Dada 134

That didn’t mean much, all older people have grievances and anyway, the Dada probably meant my father, his wretched son in law. Was anyone going to ask him that ? The judge asked him to be more specific. Did he reproach me with sending him to a home up the country, an old man and far from his district and city of Kuching. The Director nodded his head and said ‘ yes’ and this time no one asked him to qualify his answer. To another question, he said he was surprised by my calmness on the day of the funeral and asked what he meant by my calmness, the director lowered his eyes and stared at his shoes. I remembered him looking at me as if unsure of my identity. Then he said that I did not want to see my Dada’s body but instead sat around drinking coffee and left immediately after the funeral in the village. ‘All his tears had been shed, that’s what he told me,’ the director said. Another matter had perplexed him. One of the undertakers had told him that I did not even know Dada’s age. There was a short silence and the judge asked him if he was referring to the prisoner in the dock. The director seemed puzzled by this and the judge explained, it is a formal question and I am bound to ask it. Why you don’t ask him about all those ships of the Blue Funnell line, I thought. The prosecutor was then asked if he had any questions to put and he answered loudly, ‘Certainly not, I have all I need here’