A Quiet Celebration

It has been a quiet celebration this year. With the ushering of the new lunar year, the year of the ox, I thought I’d hear the cracking sounds from the burning of the firecrackers by the neighbours’ children. But somehow, there is none. Mr L*m, my front neighbour has been home through out the entire celebration. If in the past years, his house was closed during the holidays, this year, he opted to stay put. When asked by Bibik if he was going anywhere, he said, “Tak da mana mau pigi lorr, duduk di rumah saja.”

Same goes with Uncle Ch*rl*s my back neighbour. They too have not gone out of town, unlike the previous years. Funny, I thought to myself, as they would normally be away on the first day. Well, that was in the past, guess the arrangements have changed and perhaps now, they no longer need to travel far to visit their families.

Mr L*m and Uncle Ch*rl*s are the two Chinese families in my housing area, an area where it’s predominantly populated by Malays. There used to be an Indian family right opposite my house, but they have moved many years ago. I guess being the minority group is not easy, but being the friendly and good natured lot that they are, I see them blending in pretty well with the rest of us. As I leave for work, I always “bump” into Mr L*m when he performs the morning prayers. Always smiling he would tegur me and say, “Pigi kerja ka?” I’d say yes and wave him good bye.

On the contrary, I seldom meet Uncle Ch*rl*s. He fenced his house area with a high wall some years back, hence blocking the view of his house. When we asked why he erected the wall, he said that he segan to us, who’d have the excellent view of his back yard which at times was messy. The feeling was mutual as our backyards were not tip top either. But I am always able to have a good glimpse of his house. All I need to do is just go to Farah’s room, and I could see everything, even his fish pond. Bibik has a contrasting story to tell, of course. She said that Uncle Ch*rl*s’ “aunty” is very garang and they always have violent exchange of words. For whatever his reasons are, the wall has served its purpose and not a decibel of sound is now heard from his home.

However just a few days before new year, Uncle Ch*rl*s gave Bibik some ikan keli. He said it was from his pond. Bibik made ikan keli goreng cili padi that day and the kelis were yummylicious!! Ada budi ada balas kan, so yesterday a pot of briyani was sent over to Uncle Ch*rl*s at lunch time. Bibik said he was so happy hingga tak terkata!!

The year of the Ox has just rolled in. Much has been said about this animal, the ox (incidently ABE was born in the ox year!! I really gotta go check what is said about these "ox people"). My hopes in the Ox year?? Of course, for all good things and prosperity to come our way, and may we be strong willed and determined to face all the on coming challenges. I also wish for good health and success at fostering better and stronger relationships.