of folklore & superstitions

am not sure how to position such experiences and stories but it certainly adds to the superstitions and beliefs of the lay-persons

• my dad, before dying, dreamt that his mum (my grandma) had visited him, sat him up at his bed, fed him and then put him back to bed. when my dad related this dream to my aunt, she feared that his time was up. within the same week, my dad died. the same dreams were related to us before my paternal grandma, my maternal grandma as well as the 3rd aunt died.

• my second sis had always believed that her star sign clashed with that of my dad's. since young, my dad had always dotted on my eldest sis more. so naturally, my second sis didn't feel as close to my dad. on the day he died, we had asked from the hospital to give him a second dose of morphine to ease his pain. as we were not around, it was my second sis that administered this second dose. she had been ridden with guilt since that she had delivered the final fatal dose. that she had killed him. coincidentally, the day my dad died was my second sis's birthday.

• my dad seemed to know that his time was up. on the day before he died, he held my mum's hand and told here that that would be the last time he would be seeing her. and before she left for home, he told her to take care of herself, especially her legs and said bye-bye to her. he also told me to take care of myself. and to my relatives who visited him hours before his death, he bade each and everyone of them goodbye. finally, amidst his painful screams, he asked that we quickly administer the morphine so that he could be rid of his pain.

• there was a belief that when the spirit leaves the body, it continues to stay near the body. during this period, it might take refuge in an insect. everyone relatives of mine remembered how a moth had stayed with us through the duration of my grandma's funeral. the same species of moth also appeared at my old house whenever we conduct our annual prayers to my grandma on her death anniversaries. and weirdly enough, my brother noted that there was this single housefly flying around the funeral parlour (i thought i was funny cos it might be becos of the presence of food). as a person schooled in science, this was certainly beyond me, but it certainly did provide some conversational piece for my brother, my mum and my aunt :-)

• my dad was a avid gambler - from 4d to shares. the same could be said of my brother. so naturally, whenever we did any prayers or offerings, my brother would ask for 4d from my dad. he would also rope us in to share in the bets. on the day the paper house and paper car came, my brother went to bet on the car number. it struck first prize on the same day. the 4 of us who shared in the bet got richer by close to 1k. my brother attributed this to my dad whom he said was happy cos i had bought him tau yew bak (pork belly stewed in soy sauce) after he appeared in my dream the night before and asked for it. tau yew bak was my dad's favourite food.
  

• there was a belief that the spirit would return on the seventh day to visit his family. so, on the seventh day, at about 6-plus in the morning and through the whole of the night, there was a very strong smell of scented incense in my brother's place. strangely enough, none of my brother's neighbours were known to use joss-sticks at home. my mum could only conclude that my dad had returned.
  

so? where do we place some of these coincidences? frankly, i was not sure. but one thing was for sure. to the living who believed in it, such occurences would continue to give them the soothing effect psychologically that the people they've loved and that had died will continue to be close to them. to watch over them. to bless them. and continue to be part of their lives.