Dearest 3-Chim, Having left home at the young age of 20, my memory of our time together is restricted mainly to those early years. I wasn’t the obedient and submissive type of girl you expected of me, as a consequence, we were constantly at loggerheads. As a young girl, I wasn’t aware of the tremendous pressures you endured during that period: giving birth to 5 kids within 5 years and still having to continue to work as a teacher throughout, an ambitious and hardworking, though absentee husband with a very short fuse, and having to cope with an old fashioned and controlling mother-in-law living under the same roof. Many times I copped a beating from you because I considered myself quick witted and always talked back with no respect. I could only do that because you were the gentle one. I would not have dared to talk back to 3-Peh. You were the conduit for any messages we wanted to send to our father. We didn’t dare to talk to him directly. You had to figure out a way to gently express to Father our wish to go for school excursions or any special activities, and finally our wish to go overseas for further studies. In later years, as pressure from life eased, I noticed a change in you. You took care of so many in your lifetime. First your children, then grandmother when she fell ill, all your grandchildren, and finally Father when he was admitted to hospital. You were a quiet achiever, the wind beneath Father ‘s wings. Even in your older, weakened state, you took care not to injure yourself so as to be independent in your movements. You did not want to be reliant on others to take care of you. Your devotion to Buddha did bear fruits. You did not have to suffer the vigour of a bedridden existence. You chose to go quickly and not burden us with the responsibility of your care. You will be forever in our hearts. With much love, Your first daughter, Peng Ling