Existence Presence I Saw Today

There is an elder nun who is very fond of me. Whenever her small garden of durian, rambutan, and pineapple is in season, she insists that I come and collect a few fruits.  

This has gone on for many years. I always make an attempt to take them from her, and I do so with joy, because of her sincere heart to share what she has.  

At the same time, it rekindles memories of a wonderful, late, and extremely old nun named Sister Felicia, who was my godmother.  

Well, today as usual, the nun told me to collect the rambutans.  

At the agreed time, I arrived at the gate where she would promptly come to pass them to me with a cheerful smile before I left.  

However, this time I had to wait more than 45 minutes, and after a few calls and messages, she didn’t turn up. As I was about to drive away, I saw a vague figure in my rearview mirror.  

So I turned back to her gate. I saw her standing under the shade of the rambutan tree, asking me to come in, instead of passing the fruits at my car as usual with a short chat.  

With slight anxiety, I got out of my car and walked toward her.  

I saw her serene, calm, and giving off a positive vibe.  

I asked the nun why she asked me to come in. With a shallow smile, she told me that while picking rambutans, she felt pain in her shoulder and was unable to move her right hand. “I might have fractured my shoulder bone,” she said.  

I did a quick check. Given her age, I could not rule out a fracture.  

She was ready to go to the hospital, which is within the home. I drove her to A&E and assured her I would arrange for doctors to see her soon, since today was a Penang state public holiday for Heritage Day.  

I immediately did the needful by calling my former doctor colleague, who attended to her right away.  

As I was driving back and pondering the whole incident, I realised some force wanted me to be there to assist her.  

A few days back, when she was visiting her younger brother who is around 70 years old, she had been asking about osteoporosis and the risk of fractures. I was more concerned about her age, as she is crossing her eighth decade.  

Now, thinking back on the whole event, I felt something had preempted this and brought me to assist her to ease her burden. Because when I dropped her at the emergency registration, she walked in all by herself with a smile — even with a fractured humerus, which can be painful.