One afternoon many years ago, I was riding my bicycle in the garden when I heard
the gate open. I was startled to see an elderly man standing at the gate. He
just stood there and looked around him. I yelled for my mother. She came
hurrying from behind our house where she was washing clothes. When she saw the
man at the gate, she stopped. `Big Uncle?' she said, in disbelief. The old man
smiled. My mother invited him into the house. She told me to serve him tea. As
they talked, I studied the old man. I wondered who he was. He looked about 70
years old. He was of medium height and looked rather thin. He was almost bald
and his moustache was grey. There was a scar across his neck. It made him look
dangerous. He also had a dark complexion. He
was dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and grey trousers.
My mother and the visitor sat on the sofa and talked for half an hour. I did
not understand what they were talking about. I was worried when I saw my mother
wiping tears from her eyes. Big Uncle looked close to tears too. He took a big
brown envelope out of his bag and gave it to my mother. She opened it and took
out some old photographs. As she looked at them one by one, she laughed
delightedly. Big Uncle looked very pleased. `Thank you, Big Uncle,' my mother
said.
Finally, my mother noticed me and called me over to her. She showed me the
photographs and told me that they were old photos of her family which she
thought she had lost. She explained that the old man was her father's eldest
brother. He had been living overseas for a long time. He had found the old
photos recently and decided to deliver them to my mother.
Thus, the unexpected visitor turned out to be
my grand-uncle. That was the first day I met him. He stayed with us for a few
days. I enjoyed his company very much because he was a great story-teller. Since
then, Grand-uncle has been visiting us once a year. I always look forward to his
visit. |