He walked back to the tables after getting several prawns. Alone, he was unsure of where he should be seated, after all, he didn't really belong to any group in the church. He saw the old lady on the wheelchair at the nearest table. She was his neighbour that he sat beside in church almost every week for the past year, but lately, he hadn't seen her around. She had fallen at home and broke her shoulder bone. She had no husband nor children, and her closest relatives; nieces and nephews didn't really want to do anything with her. She had been going in and out of the hospital for weeks already. The doctors said that her kidneys have failed, and that without dialysis the toxins in her body would build up and she would perish.

Whimsically, he decided to take the seat beside her. She was being attended to by another lady, and she sat there waiting to be fed. Her body had weakened considerably over the past few weeks, where once she could manage to live alone in her house, eating independently was now a mammoth task. Her eyes lit up as she saw the fresh prawns on his plate. Glancing up, he asked, "Do you want some?" In silent acknowledgement, of intentions spoken with the eyes, he blinked and said, "Okay." Shelling the first prawn, he turned to her, hesitating for a moment as he wondered what he should do. Then he decided, he stretched forward and gently fed the prawn into the her mouth. In moments, her expression turned into one of satisfaction. A satisfaction perhaps she hadn't experienced in a while. He knew the prawn must have been very fresh and delicious. In his heart a flicker of warmth emanated. "Do you want more prawns?" he asked. This time, the old lady smiled and nodded. "Let me peel more." As he turned his attention to the plate to de-shell the last two prawns. The prawns were fresh and cold, and the biting cold of the prawns made his fingers sensitive to pain as he peeled off the tough parts of the prawn. Grabbing one prawn and eating it, he replied to her, "Yeah! They're really fresh and delicious!" And as the last prawn on the table was peeled, he took it and brought it to her lips, watching as she bit the prawn and ate it. Another wave of warmth and joy. He leaned back, "Shall I get more?" Looking as the old lady's eyes lit up once more and nodded gently, almost as if she was guilty of eating too much an unhealthy food.

"What an honour it is to be able to do this simple act. What joy and pleasure there is in such an act." It was perhaps something small, but it was all he could do for her. She probably would not have much time on earth, but he understood a little more what true love meant. Standing up, he smiled and looked at her "Okay wait, I'll get more," as he walked towards the section of the buffet that had the cold dishes. || posted by Kuan Hui