After heard that, Liong nan went home with a big disappointed in his heart. With much tears in Mei Lan’s eyes. Their love was separated by the egoism of Mei Lan’s father and the tradition. An unchangeable tradition.
“Someday, you must feel what I feel right now “ promised Liong Nan in his broken heart.
After several weeks, he had heard that Xiu Yao made a deal with Mei Lan’s father. Xiu Yao would help him to increase his business. This news came from Mei Lan. She told him by a letter which sent to him someday after her marriage. She also asked his apologize because she couldn’t do anything to save their love. She couldn’t refuse her father’s will.
***
My engagement with my girlfriend was near. I called her Xiu Ying. A beautiful chinese virgin. We were both chinese. Like in our tradition, we must prepared Sangjit. A chinese engagement ceremony before married.
Xiu Ying – a pretty woman from Bandung. Lived in a honorable family. She had a descent attitude. It made me love her so much. Even she was still young, she could respect me. As our age was different each other. I was fifty five and she was twenty one years old.
“Can you love older man like me? I said to her one day.
“Why not ? Love doesn’t look age. It’s about feeling. About heart. Then, why must I am worried ?” said Xiu Ying to me. It made me sure that I must married her.
The engagement day came. Liong Fuk and his big family visited his beloved girl - Xiu Ying. There were many cars. They all brought many trays which contain many things for Sangjit ceremony. There were : clothes and jeweleries for Xiu Ying, money, eighteen oranges – which symbolized prosperity, and eighteen red bowl cakes. The amount always had eight inside - element eight symbolized a luckily. A pair of red candle – to banished negative elements, two bottles of beer and the last were a pair of pig feet.
Aunt, uncle and of course apo and kungkung were happy because they could accompany their nephew to enter a new life. A marriage.
In front of Xiu Ying house, there were many beautiful decoration. Two big red lanterns and some fireworks hanged on the roof. Very nice with red dominated it. In chinese tradition, red symbolized a happiness and lucky. So, all of the decoration were red.
