Childhood reminiscences and the present

- by JYanne
Klang, Selangor

When I was at a very young age, I remember playing with the kid
next door named Ramlee, the girl from across the street - Tina
with her shy little brother, Jonah, who was always tagging along.
All of us lived in the same neighbourhood. All of the residents
knew each other and built trust as time passed.

We spent most of our mornings running around the playground

after we wolfed down our breakfast. Our mothers could not do
anything to have us sit down at the breakfast table and finish off
every morsel of what was on the plate without making a mess on
the table. My mother would nag as she cleaned off the biscuit
crumbs around the plate and sometimes, the floor.

By the time I finished my breakfast, Tina and Jonah would be at

my door and we would rush to Ramlee's house to wake him up.
He was pulled out of bed by us and then out of the house to the
playground before he could even finish off his breakfast. A lot of
people would pass by the playground on their way to work
because it was the only way out of the neighbourhood.
Neighbours would tell us to be careful playing and watch our
footsteps while running and we would stick our tongues out
before bidding them goodbye.

Before we knew it, afternoon came. Afternoons are the quietest

time of the neighbourhood, with most of the residents at work
and most of our brothers and sisters having school. Just as we
were about to doze off on the slide, Tina's mother would call us in
to her house for lunch. Mak Minah's cooking was the best back
then. We could even smell the aroma from across the street
sometimes. We would feel energised after licking the last drop of
gravy off the plate. After that, Tina, Ramlee and I would have to
watch the television show 'Tom and Jerry' for time to pass as we
waited for Jonah, who was eating like a hamster to finish nibbling
on his food.

In a blink of an eye, it was evening already. It was time for our

daddies to come back home from work. We would rush back
home to welcome our dads. Mother would have prepared dinner
so we would dine together with our own families. Night came the
fastest. I would kiss my parents good night before getting into
bed and hoping to dream of Santa Claus.

As we grew up, many neighbours had moved out to a much

busier city. I would never understand why all of them looked
forward to living in some places full of hustle and bustle. Tina's
family moved before we were even in elementary school. People
we were once familiar with moved out and new neighbours
moved in. But every time I look out of my window, the new
family occupying Tina's house always have their door closed and
windows shut tight. The last time I saw them was when they
were moving in and declined our help.

Ramlee and I are still friends. We often talk about Tina,

wondering what kind of lifestyle she is having. We could imagine
her number of admirers as she must have grown up to be a
beautiful lady while Jonah, a shy young lad. We have been hoping
that Tina will one day show up and say she misses her childhood
here and that she still remembers us. We have been hoping that
the neighbours who are having their doors shut tight will one day
open up their hearts and invite us to their homes for dinner.

Our neighbourhood had changed a lot in the last decade. I

sincerely hope that one day, our warm smiles will improve the
relationships between us and the new neighbours. Perhaps
tomorrow will be the day that someone from the family living in
the house across the street returns our smiles with a shy 'hello'.