Ice Candy

It was so long ago, when I last ate Ice candy. After that incident with my Uncle I had never eaten one until last year(Sept. 22, 2009), when a colleague made one and offered it.

Uncle's favorite snack is ice candy, he was fond of buying in the sari sari store just around the corner of the house. I don't know what flavor though, but he was the one who introduced it to me when I was just a kid.

Unfortunately after his high blood attack, his first and the only one he survived, the doctor advise us to keep his intake clean, as his immune system was down. So Papa told us not to buy him any in the sari sari store. If he only knew how hard it was to say "not allowed" or "bawal" to an old men. The memory.....still breaks my heart even now.

It was my turn to take care of him that day, since my shobe and I took turns to watch over him and feed him. It was in the middle of the afternoon, when he asked me to go buy him an ice candy. I signed to him that it was not allowed, he keep insisting, I thought he didn't understand me so I wrote it down. That got him mad, and he demanded that I buy him one. I again signed to him, it lasted awhile before Uncle finally change a different course. Never in my wildest guess would he do that....

Uncle is a proud man, and even when he was wrong, he would not apologize. He was very strict and nobody argues with him.

So when he begged me. Begged me to buy an ice candy for an old man. That shocked me, and I will never forget the face he showed me that day....nor the hand that he held out..... begging.


I held back my tears.....sat down beside his bed and told him while I was signing...I told him " '伯伯, 我將做 ice candy. 明天，我將給它您。好吗?" (Uncle, I will make ice candy. Tomorrow, I will give it to you, ok?) and he turned his back.

I made Uncle ice candy right away, although I didn't know how to make the one's like those in the sari sari store, I knew I had to try.

The following day I gave it to him, he ate it and complained it wasn't soft like that from the sari sari store. And instructed me to include "gaw gaw" next time. I just nodded and smiled.

On January 2002, uncle passed away.... and I had never eaten an ice candy, till now.....




Originally posted in Multiply on Feb 4, 2010