Ning came running into the temple one morning and said that Ah Hoe wanted to see both of us urgently. He had no idea what it was all about but Ah Hoe did sound quite worried.
The old man was sitting on his bed looking rather fraught and distressed when we arrived. His face lighted up when he saw us and he warmly ushered us into his home.
"Ah Hoe," said Ning. "Is everything alright? Why did you want to see us?"
He looked at us and said, his voice barely above a whisper: "I have something to tell you both."
He hesitated, drew in a long breath, then said, "A few nights ago, I was sitting in the porch enjoying the breeze when ... when I suddenly saw it ....."
"Saw what?" asked Ning.
"The Phoenix of Doom, the same one that Lao Lo saw before he died," whispered Ah Hoe.
For a moment, both Ning and I could not speak. Then Ning stammered, "Are you sure? But how can you tell? Do you know what it actually looks like?"
"Lao Lo described it to me," he said. "Look, it's clear my time's up. After all, I'm nearly 80 now, how long more can I last? That's why I called you both here, to let you know my last wishes."
Ning was stunned. He had always been close to Ah Hoe especially during the time when the latter made veg burgers for sale and he was helping him. They enjoyed working together and he often spent nights with Ah Hoe to keep him company and in the mornings, they would both go fishing. Ah Hoe was like a father to him and he just couldn't believe that his old friend was "going away".
"Ning," continued Ah Hoe. "As I mentioned before, after I'm gone, I want you to have this hut and all my savings. It isn't much but I haven't got anything else. You can stay here for as long as you like."
Then turning to me, he said, "Vege Cat, I want you to conduct prayers for me when the time comes. This old soul needs a lot of cleaning up before I can make it to heaven," he said, forcing a smile.
I couldn't say anything as there was a lump in my throat and I saw that Ning too was on the verge of tears. Then Ah Hoe said, "Hey, why so glum? I'm not dead yet. Think of it in a positive way, I shall be rid of this old diseased body and be able to start a new life, free from suffering!"
He then gathered both of us up in his arms and gave us a big, warm hug.
"Look, don't be sad. We all cannot escape death, it has to come one day. Now that I've got it off my chest, let's sit down for brunch. Ning, I've fried some fish the way you like them and Vege Cat, I've got some veg stuff. Let's sit down and enjoy!"
Of course Ning and I could hardly eat and we were both feeling quite miserable when we returned to the temple.
"When do you think it will happen?" Ning asked, his voice trembling.
"I don't know," I replied. "But you needn't worry, Ah Hoe is a good man and he will go peacefully."
Ning nodded, then said, "Look, I'll go to the Club and have a drink. I need it."
He bounded off and I found my way back to the temple. I wasn't sure whether I should tell Head Nun and after thinking it over, decided not to say anything yet. I was hoping that Ah Hoe had dreamt it all and that he hadn't seen the Phoenix. I remember Lao Lo also telling me about it before he passed on. It was indeed a bad omen.
A few hours later, Ning came running back to the temple, very excited.
"Da, Da!" he yelled. "I've got something to show you!"
I saw that he was carrying some photos and he showed them to me. "Da, these are photos of the drone light show the other night. Do you see what I see?"
I saw a number of beautiful light formations in the dark sky, animals, flowers, stars and rockets, and so on.
"Look at this one!" cried Ning excitedly. "Don't you think it looks like a bird?"
I looked and said, astonished, "Why, it looks .... it looks like the Phoenix of Doom!"
"I believe that this was what Ah Hoe saw," said Ning. "I traced back to the day when the drone show was on and it was the same night as Ah Hoe said he saw the Phoenix!"
"You mean it's not the Phoenix of Doom he saw but lights by a drone?" I gasped.
"Yes, I believe so! Come on, let's show these photos to Ah Hoe!" and he dragged me off with him to Ah Hoe's.
Ah Hoe was astounded when he saw the photos. "OMG! That's the one I saw, the Phoenix of Doom!"
Ning then told him about the drone light show and he opened his eyes wide and gasped, "You mean....you mean all I saw were some lights ..... and I'm not going to die?"
"No, you're not going to die!" Ning and I chorused together, laughing in relief.
The three of us hugged each other, tears streaming down our eyes. To think that we were not going to lose a dear friend after all and be able to share many more moments with him in the near future was just too wonderful for words.
.................
Somewhere up in the skies, a beautiful winged creature looked down and smiled. He turned to his Master and said, "Lord and Master, you are so right in asking me not to take the old man away yet. It was clever of you to let them think he saw lights and not me. I've never seen so much love between a human and two animals and it moves me very much. I'm glad I listened to you." His Master smiled and gently said, "We'll be back again but not so soon..." and both of them slowly vanished into the clouds.
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