Koh's parents, at the last minute, decided to hold both the engagement ceremony and wedding at their hometown a number of kilometres away since most of their relatives live there and it would be more convenient for all. Unfortunately, it was too far for us although we would have loved to attend both occasions. Lotus was very disappointed that we couldn't come and promised she would visit us as and when she could.
Shortly after the wedding, Ah Ying who seems to be also the temple's "New Straits Times", rushed into the temple one morning and told us that Hong had returned home! Apparently, his girlfriend, whom he had eloped with, ditched him when he ran out of money, so he had no choice but to go home. He was furious when he heard that his brother had married Lotus but after being scolded by his parents for jilting her, he admitted that he was in the wrong and went to Chief Nun's temple to apologise to Ah Moi Kor. The old nun, when she saw him, was ready to wring his neck but when he fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness, she relented and forgave him. His father subsequently asked him to stay on and help him with the family business, and Hong agreed, since Koh had decided to do charitable work treating the old and sick with herbal remedies he had learnt from his father.
Meantime, Chief Nun had taken on another young girl to help out at the temple to replace Lotus. She was quiet and shy, if not timid but did her job well. Above all, she was a good cook and the nuns looked forward to meal times everyday!
It also seems that Chief Nun and Ah Moi Kor came up with the idea of match making Hong with the new girl, Pearl. She wasn't as pretty as Lotus but what matters most, said Chief Nun, is that she's a good, hardworking girl and will not give her husband trouble. So they sent her to Hong's father's shop several times on the pretext of ordering herbs and at the same time asked Pearl to cook something for the old man and his wife to win them over. The old couple was duly impressed and introduced their son to her. Unfortunately, Hong was playing around with a number of new girl friends and paid no attention to Pearl.
"That's the story so far," said Ah Ying. "Hong is quite a playboy, he's the favorite son and can get away with anything."
"Well," said Head Nun. "They say marriages are made in heaven, so you can't force anyone to marry especially if they are not destined for each other."
Ah Ying agreed and so ended our discussion.
A couple of months later, we heard that Hong had met a rich lady from China, ten years his senior and had followed her back to Beijing to start a new life. His parents were heart broken but couldn't do anything to stop him. I felt quite sorry for them but at least they still have Koh and Lotus.
"In the end, only three things matter: How much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you."
~ Buddha ~
No comments:
Post a Comment