I Got Up At 3AM

I Got Up At 3AM To

find mother sitting on the sofa. next to her was andika. they were happily chatting away. then i went into my room, and there on my bed was sister and ariel. they were laughing at me for something.

they complained they were hungry, so i brought them to my old chua chu kang secondary school to eat cik tijah’s nasi+mee ayam, a meal that i had everyday during recess for the four years of secondary school education.

then we walked back home, me and ariel in front and sister and andika at the back. ariel and i talked our heads off, about life and how unfair it was. about why sometimes we just cannot see the good in people. he told me that when it was sad, it reminded him to treasure the happiness when it came. i couldn’t resist it, i just had to ask him what was going on between him and dika. he patted my head and assured me that they are still friends, they still traveled together.

we went home to pack their things and left for the airport.

along the way, sister demanded that i stopped hogging ariel. i turned and there was dika with the biggest smile on his face.

he put his arm around me and we followed sister and ariel from behind, hearing ariel try to convince her that if a tree fell in the forest but nobody heard it, then did the tree exist?

me and dika strolled along in a comfortable silence. then i asked him how things were. he said he and farah were gonna try for a baby. i said that was wonderful. then he tapped my nose and said if it was another princess, he was gonna name it after me.

i looked at him and laughed. and told him he’s so silly. how could he have a child named after a confection? but then again who was i to talk?

we looked up and saw that sister and ariel had gotten into some kind of trouble with some mat motors. thing is, they were very young mat motors, pri school maybe? the leader among them, a pudgy boy, was shaking his fists at ariel. i wanted to run up to them and play peacekeeper, but dika held me back, saying that ariel can take them.

i heard sister saying eh budak kecik, kau tak kenal ker ni siapa? nie… her words trailed off as ariel cupped her mouth with this hand. he shook his head at her and from where i was, his lips read it’s ok.

he went to the boy, put his hand on his shoulder and said something i couldn’t make out. the boy’s face contorted in surprise and then to a small suppressed smile. he nod knowingly and shook hands with ariel.

i looked up at dika, he was smiling at the scene. that’s ariel, he said, with a note of pride in his voice.

we continued our journey and got into a london cab. when we arrived at the terminal, we started to say our goodbyes. i punched dika in the arm and told him to hurry with that baby.

then i turned to face ariel. his hair was falling all over his face and i brushed them aside to look into his eyes. he said harus berapa lama aku menunggu u? he pinched my cheek as he said it. then we hugged so hard, the bag strap on his shoulder left a print on my chin.

with all the goodbyes said, they picked up their bags and walked through the gates, their arms around each other’s backs.

as they passed through the guards, he turned around and our eyes met. we held the gaze till he was no more than a small speck. at the far end, a familiar tune wafted through my conscious.

bila rindu ini masih milik mu
ku hadirkan sebuah tanya untukmu
harus berapa lama aku menunggu mu…

aku menunggumu…

it was that darned hand phone 6am alarm blaring out that ringtone.

then aku pun terbangun dari tidur panjang yang lelah kan ku.

*hhrrmmpph*