Mrs Dorcas Lee's son, whom the papers named as "Z", killed a woman in 2001, and he was only 14 then.
The victim was Annie Leong and the case captured the imagination of the nation.
The court records showed that Z was manipulated and instigated by Annie's estranged husband, Anthony Ler.
Ler even went to the extent of threatening to hurt Z's family if he did not do his bidding.
Ler's masterminded the murder so that he could retain the HDB flat and have custody of his daughter, who was only 4 then.
Convicted of murder, Ler was hanged in 2002.
Z has been paying the price for what he had done ever since and is currently being detained at The President's Pleasure ("TPP"). He should be in his early thirties today.
Lesson? One. It is about the bond between Z and his mother. It is a story that has to be told (thanks to journalists KC Vijayan and Tan Shu Yan).
His mother never gave up on her son.
When she first heard of the news, Mrs Lee (who has two other children) recalled: "I was stunned and shocked then. I lost my voice. He had caused the death and I was going to lose him."
She said the killing was committed a day after Mother's day. "Celebrating that day is not for me any more. Every Mother's day I feel terrible," she said.
What shocked Mrs Lee was that her son was a gentle and kind person. She said that "he brought back a cat which followed him to the house, brought back a sick bird to nurse till well and then released it. When his hamster died, he cried a few days."
Mrs Lee recalled that even in prison, Z never forgotten his friends' birthdays. Without fail, he would ask her to buy birthday cards and send them to his friends on his behalf.
What touched Mrs Lee deeply was this incident as recounted by her:-
"One time I was surprised when someone suddenly knocked on my flat door with a birthday cake. It was for me and he had somehow arranged with an ex-inmate to come to my house and present it to me."
But Z did not give up on her and life either. For the past 16 years, Mrs Lee has been encouraging him, urging him to strive for the best.
It reports that "he topped his O-level class in the prison school and went to enrol for a degree course through self-study, seeking to major in English and Business Studies."
During this period, Mrs Lee had to "travel back and forth from prison to the university campus office to get his assignments and exams graded, returning with more materials."
All this time, Mrs Lee has been supporting Z, believing in him, and always assuring him that she is proud of what he has achieved behind bars.
She said her faith has kept her going and is hoping for a Presidential pardon, which her (pro bono) lawyer, Peter Ong, had submitted to the President.
The petition is still pending.
One of Z's inmate, Allan Ong, who received the pardon (for gang-related killing) and was released in 2012, told Z this:-
"(He) understands the feeling, sometimes waking up suddenly in the middle of sleep, wondering how long before going out. There is nothing to look forward to."
Allan himself had studied two-year specialist diploma course in precision engineering after he came out.
He said: "Now I am married and have a stable job to support my family. I got the keys to my Build-to-Order flat in 2016 and attend regular worship at the New Creation Church. I deeply appreciate the chance given by then President Tony Tan and cherish the opportunity to start life afresh."
About Z, Allan said: "He is always trying his best to be the best, to show others he has changed. He is very hopeful that miracles will happen."
The above story literally writes itself. And in my book, miracles come in many disguised ways that I have at times taken them for granted.
Life's miracles is in the simplest things, or acts.
While most are looking for that big break, that grand reception, or that financial windfall, in a life that is brief, the miracle I learn from Z, his mother, my friend Peter Ong, and Allan is in a contrite heart, an undying love, a generous spirit and a trusted friendship.
You don't need much to embrace life and the miracles that it offers to you when you are walking through the valley of your own trials.
While I can never imagine the torment and pain that Z and his mother have to go through, that is, the freedom denied, the sleepless nights and the fear and uncertainty, I can nevertheless be deeply inspired by their love for each other, their fight to stay strong for each other, and their ceaseless cherishing of every little opportunity they have to move forward together.
I always believe that miracles are transforming, and they transform you from deep within. Anything that doesn't is not a miracle, it is life's misfortune.
Here's what I mean.
If you should come to certain material wealth but along the way, you lose your integrity, your loved ones, that's a misfortune. If you should come to certain fame, but in the process ends up compromising your virtues, that's a misfortune.
And if you should gain titles, knowledge and accolades, but you achieve them through means that erode your character, through dishonesty, that's a misfortune.
But a miracle is different for it makes the enduring difference. It doesn't depend on circumstances, it is about inward transformation.
You progress with miracles, but you regress with misfortune. And you grow as you take nothing for granted but you come to ruin when you take everything for granted.
So, I am better off by the story of Z and his mother, and the many people who have made a difference in their lives.
Like Z (and his mother), I am looking forward to a miracle in his life, a miracle of a future of hope, transformation, and most importantly, overcoming love.
For the greatest story ever told is often not about who made it to the Forbes's list or Hollywood Walk of Fame, or who walked down the coveted red carpet, but it is about a life transformed, and how he or she has transformed others.
That is what makes the natural supernatural for me. Cheerz.
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