Annie

My eldest sister, Annie, was the light of our family.

Although she stopped schooling after Primary 4, she was the most entrepreneurial among us and successfully ran a hair salon business.

One day, while on a tour in Beijing, she did not return to the tour bus.

The tour guide and fellow travelers searched for her and found her unconscious in a shopping mall.

She was taken from one hospital to another, but along the way she passed away from a brain hemorrhage.

She was only 40 years old.

My brothers brought her urn home, along with a toy she had bought for her seven-year-old son.

At her funeral, my mother cried uncontrollably.

After Annie was gone, every Chinese New Year gathering became a much quieter affair.

Something important was missing.

I still think of her often.

Some people become part of the flavor of our lives. Life is never quite the same without them.