the unwanted

Manifestation

        Smoke from the burnt, dried and
smelly tobacco filled the air inside the
small wooden hut, near the sea shore, of the village of kuala muda. The sound of (rokok daun) being pulled and torn can be heard echoing inside the rusted and most probably 1970’s old hut. The cold and soothing air from the northern sea hugged the skin of Farhan, a 14 years old malay boy who’s been following his father to fish for almost 2 years now. Frogs croaking in the distance can be the sign of the up coming rain fall or worse, a storm. That will certainly alter the mood of Pak Hamid who can be seen standing outside the hut porch, chain smoking and looking straight at sea like he was waiting for the long awaited ship to come save him and bring him far from the godforsaken fishing village.

        The first lightning and thunder rumbles through the skies, sinking pak hamid into a slumber. His tanned face almost dark brown, covers his age quite well. He was in his 50’s. 55 to be precise but he never looked a day older than when he was 40. he claimed it was the diet of mostly veggies and fish that has been keeping his youth in check. Farhan, the young boy who is the only child of pak hamid finds that lightning and thunder frighten him more than the ghost stories his friends has been telling during the ‘quran reciting class he often go whenever he doesnt go fishing with his father.

       For all he knows, he was always afraid of the sea, the vast open water, the feeling of swimming in the sea not knowing whats beneath his feet when he swims, the sound of the (ombak) hitting the shore doesnt sooth him like most people feel and the sight of the horizon seems to bother him in a very strange way. He was never a typical malay boy. He never get along with all those kampung boys. they play gasing everyday, swim in the nearby shallow rivers, shooting birds with slingshots, throwing pebbles at the girls bathing in the river, stealing chicken eggs from the old lady living near the edge of the village and catching catfish in the paddy field.

        He was never a friendly boy. Never a good young lad who can make friends whenever he wants with just a simple “kau nama apa?” which translate to “what is your name?” like most boys of his age do when they want to greet a new friend. He was an introvert. The best piece of example of an introvert he is. He speaks whenever he was forced, answers whenever he was asked sometimes with just a simple “hhmm” or “baik” which translate to “okay”.

Those gossiping aunties and coffee shop chatters seems to find him very odd. They gossip about how he became a loner after his mother passed when he was 6 years old. They said that pak hamid is the one to blame for the boys’ silent act.