志异 Draft by Drama box december 2013 (english) | Page 11

My family has known our neighbours for more than two decades.
I never knew the uncle's name though; I would simply call
him ‘Uncle’. Uncle was actually not very old, and was an
extremely pleasant man to chat with. As I grew up, we found
each other to be rather congenial. I did not see him very
often, but whenever I did, the conversation was cordial. As
years went by, Uncle's health started deteriorating. At one
point he was reduced to a thin figure after a few surgical
operations. It was a painful sight for all of us. Nevertheless,
I was always impressed by his positive outlook on life.
When I was young, I looked to him as my elder; when
I could finally appreciate him as a friend, he passed away
suddenly from cancer.
In the days following Uncle's demise, I felt this
immense void in the air; it was as though a piece of jigsaw
was missing from the puzzle. It was only then that I realised
that the human body actually leaves its mark on the physical
world — say a large white pillar in your room vanishes one
fine morning, in the next few days you are likely not to step
into the spot where the pillar used to be.
I also learnt about the impossibility of separating
memory from space. Today, we have the physical space to
remember and be remin ???????U??????????????????????)??????????????????U????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????=????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????????????????)$????????????P????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????????)????????????((