Blue Spanish eyes
Teardrops are falling from your Spanish eyes
Please please don’t cry
This is just adios and not good-bye
Soon I’ll return, bringing you all the love your heart can hold
Please say “Si, Si”
Say you and your Spanish eyes will wait for me

When I was little, you used to sing this song to me. Stressing that line in particular. Funny, I never realized how it applies…. with the exception of the Spanish part, of course.

It’s been awhile. Looking through old pictures, I realized how camera shy you were. You only appear in the shadows here and there. Pity I wasn’t as shutter-annoying as I am now or we’d have tons of photos of you too. Back then I suppose the focus was on us, the kids. We were so little and we came so quickly, one after another! Back then, in a span of 8 years, you had 5 grandchildren. Then, you had to wait 10 years for another one and the last popped 4 years after you left.

We took tons of photos this time when they came back and compared them to all those grainy old pictures from years long gone. It’s amazing how much has changed in 10 years.

Alexis then

Alexis now. Features wise, nothing much has changed. She still has her very, very big eyes and Peng Wah kowfoo can still carry her.

Rachel then when she was your bibibacho and had to roll the ball between her legs to bowl right.

Rachel now. Still your bibibacho, but bowls like a pro (among us girls anyway)

The sisters, all the way back then when they were oh so little and very very adorable

And now when they’re adults, tall and gorgeous

Back then, Shang and Rach were the youngest of the 5 of us and just 9 months apart from each other.

Look at them now. Nothing much has changed since then and they’re still the little ones of the original Fab 5 but both of them have stopped scratching their nether regions in public. I hope.

Well, that and Shang-Xian now has a girlfriend. Imagine that from the little boy whose pants you used to yank down in front of No. 22 and Aunty Ah Min’s char koay teow customers in the evening.

Su Yin… good ol’ Su Yin who has been the most constant among all of us since we were children. The big sister of the lot.

She’s gone from this…

To this…

and now, she’s definitely blossomed into this gorgeous girl who you used to fetch around for tuition classes and tell her McDonalds was… mc-ee-something-orh-something.

As for me? I grew out of those absolutely hideous colourful polka-dotted glasses

and got myself contact lenses.

and… I’ve finally stopped trying to murder my brother at every turn. Like Alexis said, we’ve finally made peace for the time being…. theory proven since she couldn’t for the life of her find a photo of us together as kids.

Por Por… she looked great for a 50-something year old woman.

and she still looks great for someone who’s 70something

She misses you still, of course. We know she’s lonely without you bugging her every day. A long time has passed, of course. Not just since you left us, but since we were mere children.

I’m sure you remember the few years when your only two grandchildren were Su Yin and Alexis, only a year apart.

Then, I popped up outta nowhere

Before you knew it, there were five of us all over No. 22, kicking, screaming, crying, throwing food around, fighting, laughing and watching cartoons.

Now, five of us are still here, scattered from Penang, to KL and to Perth. But still, the five of us.

That year you left us, only a few months before July 3rd after 10 long years came your then latest grandchild.

She now looks better than any of us did when we were 8 and scrawny. Must be that American blood in her.

Of course, Rachel’s not the littlest any more. You’ve now got your only Chung grandson who takes after you more than we all expected. He’s extremely cheeky and always a sneaky past time or two.

Like his sister, he’s beautiful though. Again, all the American blood. Barely looks like any of us… which can be a good thing.

So now, you’ve got 7 of us.

I wish you were around. These years, would’ve been your prime years. Adult grandchildren to talk to, and the little ones to play with – the best of both worlds. But you are in that better place, maybe even the best. We still wish you were here to see how we’ve grown. Those 1, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16 years of our lives were just too few. There are many more years to come and if only you were around to watch us.

We miss you Kong Kong.

Your granddaughter.

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