“Forget me not” - 阿公
I said my last farewell to my grandpa in 2022. As he introduces himself to me I could see in his eyes some guilt and flicker of recognition. “We’ve come from the United States to visit family” I would scream into his one good ear. “My grandchildren live in the United States!” He would exclaim - a hint of suspicion in his voice. His grandchildren weren’t adults yet if his memory served him well. It had seemed his brain stopped producing new memories. Grandma passed away the first year of the pandemic. My mother and uncle didn’t think he’d be able to handle the news. Sometimes he would still wander in her room looking for her. Sometimes we would hear him having a conversation with her - especially on the days we visited her grave.. He was however clear headed about memories of his youth. We would take him back to places of his past to jog his memory. It felt like guiding him back to us. When I said my last farewell at the end, I realized with the look of recognition in his eyes he had guided me back to my roots.
