As I was browsing VJC's Cosiety, the latest post entitled 'I Hate You' caught my attention.
So I read it, but as I did, my heart grew heavier. It's just unbelievable. You can find out more explicitly here, but be prepared to feel very disturbed by what you're about to read.
p.s. this reminded me of a very fundamental quote: "Do unto others, what you want others to do unto you." I actually have something to blog about regarding this quote, but I'll save it for the next post.
During our anti-crime rounds last Saturday at the Esplanade, most of what I saw only made me feel disgusted and sorry. Teenagers roaming the Esplanade Promenade, most of which were malay youths, drinking and smoking while their handphones played music so loud that one could probably hear it from the Merlion.
Whenever the division officers checked and screened those delinquents, our guys would have to be on our toes in case of any of them attempts to make any rash decision that compromises the purpose of police presence. In simpler words, we had to be vigilant in spotting the unusual.
Well, young and mischievious as most of my squadmates are, their 'utmost vigilance' was channelled to the wrong object. They probably spend more time gawking at scantily dressed girls outside clubs during our patrolling duties, than observing potential trouble. I do not deny making a few glances at them, but my priority has always been to be alert for any contingencies. And being someone most senior in terms of rank in the squad, I sometimes quietly hope that my actions would influence them to do likewise somehow.
As we were finishing off our half-hour patrol at the Esplanade, I happened to notice a little girl about the age of 9 or 10 sitting on the inside edge of the promenade, somewhere near the underground walkway beneath the bridge. On closer look, she was cradling on her lap whom I presumed to be her baby brother. Something prompted me that this was something unnatural. A young girl out on her own with her baby brother at 1 plus in the morning, sitting by the waters certainly triggered some impulse in me to do something.
When I informed my OC about this, his worried reaction was kind of a justification of my suspicion. While I was concerned about the safety of the little girl and her brother, my OC was more worried about them being a case of missing children. Anyhow, we approached the little girl before my OC asked in Chinese in the gentlest tone I've ever heard, 'hello, xiao meimei, may I know what are you doing here so late?' Her facial expression leaked 2 possibilities - that she did not understood at all what my OC said or that she was deaf. It was a good few seconds before she replied, pointing to the man at the ice-cream cart a distance away, 'my dad's over there.' That response from her shrugged off the first possibility but not quite the second one.
Finally, we got the clear picture of the situation. She was babysitting her brother while her father continued with his ice-cream business for as long as he could, so that he could earn more money. Only a few words were exchanged between my OC and her, but there's something about this that touched me. I couldn't exactly describe what touched me - filial piety, love, patience, innocence or even the simplicity of her words - but it could be a combination of all.
I appreciated this consolation of some positivity and warmth I witnessed as we were rounding off our time at the Esplanade, amidst the rather upsetting sight of teenagers wasting their time away along the waters. Something else that disappointed me was that my squadmates, most of whom were walking ahead of me, failed to notice the strangeness in the fact that a little girl was all alone by herself and her baby brother along the edge. I just honestly feel that they're not at all serious when they should be. And we've gotten ourselves many unnecessary lectures from others because of that. It's time to wake up, guys!
*to hang out/to chill out.
It's a new Malay word I recently learned from Salman, when he asked me, "eh zeya, tmr wanna lepak not?"
I've heard it a few times before but didn't exactly understood its meaning. Actually, it's the same for many malay words, which I often hear my squadmates speak, but don't really know what they mean. All I could was to infer its meaning from the context and the tone in which it's spoken.
Well, it might sound funny, but I find this word 'lepak' super cool. hahahah.
So, anyone wanna lepak with me? haha.
It's really amazing how God created children with pure and distilled minds.
My niece came over to my house today. Actually her whole family did, except for the father. She is a mere 9 year old child who has impressively shown good maturity of thought through her simple words and actions. Perhaps, this is attributed to the fact that she hasn't seen much of this complex world. That isn't a bad thing, in my opinion, because that's when whatever she says and whatever she does accurately define her real personality and character. That's why I believe that kids like her never tell lies.
After I came home from going out in the afternoon, she asked me if I could bring her to the market nearby so that she can see what she can get for her daddy for Father's Day with the $12.70 that she had saved up recently. I knew it will disappoint her to reject her because I was feeling really exhausted; but at the same time, I knew it would pain me even more to deny her this concession to let her fulfill a duty as a daughter, at a tender age of nine.
Honestly, I could not even bear to turn down her request, because her pure intentions really touched me. So I agreed. And while we were shopping for things, she kept saying things like 'mm daddy got three of this already, so this one don't want' or 'daddy only likes blue or black colour'. She actually loves her father so much that she knows him probably even more than anyone else. She eventually bought a notebook which costs $2.70, and a plain white tee-shirt which costs $3.90.
Her pure words and actions are, in my perspective, atypical of the situation in our society today, where majority of young children at her age will persistently urge their parents to buy things for them that they hardly need. Well, I must confess I had been guilty of that, but my parents were firm in making sure they don't give in to me all the time. That, I must say, have instilled a certain degree of discipline in me, and a sense of maturity in differentiating between needs and wants.
So thank you, Farzanah, for showing me another form of unconditional love.
Here's to you - I applaud you! =)
When I dropped by my friend's booth at the lime flea market last Saturday (Yes chienwei, I'm helping you to promote your 'Boutons' haha), I had initially intended to get something simple for a friend's birthday. Her booth sells basically simple accessories, which are almost entirely meant for the female community.
I could not make up my mind to even buy something for that friend of mine. Just as I was browsing the accessories elegantly displayed on the table, something else caught my eye. There were these two bracelets which I found appealing, bearing the word 'Sister' in cursive, on what seemed like a heart-shaped pendant, lined by colourful beads. Of course, I was thinking of buying them both for my sisters.
But then, something inside me compelled me to think - what for?
So I left the place without investing in anything. On my way back home, I could not stop thinking about the two bracelets and how they appealed to me. At the same time, I could not stop pondering about what reasons should I give them for.
Just then, something hits me in my narrow mind. Why does there have to be an occasion for me to give a little something to my sisters? There have been times when they bought my favourite food dapao-ed for me. There have been times when they graciously blessed me with things which I'm very delighted over. Why then, should there be a reason for me this time, if there hadn't apparently been any for them? If there should be a reason, it has to be this unconditional, somewhat unspoken love we share as siblings.
And it really brings happiness to my soul seeing their genuine smiles over the beautiful bracelets that I got for each of them. I guess I finally understood the meaning of unconditional love.
