Ning asked me over lunch the other day whether I had any plans for Christmas. We don't normally celebrate Christmas at the temple, all we do is put up an old Christmas tree, which incidentally got a facelift last year with new decorations.
"Are you not celebrating with your friends at the Club?" I asked him.
He shook his head, then said, "I'm thinking of having a quiet Christmas this year."
"I see. Well, you're welcome to spend it with us at the temple, we're just having a simple dinner."
Ning thought for a while, then said, "What do you say we have a small Christmas eve dinner with Ah Hoe at Lao Lo's hut? We can invite Mi Mi and her cats from Tom's Home."
"Excellent idea, Ning!" I said, quite happy with his suggestion. Mi Mi is still running her home for stray and orphaned cats, it gives her a sense of fulfillment knowing she is helping those in need, which is just what Tom (her late spouse) would have wanted.
Ah Hoe was only too pleased to fall in with our plans and so we put our heads together and planned a simple menu of milk and bread pudding. Mi Mi was pretty excited when we invited her and said her kittens would be thrilled. So it was all set and on Christmas eve, we gathered at Lao Lo's hut. Ah Hoe had put up a few decorations at the windows and brightened up the house with candles, making the whole place look cheerful and very Christmas-y.
Mi Mi and her family of three kittens and two old tabbies came on time and happily tucked into their dinner. As we were eating, we suddenly heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it," I said and went to see who it was.
An old man was standing there, a gentle smile on his face. He had snow white hair and twinkling eyes and as I looked at him, I had the strangest feeling I had seen him somewhere before.
"I was passing by and saw the lights from your house, so I thought I'd stop and wish you all a Merry Christmas," the old man said.
"Merry Christmas, Sir," I replied. "Look, why don't you come in and join us? We have plenty of food to share."
The old man thanked me and followed me inside. But he wouldn't partake of anything, saying he had just eaten. He sat quietly in one corner watching Mi Mi feed the old cats and play with the kittens, and there was such a soft, gentle expression on his face. He must love cats, I thought to myself. Ah Hoe tried to engage him in conversation but he wouldn't say much and after about fifteen minutes with us, he got up and said he had to leave.
"Why don't you stay on a bit longer? It's such a lovely evening," said Ah Hoe.
The old man politely declined, thanked us all and made his way out.
"Did you walk all the way from the village, Sir?" I asked as Ning and I saw him to the door.
He smiled, his eyes twinkling. "No, I've got a bicycle," he said.
He turned back to look at the house for a few moments, then got onto his bicycle and disappeared into the night. Again I got that feeling I had seen him somewhere before but just couldn't place him.
After he had gone, Ning said, "Da, do you get the feeling that we've met that old man before?"
"Ning! You have the same feeling too! But I just cannot recall when or where."
"Oh well, it'll come back to us later," Ning said and we both returned to the house.
It was soon bedtime for the kittens and Ah Hoe offered to accompany Mi Mi back to her place. As she was leaving, Mi Mi suddenly turned to us and said, "You know, that old man .... I got this lovely, warm feeling when he was here .. it was like Tom was present .... oh, I'm being silly .... anyway, thank you so much and Merry Christmas!"
As we sat on the porch waiting for Ah Hoe to return, we mulled over what Mi Mi had said. The old man ..... Tom ..... we just couldn't put the pieces together.
A cool breeze was blowing and a pale silvery moon was shining above the tree tops, casting down a thin veil of moonlight on the house and surrounding trees.
"That jacaranda tree needs trimming," commented Ning out of the blue. Jacaranda tree .....
"Ning!" I cried, sitting up. "The jacaranda tree - don't you remember now? He's the old man who saved Mi Mi and the cats from the fire .....!"
"Good God! You're right! Don't know why I couldn't remember before!" exclaimed Ning.
"He didn't want us to remember," I said breathlessly. "And do you also remember, I told you at that time that he said his name is "Tom" ... "
"Of course I remember. You were convinced that the old man is Mi Mi's Tom or rather Tom's ghost."
I gulped and nodded. "He ... he came back to spend Christmas with Mi Mi....I'm sure it's him!"
"But why come as a human, and not as himself?" asked Ning, puzzled.
"I don't have the answer to that, Ning. There are so many things in this world that I don't know or understand..."
Ning was silent for a minute, then murmured softly, "No wonder Mimi said she felt his presence. He must have loved her very much."
For a while, neither of us could speak, touched as we were by the love of a gentle, old cat, a love so great that it knew no boundaries and brought him back from the depths of the unknown to be with his loved one.
Meanwhile, behind the branches of the jacaranda tree, an old man on a bicycle smiled, his heart brimming with joy. He had just spent Christmas with the one he loved, even though it was only for a short while.
 |
| "Any plans for Christmas, Da?" |
He shook his head, then said, "I'm thinking of having a quiet Christmas this year."
"I see. Well, you're welcome to spend it with us at the temple, we're just having a simple dinner."
Ning thought for a while, then said, "What do you say we have a small Christmas eve dinner with Ah Hoe at Lao Lo's hut? We can invite Mi Mi and her cats from Tom's Home."
"Excellent idea, Ning!" I said, quite happy with his suggestion. Mi Mi is still running her home for stray and orphaned cats, it gives her a sense of fulfillment knowing she is helping those in need, which is just what Tom (her late spouse) would have wanted.
Ah Hoe was only too pleased to fall in with our plans and so we put our heads together and planned a simple menu of milk and bread pudding. Mi Mi was pretty excited when we invited her and said her kittens would be thrilled. So it was all set and on Christmas eve, we gathered at Lao Lo's hut. Ah Hoe had put up a few decorations at the windows and brightened up the house with candles, making the whole place look cheerful and very Christmas-y.
Mi Mi and her family of three kittens and two old tabbies came on time and happily tucked into their dinner. As we were eating, we suddenly heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it," I said and went to see who it was.
An old man was standing there, a gentle smile on his face. He had snow white hair and twinkling eyes and as I looked at him, I had the strangest feeling I had seen him somewhere before.
"I was passing by and saw the lights from your house, so I thought I'd stop and wish you all a Merry Christmas," the old man said.
"Merry Christmas, Sir," I replied. "Look, why don't you come in and join us? We have plenty of food to share."
The old man thanked me and followed me inside. But he wouldn't partake of anything, saying he had just eaten. He sat quietly in one corner watching Mi Mi feed the old cats and play with the kittens, and there was such a soft, gentle expression on his face. He must love cats, I thought to myself. Ah Hoe tried to engage him in conversation but he wouldn't say much and after about fifteen minutes with us, he got up and said he had to leave.
"Why don't you stay on a bit longer? It's such a lovely evening," said Ah Hoe.
The old man politely declined, thanked us all and made his way out.
"Did you walk all the way from the village, Sir?" I asked as Ning and I saw him to the door.
He smiled, his eyes twinkling. "No, I've got a bicycle," he said.
He turned back to look at the house for a few moments, then got onto his bicycle and disappeared into the night. Again I got that feeling I had seen him somewhere before but just couldn't place him.
After he had gone, Ning said, "Da, do you get the feeling that we've met that old man before?"
"Ning! You have the same feeling too! But I just cannot recall when or where."
"Oh well, it'll come back to us later," Ning said and we both returned to the house.
It was soon bedtime for the kittens and Ah Hoe offered to accompany Mi Mi back to her place. As she was leaving, Mi Mi suddenly turned to us and said, "You know, that old man .... I got this lovely, warm feeling when he was here .. it was like Tom was present .... oh, I'm being silly .... anyway, thank you so much and Merry Christmas!"
As we sat on the porch waiting for Ah Hoe to return, we mulled over what Mi Mi had said. The old man ..... Tom ..... we just couldn't put the pieces together.
A cool breeze was blowing and a pale silvery moon was shining above the tree tops, casting down a thin veil of moonlight on the house and surrounding trees.
"That jacaranda tree needs trimming," commented Ning out of the blue. Jacaranda tree .....
"Ning!" I cried, sitting up. "The jacaranda tree - don't you remember now? He's the old man who saved Mi Mi and the cats from the fire .....!"
"Good God! You're right! Don't know why I couldn't remember before!" exclaimed Ning.
"He didn't want us to remember," I said breathlessly. "And do you also remember, I told you at that time that he said his name is "Tom" ... "
"Of course I remember. You were convinced that the old man is Mi Mi's Tom or rather Tom's ghost."
I gulped and nodded. "He ... he came back to spend Christmas with Mi Mi....I'm sure it's him!"
"But why come as a human, and not as himself?" asked Ning, puzzled.
"I don't have the answer to that, Ning. There are so many things in this world that I don't know or understand..."
Ning was silent for a minute, then murmured softly, "No wonder Mimi said she felt his presence. He must have loved her very much."
For a while, neither of us could speak, touched as we were by the love of a gentle, old cat, a love so great that it knew no boundaries and brought him back from the depths of the unknown to be with his loved one.
Meanwhile, behind the branches of the jacaranda tree, an old man on a bicycle smiled, his heart brimming with joy. He had just spent Christmas with the one he loved, even though it was only for a short while.
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