Albert, Belinda’s husband passed away. Seeing him lying stiffly in his coffin, his pallor still pinkish fair from the cool temperate climate, his face thin and haggard from pain and sufferings, brought on a sense of lost and sadness to me. He was only in his early forties. He could contribute so much to his family yet life was wrestled from him. Cancer had decided to pluck off his hope to prolong his tenure on earth to reduce him to a hapless shrivel.
It was during the economic slump in the early 90’s that had pushed him to seek a better financial stability in the US. Without his family to care for him, he let cancer deteriorated his health, seeking no medical attention but dependent on painkillers to cease his pains.
He was cremated at the Kampong Tunku Crematorium in Petaling Jaya. Suet Ben and I bid him a last farewell. A moment of grief swept over us upon seeing him rolled into the cremation chamber and the raging flames engulfed his coffin. He turned to ashes.
On the way home, I smelt a sweet scent in my car. Although I did not dabble with perfumes (so did Suet Ben) that scent stuck to me even when I reached home. Full of superstition, I thought “could it be the souls of the dead from the crematorium?” Bad thoughts clogged my mind. I was filled with uneasiness. Then the ‘demon’ manifested itself.
A consumer company had taken a full page in the Star to advertise their new product. The page was liberally sprayed with fragrance so strong it exploded into the atmosphere upon opening the page. It left a trail of pleasant odor wherever it went, influencing the ventilation in my car and house. At last I had found the ‘demon’ and fear left me. How daft I was to harbor silly thoughts. The same goes for Suet Ben.
The death of Albert did not bring laughter to us but this ‘ghost’ did.
It was during the economic slump in the early 90’s that had pushed him to seek a better financial stability in the US. Without his family to care for him, he let cancer deteriorated his health, seeking no medical attention but dependent on painkillers to cease his pains.
He was cremated at the Kampong Tunku Crematorium in Petaling Jaya. Suet Ben and I bid him a last farewell. A moment of grief swept over us upon seeing him rolled into the cremation chamber and the raging flames engulfed his coffin. He turned to ashes.
On the way home, I smelt a sweet scent in my car. Although I did not dabble with perfumes (so did Suet Ben) that scent stuck to me even when I reached home. Full of superstition, I thought “could it be the souls of the dead from the crematorium?” Bad thoughts clogged my mind. I was filled with uneasiness. Then the ‘demon’ manifested itself.
A consumer company had taken a full page in the Star to advertise their new product. The page was liberally sprayed with fragrance so strong it exploded into the atmosphere upon opening the page. It left a trail of pleasant odor wherever it went, influencing the ventilation in my car and house. At last I had found the ‘demon’ and fear left me. How daft I was to harbor silly thoughts. The same goes for Suet Ben.
The death of Albert did not bring laughter to us but this ‘ghost’ did.
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