By Ling Hui
BAU, July 30: ‘Knowing that one day we will meet her again in heaven is probably the only medicine to mend our hurting hearts,’ says the late Catherine Janet Tiwi’s mother, Wency Seimon.
With that thought in mind, the mother who had gone through devastating times following her only daughter’s sudden death in a fire is still trying to accept fate, little by little.
“I guess slowly, bit by bit, we are trying to find peace ourselves while we constantly pray for her (Catherine) so that she could be in a peaceful and tranquil place,” she told DayakDaily at her house at Kampung Skio today.
Four years since Catherine’s passing on July 25, 2018, was not enough to heal Wency’s sense of grief and emptiness.
Though heavy-hearted, Wency tried to talk about her daughter. Then, among her very few words, she said something that wrenches the gut.
“(Sometimes we) pretend to be happy.” This was her short response when asked how she and the husband have been dealing with their beloved daughter’s passing.
Catherine’s father, Tiwi Nios, said this is the only way to move forward with life.
“We can’t show our sad faces all the time in front of people. Of course, there are also happy times, but we always remember her (Catherine) during these moments.
“Yes, we feel the sadness from time to time, but life must go on,” he said.
Today, a prayer meeting was held to commemorate Catherine’s fourth death anniversary. It was supposed to be held on July 25, a Monday, but the family decided to reschedule it to today, a Saturday, so that more relatives and friends could attend.
Catherine, a teacher by profession, died at the age of 25 after rushing into a burning teachers’ quarters in SK Batu Bungan, Mulu National Park, reportedly trying to save two fellow teachers she thought were trapped in the fire.
The two teachers, however, managed to escape the fire alive while Catherine perished. Her selfless act had touched many, prompting an outpouring of sympathy and mourning across the whole of Sarawak at the time. — DayakDaily
