A strong woman who never say die. However life doesn't seem to go easy on her. She lost her mom when she was barely 2. Her grandmother was very strict on her, scolding and hitting her for every minute mistake she made.

She was born in the 20s, a time when males are hailed and females are condemned. It was then a common trend for parents to only invest whatever little savings they have on their sons, it's a waste of resources for females to go to school, they're expected to help doing household chores instead. She was no exception. While we often find going to school a chore, complained of homework and teachers, she was never allowed to go to school, forbidden to step out of the house.

Japanese occupation came, she braved through that too. She hid from the Jap helicopters by smearing her face dirt, hiding in bushes, and even had to stop her breath when they circled above her and her other friends. There were 2 other close shaves she encountered with the Japs. Once she was hiding in the rice bin, and was caught by one of the soldiers, but luckily at that moment they were called back by their headquarters and she managed to escape. Another time she and 2 other girls were hiding in the house, probably in an attap house. Luck was definitely on my grandmother's side, but not for the other girl. That unfortunate girl was her neighbour and she was very pretty, even though she hid herself well and had covered herself with soot, the Jap soldiers somehow managed to uncover her, and find her attractive. And just like what we read in textbooks and saw in our dramas, they slapped her, tortured her, raped her and then finally silenced her. My grandmother witnessed this whole gruesome episode while she's still hiding in her place, not daring to make a sound.

Life turned better when she met my grandpa later. He was considered well-to-do, worked for the British as a clerk. Not many people knew English back then, and he was one of the rare few. I never knew how they met though, and I probably never will. Probably they knew each other through a matchmaker, or probably they were neighbours, but they did fall in love with each other and had 7 kids of their own, and 2 from my grandpa's previous marriage.

While he worked, my grandma singly took care of all her 7 children and all her household chores. It was not easy to provide all 7 with food, shelter, and education while trying to make ends meet. My dad was their 6th child, and the first son to give them a grandchild, a 内孙 they call it.

That's me.



To be continued...