8yrs ago yesterday, i received a dreaded call from my mom at 3am informing me that kong kong has passed away. i only slept at 1.30am that night. so with only 1.5hrs of sleep, started a frenzy of calling up the karchengs in klang valley to see who wants to tumpang in my small little kancil back to kluang.
By the time i round up Belinda, kaima and Jasmine, it was already almost 7am and i no more energy to drive back liao 😅Jasmine got no choice but to take over the driving sambil crying.
We arrived Kluang at almost 10am and it was super heartbreaking seeing everyone without a single dry eyes.
I cant say it for everyone, but to me, kong kong's passing has affected me greatly. I wont be a hypocrite by pretending to be super close to kong kong - infact, i dont think i am that close to him compare to my relationship with my popo la. but his passing makes me realized how we should not take our elders for granted and expect them to live forever. in all my 35yrs of living (then ah), kong kong has always been there. even after he was bedridden from stroke, whenever i come back to kluang, i will always make a beeline to his bedroom to greet him and announce i am back and let him know how long i will be back for and wish him well. towards the end of his life, he was already less lucid and could only offer a small weak smile. i wasnt sure if he understood what i was telling him or not.
kong kong's passing was also a small reunion for us cousins who were all wearing smurfs color. i remember how we all made a big effort to come back. even my brother flew back from USA on the 2nd day of the wake. fetching him from Changi Airport became a mission. Terence picked him up from Changi Airport (he gotta go back SG earlier for work) and together with Aunty Theresa, sent him to Tune Hotel in Danga Bay, JB. Eugene then drove me and Elizabeth down to JB to pick him up. I remember clearly the whatsapp exchanged between Terence and us:
"The eagle has landed. No sign of parcel yet"
"Roger"
"Parcel collected. Moving towards destination. ETA 0125hrs"
"Roger. Team Flying Fox moving towards destination. ETA 0130hrs"
Whenever there is a gathering in the Ang family, there will always be singing. Loads of singing and laughter. Here is a video of my Kaiyeh (Richard) being playful and pranking my cousin.
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