E.T. phones home

i called home today, coz it was my mom's birthday. found out that all my brothers and sisters came down to visit mom. everybody, except me.

i spoke with my sister first. she asked if i had already heard the news.

what news?, i asked
grandma died.

i wish i could say i was stunned, but i wasn't. my grandmother had been withering away for quite some time now. and i wish i could say i missed her, but i do not. the tales about her would make a masterpiece novel. i only wish that God would, you know, forgive and take it easy on her.

seemed like everybody came for her funeral. my aunts, my uncles, my a hundred cousins - all were there, except for yours truly here. so, let's see, in my many many years away, i had missed on the death of my grandfather, my uncle, and now my grandmother.

who else, i venture to wonder, whose life i shall fail to celebrate, whose passing i shall miss to mourn?

my mom pointed this out, begging me to come home. hmm, soalan cepumas, after every few exchanges: how are you, i'm fine, - are you coming back? happy birthday mom, thankyou-thankyou, - are you coming back? your cousin's getting engaged in october, the other cousin's getting married in november, - um yeah so you're coming back?

i deflected the questions much as i could, then surrendered an answer i could best think of: maybe one day soon. mom seemed happily resigned to that.

i just find it ridiculous, the idea of people at home missing me. no one missed me that much before. i was nobody's favorite.

ask my grandma.