Fate

Has it ever occurred to you that Malaysia is really a big place??? I mean half the time when I see classifieds on missing person or families seeking missing relatives etc etc... on TV, newspapers, websites etc etc, the immediate conclusion would be that the missing person has already left the country. But today... I came to realise that this might not be the case.

My mom went for a check up today and accidentally bump into my uncle* whom we had lost touch for nearly 16 years!!!

Background
When I was younger, my family used to live together with Uncle Chen who married my father's sister. When they divorced 16 years ago, my aunt had the custody of my cousin brother... and Uncle Chen moved out. Then eventually, we also shifted to another place and had separate lives.

I was only 12 years old when Uncle Chen left but I will always remember him cos he's kinda unique in his own ways:

• He used to be very clumsy... e.g. there was once he parked his car next to a drain... when we got out of the car, he was no where in sight... guess what? He fell into the drain!
• Another time, he took my cousin, my bro and I to somewhere (can't remember where specifically) but my brother's leg got stuck in one of the holes in the cement drain cover but he continued walking and pulling my brother's hand until my bro had to cry before he noticed that his leg was stuck...
• Then there was this once he nearly broke all the 5 fingers on my right hand. He closed the door without looking and my fingers were stuck in between... only after several screams, shouts and cries did he realised that my fingers were stuck...

But despite his clumsiness, Uncle Chen is really a kind hearted soul who is not just kind to my family but adores us kids as well...

I don't have many memories of him as I was only 12, my bro 8 and my cousin 6 when he left. But what I remembered most was the jigsaw puzzle set he gave me. Long ago, when the jigsaw puzzle craze was in, I begged and begged him to buy me one. Even when he was showering, I would stand outside the toilet and chant: I want jigsaw puzzle, pls buy me one... pls pls pls... Although he pretended as if he wasn't gonna get it... he came home with one the following day!

When I heard the story from my mom today... I teared a little... cos after so many years, he remained single still. He was at the hospital today for his routine check up and was using crutches cos he got into an accident 4 months ago. And because it has been so long since we last met, he couldn't even recognize my mom at first. But guess what... he remembered me!

This Saturday, I'll be fetching him to my house for a mini reunion with my family. Am just so glad that we finally get the chance to meet him again after 16 long years! Although my aunt has then remarried... to me, I will only have 1 'gu-jiong' who is Uncle Chen and my parents shared the same sentiments. Just goes to show that Uncle Chen is really a nice guy although things didn't work out between him and my aunt.

And I truly believe that we are fated to meet albeit after 16 long years...