In Loving Memory...
It was supposed to be an ordinary day.
Just another day spent desperately clawing through the morning traffic along Lornie Road.
Another day spent struggling with my school work.
Another day spent being the butt of others' tasteless jokes...and being rewarded for three days worth of slogging with a derisive sneer by my tutor.
Nothing seemed to portend that today was going to be shockingly different...and so when the shock came I was overwhelmed.
It was a text message from Mike, a friend from a lifetime ago,
" Nic, you heard what happened? Encik passed away."
There was a fleeting moment of disbelief, followed by a deluge of emotions...
"No..." I silently mouthed, hoping that it was not true.
But it was not to be.
Throughout the day, fervid text messages were exchanged between my army buddies and I. The mysterious circumstances surrounding our former sergeant-major's death led to much speculation, the details of which I shall not disclose.
The loss hit some of us quite deeply, as we mourned the passing of a man we had come to love during our army days.
Encik was a simple man.
Unlike many career soldiers, he was down-to-earth and unassuming. Soft spoken by nature, he never failed to give an encouraging word whenever he felt that it was well-deserved. Although I disagreed with the way he handled certain things, I respected him for the fact that he was approachable and understanding towards the NSFs.
I remember that I got screwed once for reporting back to camp on my off day. Encik gamely signed another off pass so I could be compensated for the off day that I had wasted.
We shared many memories during the two years I spent at 2nd Brigade.
Eating pizza together in the National Stadium during NDP'04...watching DVDs in the company lounge during my COS duty...killing time in the camp canteen...
The last time I saw Encik was on the day I collected my ic.
We chatted for awhile and he was his usual happy-go-lucky self. In the words of my ex-campmate, "nobody would have expected this to happen seven months later." I promised to buy him coffee for taking care of me in my time in the unit, and to thank him for shutting one eye when I got myself into trouble on several occasions.
I never had the chance to buy him that cup of coffee.
At the wake, I witnessed the grief of his family, especially his mother. There was a dull pain in my chest. There is something perverse and unnatural about parents attending their children's funerals. Parents are supposed to watch their children grow up, settle down and set up their own families.
Parents are supposed to have their children by ther bedside when their time is up...
...and not the other way round.
I left the wake with a heavy heart.
I forced myself to banter and make some idle chit chat with my ex-campmates on the way home. As I looked up at the November sky, I was sure I saw one star shining more brightly than the others.
I refuse to dismiss it as just a figment of my imagination.
Encik, may God bless you and may you rest in peace.
This harsh, harsh world was never meant for one as good as you.
You are always in our hearts.
Just another day spent desperately clawing through the morning traffic along Lornie Road.
Another day spent struggling with my school work.
Another day spent being the butt of others' tasteless jokes...and being rewarded for three days worth of slogging with a derisive sneer by my tutor.
Nothing seemed to portend that today was going to be shockingly different...and so when the shock came I was overwhelmed.
It was a text message from Mike, a friend from a lifetime ago,
" Nic, you heard what happened? Encik passed away."
There was a fleeting moment of disbelief, followed by a deluge of emotions...
"No..." I silently mouthed, hoping that it was not true.
But it was not to be.
Throughout the day, fervid text messages were exchanged between my army buddies and I. The mysterious circumstances surrounding our former sergeant-major's death led to much speculation, the details of which I shall not disclose.
The loss hit some of us quite deeply, as we mourned the passing of a man we had come to love during our army days.
Encik was a simple man.
Unlike many career soldiers, he was down-to-earth and unassuming. Soft spoken by nature, he never failed to give an encouraging word whenever he felt that it was well-deserved. Although I disagreed with the way he handled certain things, I respected him for the fact that he was approachable and understanding towards the NSFs.
I remember that I got screwed once for reporting back to camp on my off day. Encik gamely signed another off pass so I could be compensated for the off day that I had wasted.
We shared many memories during the two years I spent at 2nd Brigade.
Eating pizza together in the National Stadium during NDP'04...watching DVDs in the company lounge during my COS duty...killing time in the camp canteen...
The last time I saw Encik was on the day I collected my ic.
We chatted for awhile and he was his usual happy-go-lucky self. In the words of my ex-campmate, "nobody would have expected this to happen seven months later." I promised to buy him coffee for taking care of me in my time in the unit, and to thank him for shutting one eye when I got myself into trouble on several occasions.
I never had the chance to buy him that cup of coffee.
At the wake, I witnessed the grief of his family, especially his mother. There was a dull pain in my chest. There is something perverse and unnatural about parents attending their children's funerals. Parents are supposed to watch their children grow up, settle down and set up their own families.
Parents are supposed to have their children by ther bedside when their time is up...
...and not the other way round.
I left the wake with a heavy heart.
I forced myself to banter and make some idle chit chat with my ex-campmates on the way home. As I looked up at the November sky, I was sure I saw one star shining more brightly than the others.
I refuse to dismiss it as just a figment of my imagination.
Encik, may God bless you and may you rest in peace.
This harsh, harsh world was never meant for one as good as you.
You are always in our hearts.
posted by bourbon at 2:43 AM
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