As Another Friend Walks Away

I know this is gonna sound a little out of this world, but another friend of mine passed early this month. He was also just 28. Within a month, going through the loss of two friends is no funny game.

Aik Keong was a high school friend. Funny and borne to bring humour and laughter to others, he was a natural joker. We met in secondary one, when he got sent to our class from an all boys’ one. At that age, most boys were mischievous, and so the teachers intended to bring some good influence to his life by sending him to our class (not like we were much of angels).

It didn’t take long for everyone in class to bond with him. He was funny, caring, and certainly far from being a problem student that we anticipated him to be. Sure it took him a little more effort to catch up with classes, but he managed to do it in the end. He turned over a new leaf, and studied really hard. That year was one of my best years in high-school.

As I was a prefect back then, and tended to get a little naggy with the boys in class, some of them nicknamed me “Kai Ma”, meaning Godmother in Cantonese. Aik Keong was one of them. This name never left me even until we left school, and I can still remember his voice when he used to call me that.

Unfortunately, slightly past midnight of 15 January 2010, while travelling by car heading to Sunway, he got into a very bad accident and was killed on the spot. He lost control of the car but as he was all alone, till this day no one knows for certain what the cause was. Could it have been fatigue, alcohol, or loss of concentration on the road because he was messing with his phone? He was, after all, in touch with some friends via SMS right before he crashed.

Just like that, someone’s friend, son, husband and father perished. The afternoon of his passing was the same day his wife found out that she was pregnant with his second child. Really heart-wrenching L

I pray that his family will have the strength to overcome this loss, and I’m very sure that the memory of him will remain in the hearts of many. Goodbye to a dear “Kai Zhai”. May you rest in peace as you are led to greater beauty, greater glory and greater holy presence.