She had a dreamy look when she placed her order. Only a porridge, take-away please. Sure, I thought, anything at all…at your service m’dear. In reality, all I said was, “Okay.” She smiled and it drew my breath away. I turned around and shouted the order to the kitchen. She was tall and slender. Her face was a bit tanned, probably she had spent a weekend at the sea. Everything was beautiful, including the fact that she had a kid with her. The kid was small, I think about two years old and looked a lot like her. She carried the kid and put her on the counter. The kid played with the straw machine; trying to figure out how it worked. By the time I turned to face her again the kid was already holding a straw in her hand. My dream girl looked at me, still dreamy, absentmindedly handing me the money. The note fell on the counter and she looked down while apologizing. I tried to catch her eyes when I handed her the change. Her dark eyes met mine and she smiled a thank you. Just about ten minutes of meeting and I was already inventing a drama about her. She was an interesting piece.
She never really came here often. I mean, I notice her because of her looks which are a bit different from the usual looks you have in this country. She looked a bit like a Bollywood actress, honestly no joke. Before the meeting I just mentioned, I noticed her when she came with a friend. At that time, she did not bring the kid. Her friend was making a fuss with my colleague; about some mistake with the drinks they ordered. She just covered her mouth to suppress her laughter. I thought that was kind of cute, plus the fact that she was wearing a gray shirt with black stripes over a long straight skirt. Such nice taste in dressing. I just looked at her and when she looked at me, there was a faint hint of recognition, but it was just a flicker. Nothing more. Still, she had my attention nonetheless. I remember that she had a very nice time with her friends. There was a group of girls sitting beside her staring at her as well, she noticed but she just ignored them. I think that was because her style and looks…sigh.
I am a nobody, I really am. I have nothing to be ashamed of by admitting to that fact. But although I admit I have nothing to lose, I still work hard for my future. I plan to get the hell out of this fast food business where I am a cashier and build a promising future. Slowly, after going through a lot of hells, I am now painfully crawling my way up the stairs of hope. How does it feel, you might ask? Let me tell you this, try taking a jump from the first storey and get up again. You will find that you will not be able to walk properly for about two weeks or so. After you can walk again, take a jump again; this time from the second storey. Welcome to my life. Okay, enough about these stuff. Lets talk about something more meaningful. Let me think of something.
Remember I told you I made up a drama about her? Well, this is how it goes. I have always thought of her as someone who went through something very ugly in her life. Maybe she is a single mother, dumped by her so-called-husband after she delivered her baby. I am guessing she is about twenty something. Or, maybe, her husband died in a car accident. Either way, she lost her husband. That kid is hers; how can it not be? That kid was a photocopy of her. The same eyes, same skin and the closeness of them is not something you can witness everyday. Whatever it is, her friends always support her because she has some problems with her family. Also, her family lives in another state; I am betting Penang…where else could she get the Bollywood look? Now, she is working hard to live with her kid. Maybe, she is dating some guy from work…some lucky guy. When she feels to tired to cook, or she is just not in the mood, or to cheer her up, she brings her kid to McDonald’s and buy a large French fries or a bowl of chicken porridge, take-away please. Okay. What do you think? Nice, huh? For all the ‘maybe’s up there, one thing is for sure; I will never get to know the truth. I rest my case.
When I saw her there, I thought I was dreaming. Damn, I thought, this is really some coincidence. She was sitting at the area in front of the bookshop at KL Sentral. I stopped dead and just stared at her. She was reading a magazine, obviously waiting for someone. She sat with her right leg on top of her left and wearing a red blouse with a pair of black trousers. I contemplated whether to disturb her concentration or not. I decided to take this chance; lets face it, how can I be sure I will see her sometime else? I took a deep breath and managed to move my stoned legs toward her. Slowly, I build a conversation in my mind.
I sat beside her and she shifted a bit. A good sign, I mean, she noticed me. Here goes nothing. I cleared my throat but she did not look up to me. I bit my lips and started a conversation with her.
“Waiting for someone, huh?”
Silence on her side. She continued reading.
“You know, I believe we met before.”
She glanced at me, boring, and let out a sigh.
“You came with a little girl and ordered a bowl of chicken porridge the last time we met.”
She furrowed her heavy eyebrows and finally looked up at me. She laughed.
“Maybe you don’t know me…”
“Haha…cashier at McD, right?” She smiled a very cute smiled and lifted her eyebrows with her index finger pointing at me.
“Yeah…” I could feel that I was blushing. My face was burning and my throat felt tight.
“So, what are you doing here?”
“Well…nothing, really. Just looking around then I noticed you. Where is your kid?”
Then she laughed, without any warning, she just laughed out loud. Honestly, she laughed like she was not going to stop, as if she had not laughed for years. After about two minutes or so that lasted a lifetime, she wiped her eyes and looked at me with a playful smile. “My kid?” she chuckled. That was when I knew my mistake. God, now that I saw her smile and laugh, I knew I was dead wrong about the kid and my whole drama. This girl…she was barely twenty; for all I knew now.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. She waved my apology away. “Common mistake,” she explained. “That was my little sister you saw with me, I take her around when my mother is busy. I always get those, you know, stares from people. They think I am some young mother…when the fact is I am eighteen and just spending some great time with my little sister,” she laughed at that thought. “I could barely handle that kid,” she continued. I laughed with her and we smiled at each other. Life felt easy then, all my answers were there and she made me feel light. I felt like flying right then.
Slowly, we made our lives stories that we shared with each other as we sat together on that bench. As we talked, everything around us never stopped moving. Trains, people and busses just moved. Our conversations never really mattered to them. To us, time made a meaningful stop at that moment. We halted it so we may not lose too much of it as we made each other understand how we made our way through this sea of fate.
In the end, her friends cancelled their meeting and she told me about all the times she was kept waiting by her friends just to be disappointed. She sighed heavily and smiled. “But today is not that bad. Thanks to you,” she got up to go. I stood and offered to accompany her back home. She agreed. I paid the tickets, of course, being the gentleman that I am. Inside the train, we sat side by side with her silence surrounding me like a warm blanket on a cold winter night (actually, I never had any experience with winter, but according to her the cold is really a killer) I guess she was just tired and needed a rest. I did not complain, her silence is no stranger to me. Everything about her is familiar and beautiful. I wish we can stay like this forever.
Outside, the wind howled but the glass stopped it from reaching us. When I turned to her, she was sleeping. I rest my case with closing my own eyes and let the train rock me to her dreams.
She never really came here often. I mean, I notice her because of her looks which are a bit different from the usual looks you have in this country. She looked a bit like a Bollywood actress, honestly no joke. Before the meeting I just mentioned, I noticed her when she came with a friend. At that time, she did not bring the kid. Her friend was making a fuss with my colleague; about some mistake with the drinks they ordered. She just covered her mouth to suppress her laughter. I thought that was kind of cute, plus the fact that she was wearing a gray shirt with black stripes over a long straight skirt. Such nice taste in dressing. I just looked at her and when she looked at me, there was a faint hint of recognition, but it was just a flicker. Nothing more. Still, she had my attention nonetheless. I remember that she had a very nice time with her friends. There was a group of girls sitting beside her staring at her as well, she noticed but she just ignored them. I think that was because her style and looks…sigh.
I am a nobody, I really am. I have nothing to be ashamed of by admitting to that fact. But although I admit I have nothing to lose, I still work hard for my future. I plan to get the hell out of this fast food business where I am a cashier and build a promising future. Slowly, after going through a lot of hells, I am now painfully crawling my way up the stairs of hope. How does it feel, you might ask? Let me tell you this, try taking a jump from the first storey and get up again. You will find that you will not be able to walk properly for about two weeks or so. After you can walk again, take a jump again; this time from the second storey. Welcome to my life. Okay, enough about these stuff. Lets talk about something more meaningful. Let me think of something.
Remember I told you I made up a drama about her? Well, this is how it goes. I have always thought of her as someone who went through something very ugly in her life. Maybe she is a single mother, dumped by her so-called-husband after she delivered her baby. I am guessing she is about twenty something. Or, maybe, her husband died in a car accident. Either way, she lost her husband. That kid is hers; how can it not be? That kid was a photocopy of her. The same eyes, same skin and the closeness of them is not something you can witness everyday. Whatever it is, her friends always support her because she has some problems with her family. Also, her family lives in another state; I am betting Penang…where else could she get the Bollywood look? Now, she is working hard to live with her kid. Maybe, she is dating some guy from work…some lucky guy. When she feels to tired to cook, or she is just not in the mood, or to cheer her up, she brings her kid to McDonald’s and buy a large French fries or a bowl of chicken porridge, take-away please. Okay. What do you think? Nice, huh? For all the ‘maybe’s up there, one thing is for sure; I will never get to know the truth. I rest my case.
When I saw her there, I thought I was dreaming. Damn, I thought, this is really some coincidence. She was sitting at the area in front of the bookshop at KL Sentral. I stopped dead and just stared at her. She was reading a magazine, obviously waiting for someone. She sat with her right leg on top of her left and wearing a red blouse with a pair of black trousers. I contemplated whether to disturb her concentration or not. I decided to take this chance; lets face it, how can I be sure I will see her sometime else? I took a deep breath and managed to move my stoned legs toward her. Slowly, I build a conversation in my mind.
I sat beside her and she shifted a bit. A good sign, I mean, she noticed me. Here goes nothing. I cleared my throat but she did not look up to me. I bit my lips and started a conversation with her.
“Waiting for someone, huh?”
Silence on her side. She continued reading.
“You know, I believe we met before.”
She glanced at me, boring, and let out a sigh.
“You came with a little girl and ordered a bowl of chicken porridge the last time we met.”
She furrowed her heavy eyebrows and finally looked up at me. She laughed.
“Maybe you don’t know me…”
“Haha…cashier at McD, right?” She smiled a very cute smiled and lifted her eyebrows with her index finger pointing at me.
“Yeah…” I could feel that I was blushing. My face was burning and my throat felt tight.
“So, what are you doing here?”
“Well…nothing, really. Just looking around then I noticed you. Where is your kid?”
Then she laughed, without any warning, she just laughed out loud. Honestly, she laughed like she was not going to stop, as if she had not laughed for years. After about two minutes or so that lasted a lifetime, she wiped her eyes and looked at me with a playful smile. “My kid?” she chuckled. That was when I knew my mistake. God, now that I saw her smile and laugh, I knew I was dead wrong about the kid and my whole drama. This girl…she was barely twenty; for all I knew now.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. She waved my apology away. “Common mistake,” she explained. “That was my little sister you saw with me, I take her around when my mother is busy. I always get those, you know, stares from people. They think I am some young mother…when the fact is I am eighteen and just spending some great time with my little sister,” she laughed at that thought. “I could barely handle that kid,” she continued. I laughed with her and we smiled at each other. Life felt easy then, all my answers were there and she made me feel light. I felt like flying right then.
Slowly, we made our lives stories that we shared with each other as we sat together on that bench. As we talked, everything around us never stopped moving. Trains, people and busses just moved. Our conversations never really mattered to them. To us, time made a meaningful stop at that moment. We halted it so we may not lose too much of it as we made each other understand how we made our way through this sea of fate.
In the end, her friends cancelled their meeting and she told me about all the times she was kept waiting by her friends just to be disappointed. She sighed heavily and smiled. “But today is not that bad. Thanks to you,” she got up to go. I stood and offered to accompany her back home. She agreed. I paid the tickets, of course, being the gentleman that I am. Inside the train, we sat side by side with her silence surrounding me like a warm blanket on a cold winter night (actually, I never had any experience with winter, but according to her the cold is really a killer) I guess she was just tired and needed a rest. I did not complain, her silence is no stranger to me. Everything about her is familiar and beautiful. I wish we can stay like this forever.
Outside, the wind howled but the glass stopped it from reaching us. When I turned to her, she was sleeping. I rest my case with closing my own eyes and let the train rock me to her dreams.
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