I woke up this morning to a gray misty day with temperatures hovering at 70F. Portent of things to come perhaps. Today, I finally convinced my dad to go see a doctor since he was still feeling fatigue. For some reason, my uncle needed help carrying down two five gallon buckets filled with gardening implements and fruit. I helped, thinking that he just needed to move them into the basement for storage or something. I was more confused when he loaded them into the car to go to the doctors. In my mind, I was imagining a hospital ER, maybe a physical and some blood work to check electrolyte levels. In reality, a cousin drove my dad, two uncles, and I to a private clinic a few streets over. As best as I could follow the conversation, the doctor was concerned with his diet since he wasn’t regular and simply prescribed him some laxatives and sent him on his way, an unsatisfying outcome in my mind. The pharmacy we picked up the prescription from was across the street and sold many herbal remedies (read: mumbo jumbo) along side prescription drugs. My confidence was not elevated by the experience. Luckily I would be proven wrong, so far.
After the doctors, we hopped back in the car, but I noticed that we weren’t driving back to the apartment. '”What’s going on? Where are we going?” “We’re going to visit my parents tombs in the mountains.” I have no problem going to see the tombs, but I really didn’t think it was the best idea since my dad was still very weak. Despite my consternations, we proceeded as, apparently, planned. So that’s what the tools were for. We made our way across the river and up into the mountains to first visit the tomb of my grandmother. It’s situated on a hill with many other tomb structures overlooking the Taipei valley. To reach it, you have to traverse a path up part of the mountain, not accessible to the car. I’m not sure how often they visit, but it was a little overgrown, so everyone set to work clearing weeds and trimming the brush. Since my father was still in a weakened state, he didn’t do any of the work, but sat quietly on a low wall with his thoughts. I was checking on his welfare when I noticed a small mantis sitting on his shoulder. I don’t get to see them much, so it was a little wonder to watch. After everything was cleared, they placed fruit and water on the tomb and proceeded with the rituals. They were very similar to the events of visiting my maternal grandparents, which is odd since my paternal grandmother was a Christian. The mountain mist smothered and remnant jovial thoughts that the situation might have missed. After paying respects one more time, we packed the car back up and moved down the mountain a bit to my grandfather’s tomb.
My Grandfather’s tomb is situated right next to the one-lane road a bit down the mountain. Again, some cleaning was needed so we cleared weeds and brush. When that was near completion, I noticed a larger mantis sitting on the gravesite wall next to his tomb. If I were a superstitious person, I would probably make note of the appropriately sized mantes respective to each tomb, especially how one was sitting on my dad’s shoulder, but I’m not superstitious. I did, however, guide a large ant into the scythe-like arms of the larger mantis, even if it wasn’t a representation of my Grandfather. We made similar offerings and performed similar rituals for my grandfather then packed up the car and made our way back into the city for lunch.
Lunch was a simple affair, consisting of noodles and some vegetables. My dad had a broth with some dumplings, and I warned him not to eat too much, but my words fell on slightly deaf ears. My concern for his intestinal fortitude grew with each mouthful, and by the end, I was certain that he would make himself sick again, but he seemed to be okay, if not still a little fatigued.
After lunch, we made our way back to the apartment, where my dad downed his medicine with a bottle of Kinderlyte (Pedialyte) that I found at the pharmacy. He was fairly tired, so I left him as confortable as I could in his bed as I made my way out the door. I was going to use the cooler weather as an excuse to explore the town a bit more without sweating my brains out. It’s a good thing I did, for I stumbled across a small storefront selling police and military gear. While they didn’t have the brand of bags I’ve been searching for, I got a lead from the shop owner that I might look into. More importantly, I finally had success finding my Taiwan flag patch! Things were looking up.
The best news of the day came after I made my way back to the apartment. I opened the door to my dad, eating dinner and operating at a normal activity level. I’m not sure if it was the Kinderlyte, the medicine, or some mystical healing from visiting his parents, but he’s finally appearing to return to normal. He’s keeping food down and his headaches are receding. Maybe in another day, we can spend some time together looking at the last few sights around Taipei that are left on the list. I’m really hoping for his continued recovery since I was dreading an ailing father combined with a 19 hour flight home.
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