A life too brief

Exactly three weeks ago, my wife received a telephone call to inform us that a close family friend - a young married lady, only 31 years old - had passed away in a motor accident in Johor. Both she and her husband were driving from Nilai to Johor Bahru near the 173.9km stretch of the North-South Expressway when the car slammed into the metal divider. The force of the impact caused one end of the divider to swing out and impale the back row of the car. Although the metal divider missed them and the air-bags were inflated, the lady suffered major internal injuries. She never regained consciousness and passed away a few hours later.

Needlessly to say, we were very shocked to hear the news. My wife had known this young lady ever since she was just six months old. When we were all still staying in Seberang Jaya, this lady's parents used to send her and her younger brother to my in-laws' house for day-care. To my in-laws, the young girl and boy were treated like their own children. And consequently, their parents became very close to my in-laws. The family moved to the island maybe about 15 years ago but every Chinese New Year, the now grown-up girl and boy still called on my in-laws, travelling all the way to Simpang Ampat.

Audrey Lim Suyin married about two years ago. Of course, we were at her marriage. I could see that she was happiest to see my in-laws and the feeling was mutual. My mother-in-law was so proud to see her married off. Then, of course, this tragedy had to happen. Last Sunday, we visited her parents and brother at their house in Tanjung Tokong. Though they were still numbed with grief, they had already accepted that their daughter had left them forever. My in-laws had to accept that too, that one of two persons outside our immediate family that they really cared about was gone forever.

I've just found the above picture from among my computer files. That's Suyin with her husband, Sim, and her brother, Kuong Lim, together with my in-laws.