For some reason, a memory came across my mind and I feel like sharing it here. Its about my childhood..Some events I remember while some is told by my mom, for instance getting into countless of fits, got inflected with the Hand Foot Mouth Disease and finally falling into a collection of durians on the floor (if not mistaken pushed by my brother when we were young XD). While there is always the mystery to how did I learn my English?? As for the ones that I do remember, are that my whole palm got burnt by grabbing onto a red hot metal bar (maybe will share that story some other time) and the most memorable for me is to walk for approximately 8 hours from school back to my house in Brunei when I was around 6, as I clearly remember I was still in kindergarten then.
When I was that age, I was very small, skinny, relatively short although taller that most of my peers, why do I mention these, you'll see in a moment. The way I travel to school is by some sort of a 'school bus' which had been fetching me for quite some time already, but this does not have the classic black and yellow paint, just how a normal Toyota Unser would look like back in the days, it was called 'Kijang' back then. Due to my size, I was always placed in the small area, right behind the hand-brake, facing backward so at most I could see was some knees in front of me. I was always the last to come on-board, last to get home as well as my house was the nearest to school compared to the others on the same ride.
I was also in the morning session, so class ends around noon. It seemed like another fine day, I waited at the same spot I'd waited every single day and I do not remember being late as well. I place my back down but just seem to locate a fellow member of the same ride home. I waited a little while longer then decided to walk towards where the car is normally parked at (we were told to wait for the driver to come get us as we were still young then) but could not seem to find the car as well. I did not quite remember the part that followed but I think I went back to my waiting spot, waited for some time till I was literally the only one left. Out of the blues, I was on my way, to one of the most memorable walk of my life. **Looking back now, It would have been so much easier to go look for a teacher for help....but hey, I was 6 :p**
Remember I said my house was pretty near to school? Imagine this, make a right turn from the main entrance follow along the road and less than a 10 minutes drive and I'll be home but instead, I took a left turn. Why? Well, it is because that was how the driver went about dropping each and one of us every-single-day. **My mom asked me some years after the incident how did I manage to find my way home, I could not answer her until today** The way I walked, it's quite funny now but got to remind you that I was 6 then, was literally by-the-books if I may, just in this case, by-each-and-every-single-turn-stops-etc-made-by-the-driver-. If the driver ever made a U-turn somewhere, I would walk to the exact spot, make the U-turn and continue on. **No short cuts ya'll XDD**
That was roughly how I got started, I even saw some of the ones on the same car along the way in their homes and they saw me too, but it never crossed my mind to ask them for help :p. It was not until I made my way up a flyover, the first car that stopped for me happened then. I guess it quite a sight to see a kid, carrying a bag larger that himself walking on a flyover in the middle of the day. I remember it was a Malay couple, would like to believe they were married as they looked to be around their 30s. They pulled up in front of me, the lady opened the door, but instead of waiting for them, I walked towards the driver's side, walked passed the car then continued on, the car never stopped for a second time. I guess the advice to not speak to stranger was really stuck in my mind.
Obviously I carried on, I cannot remember all the details but just some moments left in my mind. It was somewhere about 3-ish maybe 4 some sort of a mid-point of the journey. Cars were just zooming past my right and none stopped for me since the first couple. I remember that I began to cry and was mumbling to myself that "I wanna go home" repeatedly. Was it fear, or fatigue or maybe it was something else completely, I would not know as I cannot remember how I felt at that that, just remembered I started crying then.
Maybe another hour passed, I reached the symbolic mosque in Brunei where the roof is made from gold which also means I was near to my home (the mosque area was at best 20 minutes away from the previous area that I mentioned given the speed that I walk now). It was during this time, a policeman, in a private car slowed down and just crawl right beside me. He was showing his badge and stuff from the driver seat and I paid no attention to him as well, partly because that I did not understand the Malay Language well, even until today. Things then got a bit hairy as he got out of his car and grab me by the arm and I did struggled but just could not do anything, and I never spoken a word to anybody.
Then out of nowhere, a Chinese man arrived along with his son from secondary school, I guess just finished the afternoon session so it should be around 6 or 7 then. I do not remember when or how the man appeared, but it seems as if he struck an agreement with the Malay policeman to just let me walk and they follow me along **Thinking back now, I sort of got some kind of an escort :D** The man's son was asking me on where is my house and all I did was point, not a word came out of my mouth.
Eventually, I made the final turn and began walking to my house, and just like in Hollywood XD, there was a light approaching me, I looked up and it turned out to be my dad. Even until this day, I still remember his reaction vividly. He jumped in his seat while jamming on his brakes. I do not remember what happened next, I cannot even remember how I got into my house! But, what was clear to me was the time in which I arrived at home, it was 9 p.m. Why of all things I remember was the time, its because "Popeye the Sailor Man" was showing at 8.30 p.m on Cartoon Network back then and I only managed to catch a glimpse of the ending. I also remember what I had for dinner, just some plain rice with soup. What happened after that, of the next day, I do not remember. Ever since that incident, my dad always fetches me home until I got a little older =).
After talking about it with my mom during my teenage years, I guess I am lucky just to be alive today as during that time in Brunei, there were many cases of missing child, mainly believed to be kidnapped or stuff like that. So yea, definitely counting my lucky stars. This is one memory that I would never forget, know after writing it down, I guess I never will forget it =).
