Life's a brief candle

Ever since the hungry ghost festival started, there had been a slew of deaths that I'm aware of and it has been dreary...

I know that every day millions of people die (well, I'm not really sure about the exact numbers), but when it's someone you knew, or at most someone that your friend, ex-teacher or relative knew... well, when it is that close to home, you'll realise again how short life is.

My grandaunt (my grandma's younger sister) passed away all because she stopped taking her high blood pressure medication (according to something my grandma heard her say prior to her demise), possibly getting a stroke, fell and gotten serious brain hemorrhage. 

It was too late when she was brought to the hospital despite the fact that she lived with her family. By the way, my grandma lives alone (my house is 30 mins away from hers) and she refused to move to my family's home. She's fiercely independent that way... which is something I really admire.

That aside, I'll miss my grandaunt. She's the most cheerful of the lot (I have a lot of grandaunts, most of whom has passed away) and I like her as she talks about stuff in a funny sort of way. During CNY, she'll always offer me (and also my brother) with extra chips - we love her New Year chips.

Another relative, my granduncle, whom we have been visiting during CNY for years (ever since I can remember) passed away too. He often reminds me of my deceased grandfather. His wife, who is still alive, is a very close friend of my grandma. Their place may be shabby (low cost apartment), but it is one of my most anticipated stops for CNY coz of the plenty of goodies to eat and the funny stories that Aunt Daisy will talk about - she's a huge extrovert and has met plenty of people from all walks of life. It's impressive, particularly for an introvert like me.

...And well, the main point that I'm trying to convey here is that we should really appreciate people while they are still around us and not when they are gone. Since death comes at unexpected moments in life, this means you should appreciate people at all times! 

So, yeah, life's a brief candle indeed.

P/S: I wrote the draft of this post 2 weeks ago when my grandaunt passed away, but had not been able to finish it. Well, better late then never, right?