When I was young, my aunt would ask

“Ah xian,  Ni  kai xin ma? ” Which translated to, Ah xian ( that’s what she calls me ) ,are you happy?

Of course, I would say   “wo kai xin!” Which meant that yes, I’m happy.

My aunt is  a joyful person. She loves to sing. She loves many things. She is a person of faith, which keeps her strong through this time. She never let us see her sad. Every time we meet her, she would do her best to smile. Every time we meet her, she would do her best to sing songs of praise, Church songs. She does it and it makes her happy.

I believe she also does it cause it makes us happy.

Occasionally, I hear Mom talking on the phone…

” She vomited 5 times last night?”

“She hasn’t been sleeping well?”

I know she is in pain cause she is constantly on morphine. She also gets more and more breathless each time we visit her.

The last time she could barely finish her sentence…

Yet, each time we visit…

Every time actually…

I would ask, ” Ah yi , Ni Kai Xin ma?”

And she would reply,

” Wo kai xin.”