A Nightmare

We moved away from the old neighborhood and then to Malaysia and then back again. When we had settled down in our new home, my parents invited Mak Ucu to live with us. I was very happy about that. She had grown older over the years. Her hair had gone very thin and she had lost some front teeth. She had never been very fit, and now she panted and wheezed just from walking from the bedroom to the living room. Mak Ucu sometimes had nightmares and she would moan in her sleep. I was used to hearing her moans because she slept next to my bedroom. One night her moans were slightly louder than usual. I was in my warm, comfortable bed as I tried to figure out whether it was her usual nightmare or something more serious. I decided if the moans continued a bit longer I would wake my parents up. Then it stopped. So I went to sleep. The next morning we woke up to my sister’s voice. She was crying and calling out, “Mak Ucu! Mak Ucu!” She was in Mak Ucu’s bedroom and was desperately trying to wake her up. Mak Ucu had passed away that night.