Our Kind Neighbor

                                               Our Kind Neighbor

They say that we should love our neighbors. Aunt Nang was our great neighbor and now she had passed away. 

On a sunny morning, with the sound of birds chirping, roosters crowing, I felt the new morning with joy. I glanced at the side of the house and felt lonely and lonely. It's been almost 4 months that Aunt Nang had passed away without saying goodbye or even attending a funeral.

 

Aunt Nang, was a kind old lady. She had a kind heart, had compassion, and she was also skilled in cooking delicious food. She always cooks food or snacks for her family on a regular basis. Most of the food and desserts were traditional and authentic recipes that were hard to find. She would always talk and tell stories of the past as if I was one of the grandchildren with pleasure.

 One evening at the end of 2020, I noticed Aunt hang was pale. She looked sick On her neck, there were darker and more wrinkles than I had ever seen. So I asked her son:

        "What's wrong with you mother? I don't see her face at all these days," 

Her son replied.

         “My mother went to the hospital for radiation therapy. The doctor told her that she had lymphoma cancer. right on her neck's area"

I was shocked to hear the news. couldn't speak but encouraged and talked. 

Come to think about it. Aunty Nang, we thought, could never feel lonely, for she had four sons. 

But her family suffered a series of bad luck. We have learned that, for talking to her. There was one sentence that Nang liked to say to us, “For me, I am like a person with past karma. The eldest son has died. The other two sons were married. But the daughter-in-law said she did not want to have a lazy child with a burden. She had no grandchildren. 

"You will be the caretaker yourself."

As for the youngest, he was single. A fat man without a job or career, playing stocks at home. As for her husband, he was a quiet man. They both were getting old. 

I noticed also that her husband rarely took care of Aunty hang. Both of them were Chinese descendants. they were arranged to marry during their adolescence

 

Therefore, Aunt Nang's life at the end of her life felt lonely as if she was alone. The family sold a plot of land and they had divided the money among the children and the daughter-in-law, when she got the money, had left the family. 

At first, I was stunned and confused for a moment. I often changed the subject for her to feel comfortable with.

Busy with work for several months, bad news arrived. I received the news that Aunt Nang died from Covid-19. It was a tragedy. It was told that her youngest son had contracted COVID-19 from a friend's house. In addition, Aunt Nang has a congenital disease, namely lymphoma cancer. making her weak with no immunity.

 Therefore, she died suddenly within five days after the infection. So, Aunt's family had to immediately cremate the body. 

I was a bit disappointed that the news about her health and illness was kept secret. No family member told us what happened to her, Her husband and her sons did not tell us, even though we were close neighbors.  

Even though the house was right next to each other. I didn't say goodbye, didn't visit. did not send Aunt Nang to heaven.

But when thinking again, Nang's family was doing it right. Who would have thought the covid-19 virus would be so deadly and dangerous and cruel like this...

 I only remember her face and her words -- "Anijja Vata  Sangkhara" - Nothing is permanent. Nothing lasts forever. It is the law of Karma.