My heart follows the fallen leaves: Missing my third aunt
The four sisters are all optimistic and open-minded people.
When it comes to third aunt's life, one sentence can always be said: "Oh! This is life."
Regarding the death of my third aunt, I treated it as if I had let go of a relationship and the boat passed through the water without a trace, and I...
▲人生的大風大浪攔阻不了三姨的豁達，也無法抹滅信惠熱筆之下無限的思念（左為三姨高中時的倩影，右為去世前一年〔2005年〕最後留影，享年62歲）。
I gently put down the phone in my hand, feeling like a slowly drifting dead leaf, feeling lost and reluctant to leave. My mother said on the phone: "My third aunt has passed away!" Yes, my third aunt has gone through life without taking away a single cloud. The memory in his mind was rewinding like a movie, and scenes of her gentleness, gracefulness, and compact but plump figure emerged before his eyes. The third aunt's last smile was as bright as victory, because she ignored my obstruction and rushed to pay for it before me, buying multiple bottles of colorful marble soda for the grandchildren who were traveling with me.
In the eyes of the children, the third aunt is a good aunt who responds to every request. She spends her money everywhere to buy things and pamper her grandchildren. In fact, the third aunt's family did not have much money as their business was affected by the economic downturn. The third aunt went from being the daughter-in-law of a wealthy family to falling into poverty. How can she adjust to such a mood? According to social news, there are many people who are in debt due to business failures, suffer from depression, and even commit suicide. Has the third aunt experienced this difficulty? A submissive wife, who completely trusted and cooperated with her husband, but in the end was disappointed, has she ever shed a liter of tears?
To describe the last few years of Third Aunt's life in just a few words would really understate Third Aunt's life.
The third aunt is the most timid and reticent among the four sisters, and often takes other people's opinions as her own. I can't imagine how frightened and undecided my third aunt felt after hearing the doctor's diagnosis. Third Aunt is a native of Kaohsiung. When she encounters any scary, frightening, uneasy, or even surprising, interesting, or disgusting situation, she uses the Taiwanese word "Auntie" to describe it all over the world. She suffered from kidney dialysis and was found to have cancer. When the doctor announced this depressing news, did she keep feeding her mother, and did she keep calling her deceased mother and father in her heart, asking her parents to help her What about calling the shots? well! It's raining in my eyes!
Want to know her better
Because my third aunt is taciturn, I regret not getting to know her well. I called my mother and aunts to ask about my third aunt’s life. The aunt said that when the third aunt was born on the run, the grandmother was weak and had no choice but to give the third aunt away. The aunt came to see the third aunt with a "sling" and always quickly took the baby away. When she mentioned this, the aunt couldn't help but sigh.
The mother, the second eldest among the sisters, said that the third aunt got married too early, "Oh! She was spotted by a matchmaker before she graduated from high school. Because of the matchmaker's advice, she married into a big family with a mother-in-law and sisters-in-law and uncles, and she had no chance to interact with her. Society, unaware of the dangers in the world, trusts people too easily.”
The younger aunt is five years younger than the third aunt, and she is a "powerful character" among the sisters who always expresses her opinions. The speech gets to the point immediately without being muddled. "There are two reasons why my third aunt got married early: one is Taiwanese customs, and the other is grandma's indecisiveness."
Grandma's family is well-known in Kaohsiung. Miss Chen's third daughter is gentle, well-behaved and beautiful. The matchmaker caught her eye at school. My grandfather died young, and it was not easy for my grandmother to lead a group of children. The marriage of her children was a heavy burden on her heart, so she agreed as long as they were well-matched. So the third aunt got engaged within a hundred days; she entered the big family from school and was no longer the third daughter of the Chen family. I cried bitterly in the delivery room. Fortunately, I finally gave birth to my son for the fifth time, and my pregnancy was over.”
The little aunt felt that the third aunt was too obedient and had to accept everything in her life. Some of the four sisters are Buddhists and some believe in the Lord. They are all optimistic and open-minded people. When talking about the life of the third aunt, they always say: "Oh! This is life." Regarding the death of the third aunt, they regard the death of the third aunt as letting go of a relationship and letting the boat pass. The water seems to be traceless. In fact, everyone is reluctant to give up. Otherwise, how could we stay up all night longing for our third aunt?
Unforgettable moments together
As for me, although I don’t meet my third aunt often, I am deeply impressed every time. I remember when I was in elementary school, my third aunt gave birth to a daughter. She was exhausted physically and mentally in the delivery room, and she was quietly talking to her mother. During the winter vacation that year, the third aunt gave birth to the fifth child, a boy. All relatives from her mother's family went to the hospital to congratulate her. The ward was packed. The third aunt accepted the congratulations with a smile on her face. Everyone was happy for her, ah! Finally no more regeneration.
After junior high school, we came to the United States to further our studies, and the opportunities to see relatives suddenly decreased. It wasn't until the summer vacation of my freshman year that my sister and I went back to Taiwan to visit relatives, and we had the chance to see my third aunt again. That time, my third aunt "stuffed" us and her five babies into the car, and we went around eating, drinking and having fun accompanied by Lin Huiping's songs. Now, whenever I hear Lin Huiping's old songs, I am reminded of that happy trip.
Many years ago, my third aunt, her uncle, and her brother-in-law visited the United States as a group of relatives and friends. We drove two cars to "attack" Atlantic City, and my third aunt helped me take care of my second son who was under one year old along the way. I remember when the second child ate table food for the first time, he excitedly waved his hands and threw the bowl in the third aunt's hand to the ground. "It was so tight that it broke the bowl!" She wiped the spilled food with a smile. Rice grain residue on clothes.
I still remember taking my third aunt to SYM'S for shopping. I acted as her "stylist" and chose several dresses to try on. I only heard a voice: "Hey, mommy," and she stood outside the door in a whimpering voice. , the "frank meeting" fitting room made her hesitate to move forward. I quickly encouraged the third aunt to follow the spirit of beauty and not be afraid of being exposed and changing clothes in front of strangers, and even pushed and pulled her to try on clothes. That night, we coaxed our third aunt to have a costume show, and she walked around the stage in her new clothes with a shy smile, happily showing off her new clothes. That night, the third aunt seemed to have returned to her shy and beautiful girlhood - a period that ended prematurely due to early marriage.
When I saw my third aunt again, she had started dialysis. We went swimming with my third aunt, and the three adults and a group of children took a long excursion to the swimming pool. The children were sliding down the slide in the play pool. We placed the floating board in front of the water slide, measured the distance, and slid down just in time to jump onto the floating board. The third aunt was nervous and funny, so we also invited the third aunt to participate in the "Slide and Springboard Competition".
The third aunt strongly refused at first, but could not withstand the persuasion and plucked up the courage to slide down from the height of the slide. The children below shouted: "Go! Auntie Go!" Watching the third aunt slide down quickly, we quickly The floating board was connected, and the third aunt just jumped on the floating board - the mission was successful! People who know the third aunt must not imagine that she would participate in such "child's play". The third aunt who was afraid of "drinking water" could actually quickly jump off the springboard from a high place. The smile of "victory" on her face is a precious historical shot. .
Draw a perfect ending
When the third aunt was first diagnosed with cancer, the doctor judged that she did not have much time to live, but the third aunt lived her life as usual. She only complained in a low voice, complaining about the marriage arranged by her grandmother, and said that if she wanted to go to the West, she would first go to her grandfather.
I returned to Taiwan during the summer vacation and wanted to visit my third aunt and "play" with her. My sister also brought her daughter back to Kaohsiung from Hong Kong, and my brother-in-law's house suddenly became a "five-star B&B." My third aunt lived in the same apartment building, and she would go downstairs to "hang out" with us on days when she wasn't going for dialysis. After she fell ill, she also gave up coffee and ate healthy food like no other. And we "Americans" were lucky enough to taste my aunt's freshly brewed coffee in the morning. The aroma of the coffee made my third aunt move her "ordinary heart". The next day, she went downstairs and immediately said to her aunt: "I want a cup of coffee today!" Sit down! Standing aside, I seemed to see Sanyi's excitement about sliding on the water slide again. I patted her arm and shouted: "Yeah, Go! Sanyi Go!".
When traveling with relatives, eating, drinking and having fun, the most rare thing is the time spent with my third aunt. Somehow, the third aunt knew that the days were coming to an end, so she mustered up her strength, took advantage of the time, and even stopped eating; coffee, pig's feet, and barbecue, all of them were spared! At this time, we are still talking about healthy food. After eating it, "the heart will be cool and the spleen will be opened, and the person will feel refreshed and happy." After traveling with us, my third aunt was admitted to hospital and completed her journey of life within a few days. Just as my cousin said, the third aunt brought a perfect ending to her life.
In the drawer of my daughter's desk, there are hairpins given by my third aunt. Seeing these little things makes me miss my third aunt and feel even more grateful. Thank God for allowing me to "play" with my third aunt and share the joy of family affection with us while she can still move freely. Thank God for giving Third Aunt many children. Although it is not easy to raise them, these children allow Third Aunt to enjoy the happiness of a family. I am even more grateful to Father God in heaven for giving me the honor to be Ms. Chen Yufang’s niece. I think her children, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends all feel the same happiness! Third Aunt, I often put you in my prayers and hope that we will meet again in heaven.
Author profile
Wu Xinhui, a housewife, loves reading, music, traveling, and food. She writes down her emotions with pen and learns the lessons in life with a humorous attitude.