Met Granny in My Dreams

The day before was the 7th day since Granny's death, and according to Chinese folklore, the spirit will return to his house to pay a last visit to his loved ones before embarking on his journey to the nether world. My relatives planned to stay overnight at Granny's house, in the hope of seeing her in their dreams when they sleep. I decided to go along too.

When I got there at night, 7 of my relatives were already there. They went to sleep early while I watched cable TV with a cousin till 11+pm. Before going to sleep, I prayed to Granny and asked for her to appear in my dreams so that I could see her for one last time. With that, my cousin and I proceeded to sleep in Granny's bedroom (while the rest of them were cramped into another bedroom).

Unfortunately, I could not fall asleep because of the uncomfortable mattress, so I just laid there keeping a clear consciousness of the surroundings. About an hour or so later, I heard the sounds of buckets in the kitchen toilet, and I wondered if Granny was around. Whenever I was about to fall asleep, I would feel a presence on top of me and would be jolted awake instantly.

When I finally fell asleep, I dreamt of Granny. I dreamt that I was in exactly the same place where I was sleeping, so it seemed as though it was really happening. In my dream, I heard the shuffling of feet in the living room, so I got up and rushed out of the bedroom. There Granny was with a solemn look on her face. I was overjoyed to see her and I yelled "Ah Ma! Ah Ma!" repeatedly so that I could wake everyone up to see her. I ran over and hugged her, and started crying with relief. My relatives started to stream out of the bedroom and surround us, and that was when the dream faded to an end.

I woke up again at 5+am to hear the gentle pitter-patter of the rain. When I woke up at 7+am, I could remember the dream vividly and I felt consoled. I prayed to Granny again thanking her for taking the time to see me for the last time.

When I checked with my relatives, one uncle told me he did dream about Granny but it was a very vague dream and that he had no recollection about it when he woke. My cousins said that they also heard scrubbing noises in the kitchen toilet and suspected that she was actually doing some household chores for the last time.

When my auntie opened the cover of the rice bucket, we could see that the rice had been stirred before. I believe Granny did come back last night, and I believe she would be happy to see us over at her house.

I am sorry for not taking the time to see my Granny when she was still around.

Never wait till a person is gone before you realise how much you love him / her.