The Last Goodbye

Flying halfway around the world, to see my mother one last time. In the wee hours of the morning, she opened her eyes, squeezed my hand. Took her last breath. Echoing the koel, the uwu bird’s plaintive cry, “Kowel, kowel,” I’m here.

Trying to reach her on the other side.

Kwan Kew Lai is an author, a Harvard medical faculty physician, an infectious disease specialist, a disaster response volunteer, an artist, and a runner. kwankewlai.com