Have you ever experienced this? One late afternoon, while you are busy in your kitchen, a golden-orange light shines into your house and casts a warm glow on the walls, fittings and furniture. You are tempted to put aside your chores and step outside the house to take a look. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the sky horizon beyond your back fence. The twilight sun has painted the clouds salmon-red against a darkening canvas. The sight is beholding and you feel that time has stand still, at least for now.
My most memorable sunset occurred on 19 January 1998. On that day, a public mass memorial service was held by the Singapore government in memory of the 104 victims who had perished in the SilkAir (a Singapore Airline’s subsidiary) MI 185 plane crash in Palembang, Indonesia on 19 December 1997. The service was telecasted live on TV and the ceremony was conducted by the chiefs of the nine major religions in Singapore. After the service had ended, I noticed from my windows that the whole sky had turned gold (not red), as though the gateway to heaven had opened. I was spellbound by the phenomenon, which took place around 5 pm (not when the sunset was supposed to take place), there was no prior rain or pollution and was unusual in Singapore. I have only seen such a sunset once and not again. Perhaps, the heaven had answered.
PS. I searched on the internet for a photo of the Singapore sunset on 19/01/98 but could not find any.
