The strangest and most memorable experience happened today to my family... Some may think it was just a coincidence, but for me, it was a blessing of love.
In the early hours of this morning, as my children were leaving for school, my daughter found a little tortoise outside our apartment (16 floors above ground). It was trying to get into the elevator but kept knocking into the closed doors. The floor beneath it was full of scratch marks and dirt.
My daughter picked it up and quickly ran back into our apartment to get a plastic container. She filled the container with some water and then made a small hole on the lid so that the little tortoise would be able to breathe. And then, off they left for school, with the little tortoise with them.
Needless to say, it was a joyful day for my children as they shared their little finding with their friends at school. When they came home at lunchtime, I was very surprised to hear about the excitement of the morning.
My children had grown to love the little tortoise and they named it 'Tito Buddy'. They wanted to keep it but I knew it was not possible because we did not know how to care for it. We tried to feed it with some green vegetables but it would not eat anything. I even tried to google for more information on tortoises but to no avail.
Finally, at 5pm, we took Tito Buddy to the only place where other tortoises could be found on our island.... it is a famous Buddhist temple called 'Kek Lok Si'. This is a beautiful temple filled with ancient Chinese murals and carvings, pagodas, and lots of Buddha statues. We spent an hour touring the place before we finally found the 'Liberation Pond' where hundreds of tortoises and turtles could be found. It was then we realized that Tito Buddy was a turtle and not a tortoise!
My children spent several minutes saying their goodbyes before my daughter dropped little Tito Buddy into the pond. As soon as he fell into the water, several other bigger ones of his kind rushed to surround him and he disappeared. For five minutes, nothing happened.... and I was beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake by not agreeing to my children's request to keep him.
Suddenly, out popped a little head in the midst of all the bigger ones... it was Tito Buddy. He looked so cute and clean, so it was easy for us to spot him. Then, he began swimming all over the pond as if to say hello to the other turtles around him. He looked so happy and agile...
Then, unexpectedly, he turned back and began to swim towards us. He even climbed on top of the other turtles to get a closer look of us. For what seemed like an eternity, he just stood there and stared at us... as if to say goodbye... and maybe even thank you... in his own way. After that, he went back into the water and made his way to his new-found friends.
It was not easy to say goodbye to little Tito Buddy... Though he was with us for only half of the day, he had touched the hearts of my three children... and mine as well. The look which he gave us before he left will live in our memories forever. It was a true blessing of love that transcended all boundaries....
Goodbye, little friend...
(For more pictures, click here : A TURTLE NAMED TITO BUDDY)
~ Adeline Teh, 27 July 2009 ~
