Solar Phenomenon

 

Bubur Cha Cha

The 15 days of the Chinese New Year have sped by so quickly and we somewhat regret that the festivities are over.  On the 15th night (or Chap Goh Meh), to mark the end of the new year, Head Nun cooked for the nuns some of their favourite dishes for dinner - fried tofu, stir fried broccoli, mixed vegetable curry and pumpkin soup and for dessert, they had  "Bubur Cha Cha" or dessert with sweet potatoes and bananas cooked in coconut milk which a devotee had given us.  Head Nun had also invited Ah Hoe and Ah Ying to join us as she didn't want them to be left out on this special night.  

APK had excitedly informed Head Nun earlier that there would be a solar eclipse on this day at around 6 p.m. which would send us into total darkness for something like five minutes, so we started dinner about ten minutes earlier.  After a short thanksgiving prayer, Head Nun said that during the eclipse, it would be wise if we prayed and avoided looking at the sky. She remembered her parents telling her that eclipses are not considered very auspicious or lucky occurrences, hence we need to pray for peace and safety of all.  

So half way through our dinner, it began to darken and around 6 p.m., there was total darkness in the kitchen.  Head Nun and the rest of us began chanting a mantra and as predicted, the eclipse was over in five minutes or so.  Then everyone was talking at the same time.  Some of the nuns said that they had never experienced this phenomenon before and it was some time before we noticed that Ah Hoe was missing from the table.

"Perhaps he went to the washroom," said APK.  We thought nothing of it but after more than ten minutes, and he still hadn't appeared, Ah Ying said she would go look for him.  After a while, she came back, looking rather worried.  "He's not in the washroom or anywhere in the temple.  Where could he have gone?"

I suddenly remembered what Ning had told me about Ah Hoe having dementia.  "Head Nun," I said.  "Perhaps he has wandered off and gone back to his hut, Ning said his dementia seems to be getting worse."

"Oh dear," said Head Nun.  "We had better go look for him.  He could have got lost in the darkness."

Ah Ying, who had driven to the temple in her car, offered to drive to his hut and see whether he was there and Head Nun asked APK and myself to accompany her.  

When we arrived at Ah Hoe's hut, we were relieved to see him at home.   He was still wearing the same pale blue shirt with white buttons that he had worn to the temple. APK, unable to contain herself, blurted out, "Ah Hoe, why did you leave the temple so suddenly?  We were worried for you."

Ah Hoe looked puzzled.  "Huh?  What do you mean?  I haven't been to the temple."

The three of us looked at each other, quite taken aback.  Seeing the look on our faces, Ah Hoe hastened to explain.

"I had cooked some fish for Mi Mi and her kittens and planned to drop off the food at Mi Mi's before going for Head Nun's dinner.  When I reached the Home, I found Mi Mi in a state of panic because Peng Aun, the naughty kitten, had disappeared.  Then this thing, what do you call it, an eclipse - suddenly happened.  It was completely dark so we could not go out and search for Peng Aun.  After it was over, we spent more than half an hour looking for him before we found him up a tree by the river.  I was so exhausted by that time that I completely forgot about Head Nun's dinner and went straight home.  That's when you three arrived!"

"But...but we saw you earlier at the temple as large as life," APK insisted. 

Ah Hoe scratched his head.  "How could I have been in two places at the same time?  I'm sure I didn't go to the temple. Look, if you don't believe me, why don't you check with Mi Mi?"

"Ah Hoe," interrupted Ah Ying.  "It's not that we don't believe you, but what has happened is most strange.  We all did see you at the temple, you know.  Look, APK and Vege Cat, let's not trouble Ah Hoe any further.  He's tired, let's go back to the temple."

We left but not before we stopped at Tom's Home at APK's insistence.  She was determined to solve the so-called "mystery".  Mi Mi was delighted to see us and when we asked, confirmed that Ah Hoe had been with her before the eclipse and also helped her to search for Peng Aun until around 7, which was the time we arrived at his hut.

We were feeling very bewildered as we made our way back to the temple.

"It could be that Ah Hoe's dementia made him forget that he was with us for dinner at the temple," said Ah Ying.   

"But you heard what Mi Mi said," I replied.  "He was with her all the time before and after the eclipse.  Yet we saw him at our dinner before the eclipse!"

"This is all very mind boggling.  Let's see what Head Nun has to say," said APK.

The nuns were sweeping and cleaning up the kitchen when we returned and we told Head Nun what had happened.

Just then, one of the nuns gave a soft exclamation and picked up something from the floor.  It was a small white button.

I heard APK gasp as she looked at the button.  "It's Ah Hoe's!  I noticed one of his buttons was missing from his shirt when we went to see him just now!"

"APK, are you sure?" I said.  "Do you know what this means?"

"It means Ah Hoe was here!" cried APK triumphantly.

For a moment, nobody could say anything.  Then Head Nun spoke up.  "I don't know what is the explanation for all this. We say he was here and he says he was not. I remember when I was a little girl living in China, strange things happened whenever there was an eclipse.  Nobody could come up with any explanation. Whatever it is, Ah Hoe is safe and that's what matters.  Let's just call this incident a little "solar phenomenon"."

We had to be content with that conclusion.  And up to this day, we still don't know what really happened.

What really happened?