Tai po fire

tai po fire

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"My optimistic former boss is smiling as he takes his last photo with this house 🌅"

Three weeks ago, he asked if we could go upstairs together on April 20th with him and his son to see if there was anything we could take. Of course, I agreed. The day arrived in the blink of an eye. Since there could only be a maximum of four people, he conservatively asked a few mutual male friends to help. We arranged to meet at Cafe de Coral in Kwong Fuk Shopping Centre at 8 am for breakfast. We ate everything. But my former boss was still very nervous, constantly checking if he had brought enough equipment and if he had forgotten anything. His calm demeanor was completely different from his outward appearance. When we arrived at the registration site, because we were among the first families to arrive, dozens of reporters wanted to get my former boss's phone number for interviews. But my former boss spoke to them in a very funny tone... He said he had to deal with my important matters first...

After registering, a member of the Civil Aid Service and a dedicated social worker led the four of us, equipped with gear, to Hung San Court to prepare for going upstairs. Each person had a helmet, head covering, mask, large flashlight, and water. My former boss, being only 70 years old and suffering from chronic joint pain, told us to stop and rest every two floors...

Upon officially going upstairs... the stairwell had temporary lights installed... so even without a flashlight, you could barely see the path. After each floor... I looked around curiously... nearly 80% of the units were more than 70% burned... it seemed like all I could see inside was a grayish-black pile of things...

Finally arrived at my former boss's office. The first thing I saw was that the kitchen and the small hallway were completely burned and turned to ash. The second time I looked into the main hall, I was surprised to find that only the items were blackened, but not burned. I was so grateful. Then we started setting up and cleaning. First, we used a clean blanket to cover one side of the sofa. Then we opened several large bags. I helped my former boss's son clean up, while another guy helped my former boss. I suggested they sort things out first, taking out the most valuable and important items like cash, gold jewelry, passports, and academic certificates. Luckily, they found everything without much damage. Then we started sorting and bagging the other items. The other guy and I kept helping to move the large bags down in batches. My former boss and his son stayed behind to keep things moving. I had just finished a long run, and my plantar fasciitis had flared up again and hadn't fully recovered. But I noticed that after going up and down a few flights of stairs, the pain in my legs seemed to have subsided. Because I needed to save time, my focus shifted entirely. I even joked with another guy. Luckily, we had some stamina from the long run, and it wasn't so difficult to carry such heavy things up and down like that. I jokingly added that if my former boss lived on the 30th floor, we'd be severing ties. Even the civil defense team couldn't help but laugh. After a short break, of course, we continued our hard work moving things. Even the police officers who stayed to register the residents remembered my name and another guy's name. Because we kept going up and down the stairs several times, and kept coming back up.

30 minutes left. My former boss wanted to take one last photo with this house he'd lived in for over 40 years. He was smiling for the photo. I've known him for almost 18 years. He's very rational and quick to move on. That's always been his style.

At the last turn before leaving. Only ten minutes left out of three hours. My former boss had already stopped. But his son still seized the opportunity to take everything he could. Even clothes and shoes stained from smoke. He said he didn't want to have any regrets. Everything had to be saved. Because there was probably no chance of returning. He was becoming increasingly anxious, realizing there was no time left. He didn't know what else to take. He started wandering aimlessly around the house, constantly looking around. Until the last few minutes... a dozen or so police officers and Civil Aid Service members arrived on this floor. They were waiting for the last person, his son, to come out before sealing off the floor. I asked my former supervisor when it was time to go in and persuade the boy to leave. My former supervisor said there was nothing he could do. The social worker inside remained silent, unsure how to speak. Even the police officers and Civil Aid Service members who came out were silent. Because no one could bring themselves to tell him to leave the house he had lived in for so long. Finally, a few minutes later... I saw his son come out looking very dejected. We carried the last four large bags back down. In the end, there were 11 large bags in total.

While the other guy and I were carrying things up and down the stairs, I didn't understand why he was so insistent on carrying even clothes that were beyond saving. Carrying a heavy bag up and down so many stairs and up and down several flights of stairs was really difficult. We went up and down 80 floors, which was quite a lot. If we were only carrying the most important items, maybe two flights of stairs would have been enough.

When everyone and everything was down at the basement storage area, another guy, who had only taken half a day off, had to leave to go back to work. I continued to help until the very end. Because of the 11 large bags, it was really difficult for the two of them to handle. My former boss started arguing with his son about what to do with the 11 large bags. My former boss thought we should temporarily store the lost items at Licang and then take them back to our temporary residence in batches to deal with them. But her son insisted that everything should be taken back to our temporary residence for easier handling. Neither of them wanted to compromise. So, I had to say a few words to my former boss: "If your son is unhappy, the mess you have to deal with won't just be about the items; consider making concessions." My boss has known me for many years. He was willing to listen to me calmly. The bigger picture is important. Don't let small things worsen your son's unhappiness. Don't escalate the conflict in our relationship. Because her son's emotions in this matter haven't fully subsided yet. A social worker jokingly told me, "Luckily, I was here today." It wasn't that I didn't know how to end things...

Finally, I called the van driver and three people to carry 11 large bags of belongings back to our temporary accommodation. We changed clothes, washed our hands, and went out for afternoon tea, officially ending the day...

Later, I watched some interviews with other people. I saw them crying throughout the interviews. They said that even if the house burned down completely, they still wanted to go back and see it one last time... they wanted to go back and say goodbye. I suddenly understood something... Many things don't need why... Many things don't need answers... We just need to do our best to do what we can still do...

During afternoon tea... my former boss said he knew there were some things he shouldn't have said... but as my good friend, he wanted to say a few words to me, even if it was offensive... He said if one day Songsong's health truly deteriorates to the point where all that's left is pain and no quality of life (Songsong is currently in the terminal stage of liver cancer), then if you love him, you should be brave enough to let go at the appropriate time. I couldn't utter a sound. Because I had to forcefully hold back the tears in my eyes. My former boss immediately stopped talking. Because he knew that if he continued, I wouldn't be able to hold back my tears.

When I sometimes feel that others should let go of certain obsessions, don't I also have many of my own obsessions? Without empathy, without firsthand experience, many things are simply impossible to feel and understand.

#I hope the world and I can have more empathy and less judgment 🌅

#As people get older, they don't ask as many questions as before 🌅