December is a wet season on the east coast of Malaya. Although it always rains I still love this time of the year. It the time of the year when the weather is cold and we get to wear the sweater. A rather rare scene in a tropical country where the weather is always hot and humid. A bachelor I live at the government quarter near the Kuantan river and work a short distance away at the government office, a huge wooden complex at Jalan Gambut. During this Monsoon period which stretch till the end of January I would carry an umbrella and a raincoat to work. Today in the evening I walk along the road towards the Metropol cinema to go and watch a movie. I am alone. For this period of the month the weather in the evening was considered as good, only a slight drizzle. On the way I saw an old man pushing a bicycle instead of riding it. Perhaps he has a reason, anyway I just walk and looks at him, thinking he is probably a relative that I seldom see. He did not look at me and kept pushing the bicycle. Then to my surprise he mounted the bicycle and ride it as though nothing happened. Well that scene was deceiving indeed to me as I walk on toward the Cinema. It began to drizzle so I opened the umbrella and move on reaching the cinema in good time. I bought a ticket and went in to watch the movie. The year was the 1958 and I was 19 years old. A young man still wandering along in the world of adulthood. Then it rain, this time with storms and lightning, the Monsoon rain. The smell of freshness is in the air and I loved that smell.
Comments