The bus 13 I was on went past the now defunct Bidadari Cemetery. Under calm blue skies with a couple of clouds idling by, I look out the window to see excavators track about deliberately, raising their hoes every now & then to stab the soil, intent on combing & extracting any remaining reminders of the un-living. The search efforts' progress was indicated nearby, by the heaps of broken tombstone slabs piled up like cards, ready to be shuffled, crushed, dealt out- to be recycled for reuse? OK, that's a possibility I can be persuaded to accept.

A question for the superstitious though. What IS your home made out from?

The rubble also serves as a hallmark, a epilogue if you will, of a story that is repeated hundreds of times over, with some differences between them, but all in uniform conclusion now. The total number of stories is the number of tombstones that are stacked today. Death, burial, visitation & remembrance. Some are remembered up to the day their remains are exhumed in view of their next-of-kin. Others are forgotten, fading away from collective living memory, consumed by mildew, falling into dilapidation. Today, remembered or relinquished or ruined, everything's piled up to be taken away, insignificant. The end.

An elderly passenger beside me noted my intense interest. "Ah boy, see? The gahmen ah, can't even let us rest in peace. When I die, what for bury? They will dig me out again in 15 years. Young man, I tell you - Get yourself a grave in Malaysia, better." To this candid man's frank funeral advice, I managed what I thought was a warm smile. I realised too late that maybe that was inappropriate, given the morbid nature of the subject of our conversation. His joke was bitter cynical black humour, like overbrewed espresso with the coffee grounds thrown in. He had a knowing look that said that Aging was urging Death to come around the corner & welcome him. He spoke with a smile on the outside. Did he have tears inside?

But perhaps being jaded is the best attitude to have towards the pragmatic solution chosen to meet Singapore's land development needs. Be practical. Intangible things like nostalgia & respect don't fit into the equation.

+ Recommended for further info: A pictoral feature of the Bidadari Christian Cemetery by Jehpin Liew