Morning Walk

Almost every morning, I have to take a pretty long walk to the bus-stop, it seems extremely long especially on days when you are running late. The walk is not exactly painful except when it rains, in fact, it is almost therapeutic and refreshing, a time to quiet down before a busy day ahead.

I live in a part of Singapore that is almost kampong like. These few days, I suddenly realized it is the time of harvest, as I saw huge durians hanging on the durian trees in my neigbour’s house. (Nowadays, you can hardly tell the seasons, because durians are available all year round.) Just a couple of steps away, I saw rambutan fruit, almost within my reach, in another neighbour’s garden. Almost like paradise! My mom has even attempted to grow guava and longan, and she was quite successful too. The only failure is planting sunflower, we tried countless attempts but still no sign of any sunflowers.

Living in this neighbourhood is really quite an experience. The occasional dog that follows me has already put the “fear of dog” far from me since I moved here. Chirpings of birds can be heard everywhere, yet not everyone is musical. The neighbours are ever so friendly, (I being the least friendly, because I often forget to greet them), they always greet me with a smile.

I will always remember. We played badminton using the fence that separates our neighbour’s house from ours as a net. We played badminton on the quiet road outside our compound. We tried flying kites, though not very successful. We barbequed countless times. We put up lanterns during mooncake festivals, and enjoyed my mom’s mooncakes with Chinese tea beneath the beautiful starry night sky. We walked about 10 minutes at midnight to eat supper at the nearby roti prata shop. We had warm, cosy family dinners in the garden compound in the season of giving, Christmas. Countless memories that will remain as treasures forever in my mind.

I am moving away soon, sometime in August this year, if everything goes as planned. I think I’ll miss this place. Yet, pressing ahead, I look forward to what is already in store right before me in great anticipation!