"Umi, will we be going back to Teluk Intan?"asked the kids.
We have never failed to go back to visit during Eid festivities after his passing, except for the year that we were abroad. The reason was mainly to visit his mum and cousins.
Now that she is gone, the house has been left unoccupied. We no longer have a place to go home to. My sister in law has a house there, but it is just not quite the same.
We decided to do a day trip back on 3rd Eid.
The trip there was a smooth drive as the roads were relatively empty. We chatted in the car, as the kids kept me talking (and kept me awake). We recalled the first few trips home after their ayah passed away. Little Princess was barely 4 years old. She took the drive back to Teluk Intan very badly, crying and screaming most of the way there. I wonder what was going through her head then. She must have felt so confused, and the trip must have been an emotional drain to her. When we reached Grandma's house, she refused to get out of the car....The whole neighbourhood must have heard her scream.
Gradually, just like everything else, things got better.
We reached Teluk Intan in good time.
"Can we see ayah's old school?" a favourite request by the kids.
"How did ayah go to school?" they asked.
"Ayah walked to school." I replied, and another favourite story about how he had lost his shoes walking in the mud after heavy rain was told again.
We drove the long way to my sis in law's house so as just to drive by mum's place. We slowed down as the kids looked on. The house from the outside was clean and very empty. Her pot plants on the car porch were no longer there. It was lifeless. No cars, no grandchildren gathering and sitting out on the porch this year, all the windows closed shut.
We got to my sister's place just in time for lunch. It was a lovely lunch cooked by my niece. We chatted about the woes of sibling squabbles and issues about inheritance. I hope they can work things out. Only my other sis in law was there. None of the other siblings came home this year. A true test of keeping ties strong. Being an in-law, I am not sure of how to keep it strong. I wish Abang was around. Even though he was the youngest, he would and could knock some sense into them.
After a very full and filling lunch, I dozed off. Yes yes, spare tyres in the making....
By 5pm, refreshed after a nap, had some tea, it was time to head home.
We stopped by to visit his mum and dad's grave.
Then the usual Petai purchase at Bidor.
The trip back was a lot heavier in traffic volume. We got home at 10pm. Tired but satisfied. As the kids grow older, I hope they will continue to keep the ties strong with cousins on their dad's side.
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