So, we made our trip there with my relatives and arrived at the house.
I couldn’t control my tears the moment I saw him lying there motionless on the floor.
After a short pay of respect and prayers, we headed outside the house to find out what happened.
We asked around and each of the family members gave a different account. We didn’t know who to believe or what exactly happened and most importantly, how he died.

Saddest thing about it was no matter how much we begged them to let us bring his body back, they stood to their ground and refused our pleas.
They gave their reason. His wife said.. what about the kids? They are still so young. They wanna see their dad too. We, on the other side, are all grown-ups and can travel there to see his grave. I seriously felt like slapping her face. That’s not a good reason! What about us? What about our side? What about his whole family? What about his sick and frail mother who couldn’t see him for the last time? No, she couldn’t care less about anybody else and there was no way we can reason her out. After about the longest hour of dispute, we had no choice but to agree to bury him there. We were given no other options really and because they were so adamant about it and most importantly, we have to think about the departed. He had to be buried as soon as possible. We gave in eventually.. No matter how much we hated it, it’s the best for him.. we had to think what’s best for him. We cannot delay his funeral further. After agreeing for the burial to be held there, we were even forced to sign a paper that states we agree to the burial and that no autopsy are to be done on the body. Again, we had no choice. Then the wait began.. 2 freaking hours we had to wait before the whole process began! And in the end, the burial was held so freaking late that we did not managed to witness his burial. We have booked the last tickets home and we had to go home. I was sad for not being able to see him buried. Why was it late? The reason they gave was………… “Oh, the grave has not been dug yet. So we have to wait until it’s ready then we can clean the body.”

Next, we asked for the death certificate.. They said they didn’t have it.. They went to the hospital and there was a blackout so the doctor couldn’t issue the death cert. And when they asked for it the next day, the doctor was sick and wasn’t able to provide the death cert. BF! Is there only one doctor working in that freaking hospital?? What kind of games are you playing with us??! After non-stop pesterings saying how much we needed the cert, they gave us a paper saying it’s the death cert that they’ve obtained from the sick doctor. He passed away on 24/5/09 and cause of death was assumed by the doctor just because they found things in his pockets. I was dumbfounded. We found out the next day that the certificate they claimed wasn’t the death cert and we had to go back there again another day….

And to make matters worst, one of my aunts acted ridiculously throughout the whole… No respect for the dead at all.. It’s so uncalled for and it made me lose my respect for her.

You can’t imagine how sick, angry and devasted I was that day.. Words can’t justify how I really feel about this..

One Monday, I went for a trip to Indonesia with my relatives. No, it wasn’t for a short holiday..
How I really wished it was.. I went there for a mission. A mission to bring a body back home.
Back home to where all his loved ones are. Here, where he’s supposed to be. Where I can visit him.

I was at my boyfriend, J’s house right after a birthday dinner celebration with his family.
I can still remember the time.. It was 22:28pm on 24th May 2009 when I received that fateful call.
It was my brother and he said, “Did aunt call you?” I bluntly said no and asked him why.
Right there and then he told me a shocking news that was hard for me to register.
He let out,”Dad’s gone.” I couldn’t believe it at first. I actually thought it was a joke.
After hanging up the call, I told J about it as I cried uncontrollably.
All eyes were immediately locked on me and he tried to calm me down.
Everybody was shocked and his mom advised me to calm down.
I managed to calm down after awhile and we immediately took off to my aunt’s place.

I met up with my brother and relatives over there and we sat for a small talk.
My aunt explained to us on how she got the news from my my dad’s friend and that she tried to
call my dad’s family over there for a few hours but nobody was answering the phone.

Finally after the longest wait ever, we got hold of his wife, M. She told us about wat happened during his last moments,
refused to give her address and deny our plea to bring back his body. So many calls were made that day.
We called Singapore Casket and spoke to a person. We were told that once we get all the documents he wanted,
we should fax to him and he’ll arrange the rest for us because until then we do not have the legal rights to bring him back home.
That night, we all unanimously decided to book the first ticket out the next morning and M has also agreed to send someone
to fetch us upon reaching and to lead the way to their house.

I couldn’t sleep well that night. I kept thinking about it, about him. I felt so miserable.
I thought about what he could have been doing at that moment, about the last time we spoke and the last time we met.
I was so devastated and so remorseful. There were so many things I should and shouldn’t have done.
That night, I prayed to God. I prayed for Him to fulfill my wish to bring his body home, hope for no obstacles and for a safe journey………