Author: Lim Wen Guang
My father passed away due to kidney failure when I was 12 years old. Back then, my mum was also mentally unwell and hence my elder sis took on the responsibility to take care of the family – at 17 years old she made a decision to find a job straight after she graduated from polytechnic, putting on hold her personal aspirations to pursue further studies.
Navigating my teenage years without a fatherly figure forced me to be independent at an early age. I understood my responsibility as a son to take care of my mother and best support my sis by doing my very best in my academic studies. During that period, I had an aunt (my dad’s younger sister) who would check-in on me and sis regularly and bring us out for meals and movies, making sure that we were well taken care of. I still remember the very first movie that she brought us to watch at the theatre was “The Little Mermaid”, and we bought some kacang putih wrapped in paper from the seller just downstairs from the theatre.
Aunt tried to find out what we liked and bought gifts for us so that we continued to feel family love. Knowing that I loved watching football and following the Malaysia Cup, on one occasion she bought me an autobiography about Fandi Ahmad – the most famous football star in Singapore at that time. It was a book that I cherished.
Aunt would turn out to be a pivotal figure in my life at that point in time, being that pillar of support and encouragement in times that I may have felt lost. She would also remember about my mum and include her in our outings to Fantasy Island at Sentosa, amongst other fun places in Singapore. She would bring me along to meet with her friends and tell them how proud she was of me.
When I was about 18 years old, Aunt met with a pen pal from Hawaii, got married and moved over to stay with her husband. Being her nephew I was very proud to be the best man for her wedding ceremony, at the same time felt a bit sad that she was moving abroad. Today, Aunt has settled down with a family in Hawaii and although we miss her from time to time, we remain very much in touch via watsapp and video calls. My two children also fondly call her “Grandaunty” whenever we converse with her.
