Her strut not as purposeful as before. She smiles as she raises her black nylon pants to reveal the scars that run down both her knobby knees. The journey to her toes is an exponential of blue and black, dotted with shades of withering brown. Diabetes she exclaims in a tongue that remains foreign to her. When she was 20, she came from Fujian to Singapore. Roots of her expression still steeped in Hokkien.
Despite the roll of her words, I still feel like I understand. It's in her energetic hands, her ready smile and vivacious demeanour. It was not a life filled with grace and poise. A widows tale that starts at 31 and lingers at 80. The smile of a survivor, the energy of a child.
At 80? Years of living this life. Her pale grey eyes. Did I catch a twinkle? The curious case of Benjamin Button. Act like children to be treated like them. The cycles that inhabit our souls. Does wisdom peak or does it merely find a window of peaceful detachment and renewed joy? The bliss of ignorance or really the bliss is in the all-knowing.
Perhaps another 50 years to really understand. She smiles and celebrates my youth. Touches my face, stretches her arms to embrace. I wonder if I will ever get there. Each moment precious in the love we can share and give. Could you close tonight and not have to see tomorrow?
Whats on your Bucket List?
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