A story of Eve and the old woman

Eve

Eve arrives at the village sweating all over, dropped her bagpack to the ground and look at the time.

"Thank God it's only 3 o'clock", she thought. She needs to do what her heart tells her.

"I need to find a place to stay, this is hard but this is what i want to do, this is what i'm here for", she thought again, this time with higher spirit. She recognized this spirit, it's the same spirit she had when she was sitting in front of her boss and told him she is resigning on a 24 hours notice.

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The old woman

"Oh..i'm staying at home today Emma, so many chores to do around here, the dishes, the sweeping, I have delayed cleaning the kitchen for more than a month now", said the old woman, clutching her hands together, she has a heavy heart saying no to invitations, in fact she is not used to saying no.

"Oh..i thought you never miss doing your chores?", said Emma, her hands on her forehead, covering her eyes from the sunrays.

"I didn't sleep well last night, usually i've finished all the housework by 10 o'clock but today i..ehmm..overslept", said the old woman, somewhat appeared like she is lying.

They waved each other goodbye as Emma started to walk away. In her mind, she could not wait to hear Mrs. William's story. Or gossip.

She didn't exactly lie to Emma, she didn't sleep well because she had the strangest dream.

In her dream, there were three men chasing her in the jungle, the men were wearing their traditional garments, she didn't recognized the tribal group but she knows they were going to kill her if she is caught. She was running but her feet could not bear her much speed. While running, she turned her head to see the men, they were closer to her now.

Then without warning she was already standing on a bridge, she dived into a sea and swam to the middle of the sea where the depth is greater. She was in much fear, afraid of the creatures under the sea, afraid of something might pull her legs and she will be underwater for a long time and eventually die.

That did not happen instead she saw herself standing in front of thousands of people, she was giving a speech and she had finished, everyone applaused, amazed by her speech and the spirit behind the speech. She was the woman in her dream, only at that time, she was much younger.

Before the dream ended, she was told by a voice to wait.

She remembers the voice, for no apparent reason, somehow she feels the voice is telling her to wait at home today. She is not certain, but the old woman believes in the mysteries of the heart. Furthermore, she is tired from last night's 'adventure'.

This is the part where she didn't tell Emma. For her, Emma, Doris, Mrs. William and Jim's wife do not have to know about this thing because they do not understand about the mysteries of the heart.

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The meeting

The old woman is busy sweeping the leaves in her backyard, thanks to the three mango trees she grows. She has the mango trees for the last 8 years. She makes the best mango pie in the village. During the fruit festival down town, she sells many different sizes of mango pie. Almost all people in the village especially the twins Johnny and Freddy, love the pie so much. Each can never finish even one slice but they still want more. "Enthusiasm of children", she thought.

"Hello, hi there, good evening maam", said Eve. The old woman is startled to see the girl.

"Good evening, where do you come from?", asked the old woman. Surprised by the sudden greet.

"Oh, i'm from Asia, Borneo, have you heard of Borneo?", said Eve. She's praying hard in her heart that she would not be rejected at the first trial to find a place to stay.

"And you're here for?", the old woman asked. She didn't mean to sound rude, just curious.

"I was at your front yard, I saw you here, i called you but you didn't hear me, so i decided to greet you here at your back yard. I didn't mean to be rude and intrude your compound. My name is Eve, i'm from Malaysia. I'm on a long holiday trip. I like adventure and on this trip, I'd like to do things out of the ordinary. Like for example instead of staying in a hotel or a motel or in a guesthouse, I'd like to stay in a local's house. Why? Because i would really like to know the culture and the people", explained Eve. She had rehearsed that in her mind many times before.

"Oh", the old woman is still digesting the long explanation.

"Are you alone or are there more people with you?", she asked.

"I'm alone, this is my solo trip", said Eve. She is filled with hope.

"So, you want to stay in my house?", asked the old woman.

"Yes, if that is okay with you and your family", said Eve, asking for permission.

The old woman thought, "she looks like an honest girl, but looks can deceive".

"I know this sounds strange. It's entirely up to you, I won't force you to accept me in your house. If you need more time to think about this and discuss with your family, I can wait here", said Eve and looked at her watch, it's 5.30 in the evening and prays hard in her heart.

Like wind rush from nowehre, like lightning struck the earth in high speed, like love at first sight, the old woman's heart is captured when she heard the word 'wait'. She remembers the voice in her dream.

"Could this be related?", she thought, hoping for an answer, she is curious.

"It is almost night time, if not here, this girl will still go door to door and ask the same question, is she doesn't find any house that will accept her, then she would end up at Natty's Inn. Then it would defeat the whole purpose of her adventurous trip", thought the old woman.

What she's really doing is putting reasoning to her intuition. As if the heart is not trustworthy that the logical mind has to support it.

"Come on in, i'll prepare dinner", said the old woman.

First Love

Love is mighty
it knows each kind of persona
it knows how persona envy her all the time
but in silence adores her for her mightiness
Love is also an ancient weapon
Love has seen many revelations throughout the ages
Love is wise enough to be a judge
Love first exists before everything else

If that is love, then all other things are from her
it is through her that everything else exist
it is in her that everything else grow
but there is also pain, there is weary, there is frustration
all are like ally to her
a heart where love is born could not bear it sometimes
but a heart has to experience it all
in order to know their difference

A heart full of love said to another heart full of love
"no matter how painful your action towards me sometimes, you are always forgiven"
"i am not afraid of pain, because i know love is a weapon and mightier it is than pain"
"you should not too because we come from the same First Love"
"The First Love that exists before everything else"

Ironic

(www.photopumpkin.com)

Our action towards others has its consequence to us

Road Less Traveled

The Adventure Trail
"there is where i want to be"

History and Herstory: World War II

Had a very interesting chat over dinner with mum n dad tonite. On World War II: The locals experiences with the Japanese armies. Before that, my bro Jerry brought up the topic over afternoon coffee and he said our grandma helped a chinese man from being behead by the Japanese armies. That really caught my attention, deeply. I have a very strong bond with my grandma, although I was not entirely nice to her all the time. And so I can’t wait to ask my parents about what they might heard from their parents about WWII. Both of them were born post-war.

Mum: Raised in Kg. Tamalang Silou, Inanam. Mau naik bukit lg baru smpi rumah. Has 6 siblings, all but one still live until today. Semua perempuan kecuali satu abang.

Mum’s story No.1

There were 2 chinese guys, Saito and Sianung, operating their own sundry shop in Inanam town. Japanese hated the Chinese so much, when they see chinese they will behead them. Saito & Sianung were spotted by the Jap armies, they then ran to the hill, terjumpa my grandparents’ house. Grandma then hid the 2 guys inside the hole they dug in case of emergency, covered the hole with leaves and branches.

Japan armies tidak selalu kacau locals, they were only after the Chinese. The armies were determined to find Saito & Sianung, arrived at my grandparents’, asked them questions, asked for food and water. When they cannot sense anything wrong there, they moved on further. Saito & Sianung stayed in my grandparents’ farm quite a long time. I don’t know how long exactly. So those 2 guys are safe.

After Japanese lost to American, everything went quiet, calm and people started going out to the town. Habis barang2 di kedai kena kasi jadi source of food and others for the Japs. So semua habis jadi tin kosong. Saito and Sianung started their new shops and each raised a family. Saito and Sianung kedai runcit masih lagi ada di Pekan Inanam now in front of the Shell station. I know Saito has a son and he’s a doctor now in Taman Fortuna, Dr. Tan Kok Sui. Oya, after the war, saito and sianung sell groceries to my grandparents at a lot cheaper price, bleh masuk buku 555 lagi hehe. And that went down to my mum and her siblings, sampai turn kami , teda sudah sbb nda tau sejarah kan. But the shops are still in Inanam until now.


Mum’s story No.2

One day, the Japanese hold a free movie for all in Inanam town. They call upon all people, and all people who were interested and could reach town, went that evening including my mum’s brother, he was still in primary school at that time. Bah teda TV kan di rumah sendiri dulu, jadi ramai la org datang di pekan ni mo tingu wayang. Mum said ‘raaaaaaamai urang’..so I assume ramai smpi tidak bulih kira la tu.

What these innocent people didn’t know was that the Japs plan to bomb them that night. But God knows and protects. Before the movie started and when the football field were filled with lots of people from the kampung, it was raining really heavy and wind blew heavily too. Mum remembers grandma said ‘it was an extraordinary rain and wind’ uinah cakap English ba ninik ku..hehe. So nothing could be done except to run home. And bukan dekat lagi rumah dorang ni, mo naik bukit lagi.

The next day, rumor went around these kampung people about Japanese plan to kill them. There was no 2nd call for free movie cause the Japanese knew that the kampung people know about their plan. Ada la tu spy dorang.

Mum’s story No.3

Lack of food, the Japanese killed a guy in his house. Cincang the guy to small pieces and asked the guy’s family to cook him and ate the meat. Many hungry Japanese pun makan. Hmmm…mum bilang ‘cannibal btul oh..’ Grandma only heard this story, I hope the person that told grandma was not exaggerating. Hmm did I hope right?

Mum’s story No.4

In 1945, after Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the Americans went berserk, Americans jetfighters roamed the air, not forgetting North Borneo air. At that time, the japs were on the verge of losing. In one particular site, a local was tie tightly (position like nailed to a cross) in between 2 trees. The jap was about to shoot him, as the army was about to do that, Americans released bombs to the ground. Again God knows and He protects. This is really a miracle when I hear it. When bombs dropped, and Americans fly low near the ground, ini lelaki yang kena ikat, telepas tali dia, ran away to save his life, didn’t care about anything but to save himself. Logically maybe the tali telepas caused by the big impact of the bomb. But miracally said, God’s timing is perfect. I think itu lelaki yg mungkin cerita this to my grandma. Oh and the japs shouted ‘americana, Americana!!’

Mum’s story No.5

A priest or maybe a doctor ran to a local house after being spotted out. He saw women cutting tapioca outside the house, begged the ladies to save her. The women hid him inside a hole and covered him with branches and leaves. And this was very near to where they were sitting. As usual, Japanese came and asked questions, walked around the house and finally went up the hill. Half way, they walked back down, maybe cos penat and tidak confident dapat cari. So the priest or doctor were saved.

Okay that's all from mum's power. Now dad's power lagi. Dad only have 1 story to share.

Dad: Lived in Kg. Montenor, Batu 60 Beaufort. Ni pun atas bukit juga, selalu sa blk kg dulu tp nda juga pandai slim haizz. Has 7 siblings, all but 1 lived until today. Semua lelaki kecuali satu kakak. Dad’s village is near the Padas river where now tourists go for water rafting.

Dad’s story

A Chinese kapitan from China arrived in North Borneo (now Sabah), lived in Beaufort. He was in the wanted list by the Japanese. He ran to NB to save himself, managed to build a business in Beaufort, owned huge lands, he was smart lah to keep it short. Japanese is determined to find him. The Japs arrived in Beaufort, maybe ada dorang punya spy la ni. The kapitan ran up the hill tejumpa my grandparents’ house and begged for help.

My grandpa owned a house where they put the paddy after harvesting. It was at the other side of the Padas river. When the Japs got to know this, they shot the paddy house with a machine gun. Habis bah berterabur padi ingkung sa, anjing pun mati. But surprisingly the Japs didn’t go to my grandpa’s house and kill everyone. Either my dad missing the facts or it was again God’s miracle. Grandpa hid together with kapitan in the forest for a loooong time.

So after the war, kapitan had to go away (back home to China maybe) but he tidak sempat jumpa my grandpa. Rumor said he sent a message to my grandpa through his worker, a message together with huge lands that he developed called Saliwangan Estate. But the worker did not pass the message. I hope my dad didn’t missed facts or salah info.

Paulo escrevendo é assombroso

There is no other author that can capture my attention so much than Paulo Coelho. How i came to know Paulo? Well it goes like this. I was having a social drinking session with two of my close friends, Julia & Jang in Julia's home back in hmmm i think in 2007. As usual i rambled about life, philosophy, freedom, traveling the road less traveled etc etc. Then Julia said, "you should read Paulo's book, The Alchemist". I did and seriously it changed the way i see life, again, after Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Wanting more, along the way, i bought some books by Paulo and found his writing is so similarly amazing like The Alchemist. His writing is based on themes made of reality. Check out the themes of some of his books that i have.

Veronika decides to die: Redemption
By the river piedra i sat down and wept: Forgiveness
The fifth mountain: Faith
The valkyries: Hope
Like the flowing river: The meaning to be truly alive
The witch of portobello: Can we dare to be true to ourselves?
Brida: Quest of knowledge
The pilgrimage: Humility
Warrior of the light: Courage
The devil and Ms. Prym: Temptation
Eleven minutes: Love

I don't have The Alchemist since i only borrowed it from Julia and it is about Wisdom. I'm still searching for other Paulo's books. Can't find it anywhere in KK, it's always the same books and sold out pretty quickly. Maybe in KL or outside of Malaysia i can find the rest. It is in my bucket list to read all Paulo's books. Hah! yes i will because dele escrevendo é assombroso...

A monster in her house

Never did Elizabeth know that the monster will take one horrible step further in jeopardizing her whole family. It was to ‘abduct’ her from her own house and sealed her existence for so many years. Allan Hall really captivates readers around the world with her book called Monster. A real life story of Josef Fritzl and his gruesome vision of so-called a perfect life. Hall captured all the details of the whole experience especially what happened in the ‘new home’ that Fritzl built and what happened inside Fritzl’s sick mind.

Josef Fritzl is married to Rosemarie Fritzl and has 7 children. One of them is Elizabeth who caught her father’s attention more than her other siblings. He was a control freak around the house especially to Rosemarie and Elizabeth. Being a good mother, a loyal wife and a person who doesn’t have anyone to count on to continue living except Fritzl, Rosemarie is very afraid of him, everyday.

Fritzl also has a high sexual desire and is very fond of his own daughter, Elizabeth. It’s sick! Elizabeth vowed to get out of the house when she is legally to do so i.e. only at the age of 18. Taadaa..today Elizabeth is 18 and she is going to do what she had planned for so long. But a dream crushed today when she is kidnapped by her own father and locked away in a ‘new home’ under their house for 24 long years. Now, instead of living her life the way she had planned, she is now living Fritzl’s life in the most shocking way.

It only took me 2 days to finish the book, if not because of the 8-5 work, I would have finished it in a day. Apa kan daya… After the book, I youtubed and googled about Rosemarie and Elizabeth and the other siblings but there are not much info about them on the net. I think it’s to give time to them to recover. Of course, since Elizabeth and her children fathered by Fritzl, are so under nourished, teeth and hair falling, light sensitive and what not.

If you’re into this kind of book, do grab Monster, it would be a great eye and mind opener.

Today i am thinking

I have given you the document

That’s what one of my colleagues told me when I asked for a piece of document. She even said that I asked from her many times already and many times also she’d given me. I don’t think I will be that ignorant if she had really given it to me before. I remember asking from her last month but that was a different document.

I guess ‘too many works on one’s plate’ can lead to confusion, stress, memory loss and a very pain in the butt attitude. There was one time i pointed out an error in her document and she said “that is only an error in the numbering, it doesn’t affect the amount of the budget”. No it doesn’t affect the overall amount but if the number is not right, we will not be getting the right allocation at the right time. Let me repeat that, NOT at the right time! Again, if one has too many on his/her plate, fixing a small mistake is not worth their time.. and THAT leads to bigger mistakes.

If one person ran away from you then that person has a problem, but if 10 persons is running away from you then you have a problem. In this case, I’m not the only one who thinks and feels she is a pain, so do my few other colleagues. I hope she will realized that soon cos I think people has been compromising with her all the time. Too long will lead to loneliness…I hope not!

Today i am thinking