Sunday, February 03, 2008
~ 3:52 PM ~
The sharp red everywhere creates this joyous mood that seem to tell us: Here comes a new year. Be happy. Or at least be grateful that you're here to see the new year.
Yet the many faces spell not anticipation, but indifference. With costs of everything on the rise, people tend to relive their pasts more.
I myself enjoyed this weekend. However, it also reminds me painfully of aging lives.
Firstly, me and my friends (Zhen Yang & Eva!) watched this movie "Away From Her" in the Picturehouse, Cathay.
The movie begins with an old man, Grant, driving his vehicle, and recalling events that happened recently. His wife, Fiona, who he was married to for at least twenty years, had Alzheimer's disease. He put her in the care of this nursing home, but, as part of the home's rules, could not visit her for the first 30 days. When he finally could and did visit her, she had forgotten about him, and instead fell in love with Aubrey, a wheelchair-bound mute who resides in the home as well. For the next few days, he watched as Fiona treated her as just an acquaintance, while caring for Aubrey as a wife would.
Grant could not accept this, and the day came when he finally told Fiona that he was her husband, not Aubrey. She was of course traumatized, and left him after mumbling what she ends every visit from him with: "I'll see you again tomorrow, won't I?" and "You're very persistent."
Aubrey, however, was not so lucky with Fiona. His wife, Marian, came to pick him back home, due to some financial matters. Fiona, of course, was traumatized further, and could not pick herself back up. She refused to move much from her bed, and her muscles deteriorated. Grant could not bear to see her like this, and decided to find Aubrey. The recalling scenes are slotted with scenes where he found Aubrey's residence, and his discussion with Marian about letting Aubrey see Fiona for once. Although reluctant, Marian finally agreed, and Aubrey was brought to the home.
However, when Grant went in alone to tell Fiona about the surprise lined up for her, she was not lying on the bed. She was reading on the couch beside the bed, clearly in a good mood. She had finally remembered him, and said this statement, which she also did at the first part of the show before deciding to move into the home, that for all these years, "You could have just driven away without a care in the world for me, and forsaken me."
He whispered, "Not a chance."
Today, my family was invited to my uncle's birthday banquet at Amoy Street. This was such a joyous occasion. At the end of the banquets, we took many photos. While looking my mother and her siblings pose for this shots, I suddenly was aware of the absence of 2 of my uncles. I was painfully reminded again of their loss last year. 2007 was not a good year for all of us. Yet this seemed to make my elders appreciate more of each other. They were united together to face the nemesis of us mortals - Time.
I joked about age with my friends yesterday, "If I became old and senile in the future, would you all visit me everyday and remind me who I am?" I realised I actually hoped for a yes from anyone I knew, till the end of time.
The lunar year is coming to an end. In this vicinity from the Lunar New Year, there is only a sense of hope, in all who hoped for one.
Happy New Year!
