RECENTLY, we got a new neighbour – an elderly woman who would normally find it tough to fit in. She is the mother of a young woman who just had her fourth child, all boys.

It was seeing how stressed her daughter was that convinced her to give up her recently hard-won independence; she was earning a decent living, helping out at a mahjong den in her village. She had spent the last 30 years devoting her life to an abusive husband. He was recently diagnosed with cancer, and when her children agreed it was time for him to spend the rest of his days in a hospice, she lost no time claiming back some life of her own.

But her husband was still able to torture her by incessantly calling her, and telling anyone who would listen that she was neglecting her duties as a wife. She, however, was determined that she had had enough. She was reluctant to settle here because she was sure the residents would either ignore her or not think too highly of her. She is a gregarious person, and had been enjoying the social whirl of the den. Then, she got to know us, or more correctly, my wife.

It still amuses us to see the spring in her step and the sparkle in her eyes when she comes over, and she does that, a lot, to bring us food that she cooks for her daughter’s family and the fruits from her son-in-law’s stall, and to show off the baby. She received little education, but she is streetwise. She has a heart of gold even as her face is defined by the hardship she has endured. She’s tiny but quite a dynamo, buzzing about, her time and activities dictated by the demands of the baby and the three older boys, as well as running the household for her daughter.

We were witnesses to her unbroken spirit when we saw what she was doing to the trees and bushes around her house in the lead-up to Chinese New Year – she had taken the trouble to cut strips of red fabric and run out to tie them, in the midst of her frantic days and in record time. She was clearly in the spirit of the moment.

Her own children were bringing her husband here for a grand reunion dinner with her daughter’s family. She was finally getting a taste of the normalcy that she had envied for so long. After the dinner, the old man was being driven back by his son when his heart stopped beating. Not knowing what to do, the son turned around and brought the body back to his brother-in-law’s house. You can imagine how that would dampen the festivities for everyone concerned, seemingly the one last act of meanness by the husband.

However, throughout the funeral arrangements, one after another from the families of both sides, as well as some close friends, struck the lottery, with the amounts ranging from a few hundred ringgit to tens of thousands. One of them missed winning RM300,000 because he did not buy the same number for the following draw. These numbers were the old man’s motorcycle registration plate and his date of death.

Our widow friend is now truly free of stress of the old and mean kind. Her son-in-law still thinks she talks too much, but we welcome her visits because it’s heartening to see the human spirit in full flight. – June 23, 2019.

* Mel Lee earned his way to an early retirement from his car magazine business, and moved to a small town with his wife in search of an eco-lifestyle. In their exploration of new places, backpacking on motorcycles or bicycles, they are looking for the extra in the ordinary.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.