砂漠のJeffire

Jeffirean Stories

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Today was spent mostly at the library. But the highlight of the day was in the evening. Most of the army chaps, some not seen for years, some in my frequent contacted list, attended the wake. We gathered at the kopithiam beside ABC Supermarket in Khatib and had dinner. I didn't eat because I had already snacked, so I had a drink of teh peng (ice milk tea).

My mind was quite amused for the irony of the day was that it took the passing away of a friend to gather so many people. I saw, perhaps, 15 people previously from the same camp. Some of them I spent quite a long time in the camp with them but after we finished our NS, we never met again. Most people changed quite drastically in physical sense(including myself, as they say) but still there were some who still remained in their usual flavour. There were conversations, jokes and recaps of army life which made us laugh. It was quite a struggle to decide whether to laugh or just smile for the occassion was sombre.

We were ferried on a lorry by the ex-driver, ZF, of the unit. He drove as if we were in a rush, but it was fun experiencing the lorry wind again. When we reached, there were 2 wakes at both blocks, divided by the car park. ZF said he saw Chris' photo despite JX and my consistent reminder that Chris lived at the opposite block. Nonetheless, the spectacle was short and then we proceeded to pay our respects.

I wasn't sure what to do actually. I stood at the forefront of the whole bunch of guys. I had an urge to tear though I refused to because I am sure Chris would had preferred me to smile, as his good friend. I didn't smile either though. Gordon went in to see him. I was reluctant as first, as I was afraid. But I felt compelled to do so, because I hadn't the opportunity to see him while he was still alive. He looked in peace, though really pale. I guess he would have been glad to have seen most of the guys coming together to see him.

I noticed on the altar that KFC was part of the offerings, and he had a house, a maid, and a car to go with. I am not sure if he knew how to drive though, but maybe he could learn how to in the other world. I guess KFC was part of the offerings as he worked at the zoo's KFC branch for many years. If he worked at McDonalds instead like his sisters, I might have knew him earlier. Heh. Though that was not the case to be, but I am still honoured to have got to know such a wonderful person who was very talented and very dilligent.

The guys then sat down together at a table. Drinks and subsequently, food was served. The first few minutes was a total silence though. But soon the ambience resettled itself and we went on to discuss about the past, how Chris lived his last months and so on. It was good to see many of us together again, though Leslie and I drove the point that we should not be meeting under such circumstances anytime soon. Hopefully the KTV I'm organising next month would be of a much happier occassion.

As the time passed, even the infamous campmate of mine, Soo KS (maybe there is some description of him in my earliest posts) came to the wake, which surprised everyone. I guessed he had improved slightly in terms of living a proper life. I think he sure did, as he showed us a pass showing that he was a server during the IMF meeting last year. He was very proud of that. On top of that, he bought books from Kinokuniya, that cost a bomb... including an book titled "The Last Journeys You Should Go Before You Die". Of course it was unknown to him of Chris' demise but I guess fate still played a part here as he met the guys who left earlier and was informed of the situation. His appearance made the ambience even less serious but I guess it was fine. Perhaps Chris had wanted to meet as many of us as possible...

Thank you for all the memories we had. I would always remember your super arcade moves, you speedy runs and nice passes, and our discussions on Taiwan, on football and life. Goodbye, my dear friend...Chris. =) Hope you will enjoy your new lease of life in the other world... and maybe one day, one day in the future, we may meet again in the other world.. Maybe we could playing Winning Eleven again... maybe we could play your favourite basketball... maybe I can watch you play KOF again and marvel at how great you are... heh.

Regards
Jeffire

Acknowledged my existence at
11:47 PM