Call 538 : THAI VILLAGE

Hello Son


Saturday, June 7


Mission Impossible II was on telly. 



Mom was on the sofa, half-watching and half-reading her manga cartoon book. It was an old book that she had pulled out to have a read.



Suddenly, her attention was brought to the character on telly, who was showing a digital time -- for a few seconds -- long enough for her to say it out loud :



19:47



Justine and Dad was nearby.



Mom asked, "What's 1 -- 9 -- 4 -- 7?" :D



Jus looked up, and said, "21 ..."
 


Mom jumped up from the sofa to check the time on the desk computer. 



As she looked, 5:52 turned to 5:53.



Decode : (21) (4)



Smile.



All her angel signs.



Mom said out loud, "Your brother's with us ..." :D

Later that evening, Dad and Mom had a friend over. 



We went out for dinner.



Justine came with us.



We went to a Thai village restaurant, known to be packed, and serve pretty good food.



We left the condo shortly after 8 pm.



The place was nearby. We reached within 5 minutes or so.



Dad parked the car by the side of the road, and we walked to the restaurant.



It was packed with people that Saturday evening. 



A boy (waiter) gave Dad a number.



Dad grinned, turned to Mom, and flashed the small square card.



Number 14



Smile.



Yes Son, You are/were definitely with us.



"How many people?" asked the waiter attending to us.



Dad said, "5 ..."



Actually, strictly speaking, there were only 4 of us ... 
 


Dad, Mom, Justine and your parent's friend.



The waiter took us right in. Oh good, we didn't have to wait, although there were clearly another 2 other persons waiting on the "Please queue here ..." bench, before us. They probably needed a larger table, and so we were ushered in first.



We sat on our rectangle table. Dad and Mom on one side. Jus and your parents' friend on the opposite side. 



The waiter brought out a 5th seat, and tucked it at the side of our table.



Were You with us, Daniel? :D



We enjoyed our dinner very much.



(Will upload some photos here later)



After dinner, Mom said, "Let's drop by the mall for some air-con ..."



We were all sweaty and hot -- that's what you get for fine dining under the stars.



Haha.



We walked to the car.



As Dad pulled away from the curb, the radio came on.



LEAN ON ME filled the car and your mother's senses.



Lean On Me?



Mom's eyes shot to the dashboard.



The time was 9:22 pm.



Decode : 4



Ahhh ...



Awww ...



This is the song that ends with :

Call me (If you need a friend)

Call me (Call me uh-huh)

Call me (When you need a friend)

Call me (If you ever need a friend)

Call me (Call me)

Call me (Call me)

Call me (Call me)

Call me (Call me)

Call me (If you need a friend)

Call me (Call me)

Call me (Call me)

Call me (Call me)

Call me (Call me)

Call me

Call Me ... :D



ZAP ZAP ZAP.



Smile.



And that is why Mom had to come CALL YOU first thing when she got up today. :D

 
 

We arrived at the mall within a few minutes.



At the entrance, the security guard pulled open the door. 



Mom asked to confirm, "Tutup pukul sepuluh?" (Closing at 10 pm?)



The guard nodded with a smile.



We were at the household department. Your mother wanted to to get a small mattress.



Anyway, to cut a long story short, she didn't get what she went there to get. They used to have that mattress, the one she went there to get, but they no longer have it. It was a specific mattress.



Sigh.



It was closing time anyway.



After browsing aimlessly, here and there, we went back to the car.



Oh, at least we got the nice cool air-con ... 



Dad started the car.



A song was on the radio.



Oh gosh.



Seriously?



Mom glanced at the time.



It was 9:55 pm.



Decode : 44



Omgosh ...

Every breath you take

 
Every move you make

 
Every bond you break

 
Every step you take

 
I'll be watching you

 

Every single day

 
Every word you say

 
Every game you play

 
Every night you stay

 
I'll be watching you

Mom turned to look at Justine. 



Mom mouthed the words : I'll be watchin' you ...


 
Jus and Mom exchanged a knowing smile.



Yes Son ... you're so with us all the time, you're practically here.



Keep the zaps coming, okay Daniel?



We have to get ready for church.

Call 537 : DON'T COMPARE

Hello Son, 



Your blog's template is still missing today. 



Wonder why ... 



This has happened once before but it came back like a month later. Could you please try to get it back, Son? Help to hasten the process ...



Yesterday, Justine said to Mom, "I have something to tell you ..."



We were in school. 



Yeah, Dad and Jus ended up in school after we had lunch together. We are still on holiday break, remember? :D



Your sister said that one of her uni friends had a classmate going back to like when they were in Primary 3, and that that girl passed away ... on that same day or day before, Mom can't be sure now. So apparently, Jus' friend was going on about how sad she was and how she would be crying buckets of tears (Mom added the bucket of tears) at the funeral ... and so on ... 



Jus was quiet, she said at first, until her friend, who was still going on about her --- her --- difficulty --- in accepting the news of her classmate's untimely demise, carelessly threw this line on her : 



"Do you know what's it like to lose someone?"



Your sister related, that she didn't answer immediately, but as soon as her friend continued with her whys and how comes and can you imagine ... again ... Jus cut in and reminded, "Yes, my brother ..."



Pause.



The friend apparently responded with an -- Ohh.



Then, Mom thinks in trying to make light the situation that had gone awkward, her friend made a bad error of judgment when her friend thought she would be saying something comforting when she uttered these words :



Ah, but in your brother's case, you know ... you have time to say goodbye ... in this case, it was unexpected ...



"She was comparing? Like -- comparing??? 

 

COMPARING???!!!"
   


cried your sister at the highest level of disgust that she could (discreetly) expressed whilst in school.



Pause ...



Like --- like comparing -- whose pain is more?



Mom embraced your sister, "People don't understand, Jus ..."

No, they don't ...



They will never know what we went through ...



Someday, Mom will continue your story in the Orange Dot Blog. 

Orange Dot 

No, it's not done, as You can see ... 



For the moment, Mom wants ... still wants ... to hold all those precious memories to her heart. 



For herself.



She is not willing to share them yet.



Some inciDANS are just meant to be ... and not meant to be shared ... especially for encounters that happened where there are just no words that you can find to describe them.



Your sister said, "I'm not done yet ... listen listen ..."



Mom's ears pricked up.



Justine said, "I was still thinking about it (clearly she was still emotionally -- disturbed) when I was driving home later ... and you know what ... suddenly one line ... just one line came on the radio ... IF I DIE YOUNG ... followed by some other ads and previews ... Omg ..."



"You mean, the song IF I DIE YOUNG ... came on the radio ..."



Jus replied, "Yes, but only this one line ... IF I DIE YOUNG ..."



"Awww Jus, you see ... your brother is reminding you that he's with you ... he's trying to comfort you ... he's telling you that he's near ..."



After all, your sister made this IF I DIE YOUNG video for You, Daniel ... <3

IF I DIE YOUNG

and sang the same song at your garden many moons ago ...

 Justine sings IF I DIE YOUNG

How would Justine's brother in heaven ZAP his sister on earth, but send her this one line that connect them together?



IF I DIE YOUNG ...



ZAP ZAP ZAP.



Awww Daniel ... that's nice, Son ... reminding your sister that you're right beside her.



God is good to us ... <3



Talk to You in a bit ... have to get ready for lunch.



Keep the zaps coming, Son ...

 

Call 536 : FIELD TRIP

Hello Son, 



Just uploaded the last bit of the photos taken during our field trip on May 21.



May 21.



Your 52nd month.



Here are some of the links :

The Zoo 1

 The Zoo 2

Reporters 

Daniel, on that special day ... your 21st ... that Wednesday, May 21 ... Mom has got to say this : 



Our field trip was so amazing!



The children were so well-behaved, it was unbelievable. You must have called upon some angels to help You help us on that day. That's for sure. 



The trip went so smoothly, the timing was perfect for everything that we wanted to do. 



The climax must surely be that moment went we were approached by a group of reporters.



Did You send them to us too, Son?



We were not one of the invited guests to welcome the two pandas, yet somehow, our children were interviewed, and we even presented a song, and best of all, we appeared on the evening news that day, and the papers the next day.



Omg ...



All that happened on May 21.



CoinciDANS???



But of course.



Thank you, Son.



You were definitely there to orchestrate the whole thing.



Everywhere we are, there You'll be ... for always.

Call 535 : 52nd MONTH

Hello Son


Today is your 52nd month with JESUS and MARY.


We had our field trip today, and boy, what an exciting time we all had.


The pandas arrived at the zoo this morning.


The news and TV people were there, and they interviewed some of our children.


Our kids sang a song for them. :D


Will upload some photos during the weekend, Son.


Mom's totally nodding away.


Just want to say that once again, You remind us all that You're right here with us.


Thank you, Son ... <3


We miss You so very much. If only we could --- skype --- You ...



Talk to You in a bit, Son ...



 

Call 534 : MOTHERS' DAY

Hello Son,


Sunday, May 11


It's Mother's Day today. 



On Friday in school, Mom was taking a photo of the children's Mother's Day art work. She had placed all the children's cards on the stage, and was positioning them properly -- 



Pause ...



Yes, pro -- per -- ly ...



Some words, somehow, will never be the same for Mom. 



It's a long story, let's not go there right now ...



So, where was she? 



Ah, yes, she was trying to take a photo of the children's craft ... 



Yes, she was ... when she suddenly found herself standing very still, face to face, at a stuffed toy ...



Oh -- my -- gosh ...

Gasp ...



Seriously?



Stitch?



She learned later that one of the 5 year old girls had brought that Stitch toy to school for our Show & Tell session. That Friday, the children were supposed to bring an item that Mommy likes and share why Mommy liked that item. There were more than 20 items that was brought by the children. The teacher had not at the time asked the children to take their items out of their bags. Yet, that girl had somehow took her item out and left it on the stage ... among the happy mother's day cards.



Stitch ...



Gawd, Son. How can Mom ever forget Stitch? He was the toy your aunty J and Justine bought for you to accompany you in the surgery room. You were 7 years old. 



Your first open brain surgery.



ZAP ZAP ZAP.



That was a clear HI MA!!! I'm right here ... all the way from heaven.

 Dot 33 : Surgery (Orange Dot Blog)

Mom couldn't wait to tell Dad during lunch time that Friday.



She was like, "Omg, you wouldn't believe this but I was taking a photo of the children's Mother's Day cards, and guess what? Omg ... STITCH ... you remember Stitch? His first operation, we gave him Stitch and told him Stitch will be with him during the operation ... remember? Remember? Stitch??? Lilo and Stitch???"



Of course Dad remembers.



"Stitch was sitting right there ... amongst the cards. I don't know how it got there." 



"Who brought it to school?" Dad asked.



Mom mentioned the girl's name.



"Why did she bring it?" Dad wanted to know.



Silence.



Why did she ...



Argh, she wanted to stomp her foot, why's your father asking all the wrong questions?



"She brought it for the Show & Tell. The teacher did not ask the children to take out their items yet (it wasn't time for that sharing session then anyway) and yet, there it was, among all the Mother's Day cards ... the girl put it there ... like it was meant to be ... You must have whispered to her ... Take Stitch out and put it among the cards ..."







Omg ...



Did You see your mother take a deep breath at this point?



"Stitch was sitting -- right there!" she finished almost triumphantly.



"My Son is clearly wishing me, Happy Mother's Day, Ma ... Can you hear it? I heard him. I can always hear him. It's so obvious ... so easy ... He's saying Happy Mother's Day, Ma ... I know he is ... That's a clear zap from Son ..." <3



Yes easy ...



Mom hears your words -- from the hospital bed --  "It's -- so -- easy ... "



So on Sunday -- Mother's Day -- Mom woke up early. Aunty Di sent a text to say that she wasn't going for mass this morning because aunty C and uncle C are both on-call (hospital). Mom replied immediately, that TODAY, all mother's will get special blessings from Father, and that Dad, Mom and Justine will help Aunty D with the 2 kids and that we should go for mass ...



 
Aunty D need no further convincing.



 

We were soon on the way to church.

Baby Dylan (1.5 months old)

 

Mom was carrying the baby in the car. He was on her lap.



Shortly after, she felt her breath caught in her throat when she suddenly felt the words "Mummy, i really love you ..." reaching out to her ...



She searched the words ...



and suddenly noticed the letter D, on the right, at the bottom.



Slow gasp. Yeah, picture that, would You please?



Slow gasp.



Omg ...



And then -- she saw the second letter D.



Mom whispered to Justine, beside her.



Two Ds ...



A secret smile.



A silent thought.



A happy sigh.



You are definitely gonna be with your family today ... :D



It's Mother's Day. :D

Today, for some reason, Mom walked into the church ... from the side entrance ... You know how normally, we just try to find a seat outside the church ... because of the kids, we tell ourselves (innocent look) ...anyway, she walked in to find an empty row waiting for us. The first row of the second half portion in church.



Perfect.



Plenty of leg space.



So here's the baby with Aunty D ... Don't tell Aunty D this but your young aunt is obsessed with trying to burp the baby. Really, she's like trying to turn that into a career or something the way she insists on burping him each time he has a feed ... Did he burp? He must burp! You must burp him ...



Sometimes, the burp just ain't coming ... no matter how hard you try.



Haha.

Here's Megan ...



"That's my brader," she would say to everyone.

So anyway, when mass was over, the Priest called for all mothers to step forward. 



Aunty D and Mom stood up and hurried to the altar. 



Hehe.



We actually made our way right to the front of the altar, just standing behind one patron who was in front of Mom. Mom was carrying the baby with her, and Aunty D was carrying Megan. The woman in front of her happened to turn around, saw the baby, and whispered to Mom, "How old?"



Mom said, "One month ..."



The woman replied, "My grandson is only 7 days old ..."



Pause.



Say what?  

Her grandson???



Did the woman think the baby in Mom's arms was your mother's grandson too???



Oh Lord.



Father said a prayer before sprinkling holy water on all the mothers.



Yeah, that's your mother's favourite part, as You would know.



She always need to feel the drops of holy water on her, and if she doesn't, it would feel like something was not -- right.



Plenty of holy droplets showered on your mother, to her delight. :D:D:D

Yeah, Happy Mother's Day to myself, she thought happily.



Yet somehow -- a tinge of sadness slowly crept into her veins.



How would she explain it?



How could she?



She couldn't  ...



You know her thoughts.



Go figure.



After mass, we decided to go to an Indian restaurant nearby ...

So anyway, the congregation stood up for the final hymn. 
 


Dad whispered, "Let's go ..."



Our car was double-parked. We should get to the car as soon as possible. However, Mom kinda stood there ... for what, she doesn't really know. She just stood there, and nodded to Dad with a whispered, "In a minute ..."



Dad said again, "We have to go ... the car ..."



For some reason, Mom wasn't ready to go. That was strange, because normally, when Dad says, let's go ... she would automatically pick up her bag and -- go.



She didn't -- that Sunday, Mother's Day day ...



Suddenly, as she turned to Dad, her eyes caught sight of a young boy in a black tee shirt, who was walking towards her direction. 



Gasp.



Omg.



She stared -- open mouthed.



The boy walked past Mom.



There was a word on the top right (Mom's right) of his tee shirt.



UP.



Yes, those words were on his tee shirt.



Omg ... seriously???



UP???

ZAP ZAP ZAP.



Son Son Son ... You really know how to make your presence felt, don't You?



You are with Mom all the time, aren't You?



UP was the movie Mom and You went to watch together. 



Our very first movie together -- and last. 



Justine was at camp, and Dad was outstation that weekend. 



Mom and You went to watch UP ...  by ourselves.



We shared a cheese cake, remember? That was certainly the best cheese cake we have ever tasted. Truly, the best.



There were certain moments / scenes in that UP movie that Mom wished You did not have to see ... but You did ... :(



HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MA ... <3



It's amazing how You can speak right to her heart ...



Mom heard You.



She smiled to herself.



Picking up her small shoulder bag, she turned to leave.



Yeah, she was ready to leave -- then.



After the UP zap.



You must have whispered to her to : 



Wait a minute, Ma, don't go just yet ...



You must have.



Otherwise, she would have left a few seconds earlier -- with Dad.



Smile.



So meant to be.



Walking to the car, and hurrying beside Dad, Mom tried to tell Dad about that UP zap. 



Dad did not notice the boy nor the words ...



Ah, Dad's just --- jealous. 



Grin.



Oh, never mind ... that ZAP moment is so between Mom and You ... it is after all, Mother's Day, is it now? 



So, it makes sense that that zap moment was special for Mom and Mom only.



Okay, are we all clear on that? Or does she have to repeat it? :D

Thank you, Son ...

 

Oh by the way Son, please do remember to tell Mama Mary that Mom wishes Our Lady a Happy Mother's Day too. What did You do for the Mother of God, Daniel? Did You give Her something special? You could give Her a blue rose, You know. You do know blue is Her colour, right?



So anyway ...



In the car, Aunty D was relating an incident to Mom.



Aunty D said, "I was in the shower yesterday, and I locked the bedroom door. Megan knocked and called. I told her I was in the shower ... and you know what she did?"



What?



Your aunt said with a laugh, "She sang, do you want to build a snowman through the door ... hahaha ..."

Do You Want To Build A Snowman?

Hehehe.



That's funny. Mom could picture Megan singing that line through the closed door.



Do you want to build a snowman?



Hahaha ...



Mom said, "Yeah, we're gonna do LET IT GO for concert this year ... the kids love the song ... everyday, it's like Let it go, Let it go, Can't hold back anymore etc ... And the girls love Elsa ... They used to fight over pink stuffs, and now they're starting to fight over blue things ... "

Soon, we were talking excitedly about which class would do which FROZEN song. 



Chatter chatter chatter.



One thing's for sure, we're definitely doing LET IT GO for the 5 and 6 years old. The Juniors will do the SNOWMAN song.



Said Mom.



So that's settled then.



Perfect.



We reached the restaurant some 10 minutes later.



Aunty D said, "Eh, go to the air-con room ..."



Yes, Mom intended to go there. Entering the restaurant, she walked straight to the back.



That air-conned room.



This was a special hall for family functions and private events, that the restaurant people open during weekends for the public. So we walked in and found a table right at the back of the small hall that had about 10 tables or thereabouts.



We sat down.



No sooner had your mother settled down, she suddenly heard the song LET IT GO in the air. It was coming from the table next to us. Could be a handphone or tablet whatever, we couldn't really tell as some -- bodies -- were blocking our view. 



But but but ... the song was loud and clear ...



Don't let them in, don't let them see

Be the good girl you always have to be

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know

Well, now they know


Let it go
 
Let it go

Can't hold it back any more ...



Oh my ...



We were just talking about FROZEN and LET IT GO on our way here, and now that we are here, we hear the song immediately after we seated ourselves at our table?



Good Lord, what are the chances?



No chance, no way ...



Gosh oh gosh oh gosh ...



You're near, Mom knows.



So near, she knows.



Beside her?



Are You?



Yes yes ... surely ... 



Surely You are beside her ... 

After brunch, we went home. 



Aunty C said she had bought movie tickets to Spiderman.



At 3 pm.



Soon it was time to get ready. We would grab a quick lunch before the movie.



The television was on.



TITANIC (movie) soon came on the screen.



Every night in my dreams

I see you, I feel you

That is how I know you go on

Far across the distance and spaces between us

You have come to show you go on



Rose (elderly) said, "It's been 84 years ..."

 

W-what?



Mom's ears pricked up.



84???



Secret code : 21



The time was 1:25 pm.



Decode : 44



Her angel number.



84 was mentioned again. 



21 two times.



Mom got the message alright. :D



I'm right here, Ma ... :D



ZAP ZAP ZAP ... 



Near far wherever you are, Daniel-Son ...



Keep the zaps coming ...



Will continue in a bit ...



Have to help Dad clear up the store room today.



Love you, Son ... <3