My uncle, who passed away a long time ago

When I was very young, and my uncle was also very young, he passed away due to illness, leaving behind two young children.

In my memory, my uncle was just a photo on the ancestral altar, and I have no other impressions of him. I hope he is at peace and does not remember anything from the world. Your family is doing well, so rest assured.

Not long after my uncle passed away, one evening, after accompanying my grieving grandmother for dinner, my mother took my brother and me home, while my father went to visit a friend since it was not too late.

At that time, I was still very young, probably around one or two years old, already able to speak, but still needed my mother to carry me. That night, my brother sat on a chair by the bed, facing the door, while the bed was opposite the room door.

My mother had her back to the door, holding me in her left arm, and using her right hand to prepare the bedding for sleep. Suddenly, I happily called out "Uncle!"

My mother and brother both looked towards the door, but saw nothing in the dark outside. Since it was our own family member, they were not too scared, but still felt a little uneasy. They went to sleep early that night.

The next morning, my mother went to my grandmother's house alone, eager to tell her about what happened the night before. However, she found that my grandmother's face didn't seem right. After my mother's questioning, my grandmother finally spoke about the strange thing that happened that morning.

My grandmother was used to getting up early, and that day was no exception. She got up and made breakfast for the whole family before the sun had fully risen. When breakfast was ready, my grandmother habitually walked out of the kitchen to clean the yard. Suddenly, she saw my uncle with his back facing her, his pants rolled up high, as if he was going to work in the fields.

(Before my grandfather passed away, there was very little land left, and after he passed away, they couldn't afford to hire people to work, so my grandmother and uncle did the farming themselves. But my uncle had already been working normally for several years before he passed away, and he wouldn't normally dress like that.)

There was mud on his legs, and he stood at the gate of the yard. My grandmother, as usual, thought that my uncle had not eaten breakfast and planned to leave the house. So she called out to him to stop and eat breakfast before leaving.

As soon as she spoke, my uncle disappeared. My grandmother suddenly realized and turned back to the kitchen, accidentally breaking a bowl. In fact, I never understood why my grandmother broke the bowl, and I asked her later, but she refused to say.

Perhaps the sound of the bowl breaking was a bit loud and woke up my cousin, my uncle's daughter. She cried and said that she saw her father carrying wood on his back and looked very tired.

My mother and grandmother looked at each other and lit incense for my uncle. While lighting the incense, my mother told my uncle, "Don't worry, I'm here and everything will be fine. I will take care of my mother, help my younger siblings raise their children, don't worry and go peacefully."

According to the old people, if their children don't get married before they pass away, they will be guilty and suffer in hell. I don't know if my cousin's vision of her father carrying wood was related to this.