Mr. Duong's funeral was held from the 24th to the 27th of January. For the first days, relatives and close friends were there to listen to the prays and blessings of the Buddhist monks. I tried not to cry, to stay strong for Linh and her family but I couldn't help it when I saw the family's tears of sorrow and grief. I stayed there until they were closing the funeral place for the day. I was driven back home by Anthony; I was very grateful. The next couple of days, I didn't manage to go because of certain inconveniences.
On the last day, Thursday, it was the day of Mr. Duong's cremation. The day started at 9:30AM, at the Fairfield funeral place. The monks said their blessings and prays; a close relative made a speech in Vietnamese while Linh and My Linh made a speech in English. Linh did all the talking since My Linh seemed as though she couldn't stop crying. By the end of it all, we lined up outside and waited for them to carry the coffin into the car. It was heartbreaking to watch the mother. I felt so sorry for her. Tears fell. The day was sunny; I thought it was very fitting for Mr. Duong's personality. It's as though he's saying, 'don't be sad that he's gone; smile, because it's a beautiful day.' I miss him. Throughout the whole event, I kept replaying all the little, special moments I shared with him.
Anthony was generous enough to drive me to the cremation place, at Camden Valley, Leppington; but we passed by Linh's house before that. I guess it was tradition. It was also tradition to turn our headlights on throughout the whole trip. Jack and Elin did a good job guiding the cars there. At the cremation place, more prays were said by the monks. Flowers were given to everyone to place it on Mr. Duong's coffins. Respectful bows repeated again. Then he was gone. Hugs, kisses, comfort and tissues were given to the family while vegetarian pork rolls and water bottles were handed out to everyone. After 10 - 20 minutes of waiting, our next destination was the temple.
Funnily enough, all the friends of My Linh and Linh went to the wrong temple. Made sense, since we were all following one another. Then calling Linh for directions, we went to another temple. Wrong one again... We were all laughing and shouting in annoyed mood. Then finally, third time lucky, we made it to the temple. It was the one across the Bonnirigg Plaza. We paid our respects and made one final bow of respect at Mr. Duong's photo and left. After a couple of minutes of chit chats and eating outside the temple, everyone went their separate ways. Most of Linh's friends decided to go back to her house. I asked Anthony to drop me off at Cabramatta so that I could buy my travel insurance. He was generous enough to take me back to Linh's house as well.
I was a bit surprised to see the family handling so well and moving on so fast. But I guess Anthony was right; they want to move on, they want to be happy and continue living. I'm sure it's what Mr. Duong wanted. They're just following his way of life. I'm glad that I've met such a family. Majority of us have changed out of clothes, either because they had spare clothes packed in their trunk or they went home, changed and came back to Linh's house. Before we headed out to dinner, we played card games and watched tennis. We were all having fun and joking around; it felt like it was just another normal day. I guess we were all trying to not bring up anything sad, and be happy for the family's sake.
It wasn't until around 7PM that we left for Canley Heights for dinner. It was funny how we had dinner at one restaurant and then desserts in the restaurant next to it. It was even more embarrassing to come out and see the boss of the previous restaurant standing outside LOL. For once, I actually took away my dinner to save it for the next day. Seeing that I'm currently living by myself for a couple of days, it wouldn't hurt to grab as much food outside as possible =P then I wouldn't have to cook or wash the dishes. Initially, I thought I wouldn't be able to finish the dessert on my own, so I thought of just having half, and give the rest away. But I end up eating it all anyways. I guess you really always do have room for desserts =D. Sorry Kenny, I ate all the dessert even though I said I'd give it to you lol. We all went home after that. Many thanks to Anthony for driving me all around the place =). I hope Linh and her family wont be sad for too long.
R.I.P 22O111 Mr. Duong.
You welcome everyone with arms open and a bright smile on your face. I couldn't help but feel comfortable with you as you try to converse with me in Cantonese. I hope you rest in peace and continue watching your family and friends up there. You'll not be forgotten because you'll always be loved by those who care about you.
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