Translated…
Dearest Turtle, as great aunt entered into the restaurant’s corner, I saw you surrounded by your cousin aunts and uncles, seeing how your maternal grandfather was showing you a never-before kind of kindness, and seeing how your great grandmother saw you asleep so sound and started grinning ear to ear, great aunt knows, that it’s your mom, using you, to help the family ease the loss of losing her.
Yesterday was the very first time you were taken back to your grandmother’s household, and great auntie really wanted to, usher you in, but when I thought of your mom, the pains had, stopped me, right in my path; thinking about how your mother had been gone for almost a year now, thinking of how when you were only just a day old, and your mother died, because of embryonic embolism, left all of us behind, great aunt can’t help, but start crying again.
Since last summer, your great grandparents continually received seven notices that are worth celebrating: your auntie Ann got certified as a high school geography instructor, and your auntie Ying finally got pregnant, your great uncle and grandmother both retired from public teaching posts and public office, Auntie Hsuan passed the examinations as a pharmacist, Uncle Hsu passed through his first stages of medical exams, and your mother, giving birth to you. I’d made fun of your great grandmother, “You’d become, Grandma Seven Up”, when I asked her, “Mom, what do you feel mostly blessed about?” she’d smiled and told, “Becoming a great grandmother, of course!”
Turtle, you couldn’t imagine how much your mom and great grandma wanted you, but, fate had other plans, your mother managed well with her prenatal diabetes, got through the trials of the caesarian section, but, couldn’t beat the embolism of the embryonic fluids and died.
As your great grandmother heard of the birth of her very first great grandchild, she was so very happy, but, on five o’clock the very next afternoon, your mom’s death came, from Luzhou, and, all our celebratory states were, put on halt instantly. That very evening, your great uncle drove me, your youngest great uncle, your youngest great aunt, all night, to Luzhou from Fengshan, to console your grandfather, grandmother, as well as your dad too, we’d cried together, and for the time being, none of us understood the plans of fate.
We’d still not had the heart, to tell your great grandmother, but in twelve days, we’d accepted your eldest aunt who came back from Germany for the funeral’s suggestion, decided to tell the elderly about your mom’s passing away on her funeral. As your youngest great aunt told her, how your mom died the very next day after you were born, although she’d weathered through a great number of deaths of her close relatives, she’d still wailed, “I am already eighty-three, God should take me instead! How can it be my granddaughter? She’s only, thirty-one! Why? Whatever will happen, to my little turtle now? Why had this misfortune happened to us?”
Great aunt didn’t feel secure leaving your great grandmother alone, I’d gotten her moved in with me, and accompanied by her side 24-7. After she’d arrived at my place, she’d recited the Buddhist verses constantly for your mom’s sake, but as she’d recited, she’d started, crying all over again. One day, she started crying again, I asked her what was wrong? Your great grandmother snuffed and told, “I’m thinking about how when Turtle’s in elementary school, she will get laughed by other children as having no mommy!” I consoled her, “No, Turtle’s mom will watch over him in heaven, his dad will love him even more, Turtle will become a very well-behaved, very hard working, very popular child, and we’re all here, to help him, and nobody will ever pick on him. Do let go of your worries, and stop feeling so sad.” Nineteen days later, your great grandmother took her feeling a little bit better mindset and went back home to Pingdong, and your eldest great uncle and great aunt are now, looking after her.
Dearest Turtle, although your mom left us before we are prepared, but, she’d given our family a lesson about how unstable life is, it’d made us contemplate on the issues of life and death; and although we’re still, feeling sad over this tragedy, in the shortest time, we’d all learned, to change our mindsets, learned, to change the love we have for your mom, to the love we can give, to others.
Today, as we all gathered at the restaurant, great aunt can truly feel the love you’d brought with you to the world, as your great grandmother rocked you gently, with her wrinkled face, that gentle smile creeped up onto her that we hadn’t seen in a very long while, I knew, that you had already, helped soothed over the loss, and, your mother, had gone through you, an embodiment of love, managed, to heal our entire family too.
So, this, would be how a family had, recovered together, supporting one another, to get through the loss of their loved one, and, grief takes time, but, with this new baby, it makes the pain a little bit less, and the process of healing is well on its way…