Some people you don't know

Every now and then, i hear somebody wants to do something extraordinary at least once in his or her life. Something like 'someday i'll arrive at Verzasca Dam and bungee jump there'...or 'i'll tour around Switzerland in the quest for the best chocolate in the world'.

Not to mention certain people that we badly want to meet in person. People that we idolize, or simply admire, or hate. Orang yang kita kenal dari kaca TV, dari penulisan, dari internet. From the past events, Havana 1950's perhaps? Fidel Castro and Meyer Lansky. The pop culture, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and really, many more. Rich and famous football players, prominent leaders, great bassists- you name who you want to. Kadang-kadang aku terfikir nak jumpa Al Kooper dan beritahu- you wrote great music but how come you aren't so popular? Things like that.

Tapi sekarang aku rasa semua orang-orang itu absolutely nothing...compared with person standing in front of me now. One of the greatest gift of my life- my parents.

I always regard parents-like mine- as Superman disguised as real people. Ordinary people. Mereka tak pernah perasan setiap apa pengorbanan yang mereka sanggup lakukan for our well being-because they did it like a zillionth times already.

Of course,being so ordinary to others, people won't ever notice the presence of these Supermen in shopping malls, in public. Unlike the situation as one encounters Mawi. So you know, our parents do not get special attention, special treatment from others.

Mereka tak akan dapat column khas dalam newspaper untuk menceritakan jasa-jasa sepanjang hidup mereka, bila mereka meninggal dunia.

My grandmother passed away four days ago.

No one could ever replace her as the mother of my mother, until the end of this world. Dan aku mula berfikir, aku cuma akan ada satu ibu dan satu bapa sejak mula aku lahir ke dunia, till i die.

The only people that will always be there for me, unconditionally. Orang yang sanggup berjaga malam hanya untuk menyapu minyak ke perut anaknya yang sakit. Yang sanggup memasak dengan badan yang lemah kerana demam, memastikan anaknya tak berlapar.

Each time I hear my mother cried missing the voice of her mother, I gently wept. Aku tak mau nampak sedikitpun dramatik di sini but that is the truth. I saw my own reflection. Aku teringat those excuses yang aku bagi. 'Sibukla kat sini Mama' whenever she told me to come home for weekend. I'm no longer sure the excuses are worth my extra time not to travel 8 hours.

Not counting the time bila aku biar dia beli garam kat kedai untuk masak lunch aku simply because 'aku nak habiskan tengok program TV ni'. And much more. Far too much sin.

She never complained.

Surely, you won't even know her name. To you, she's just one of the strangers out there. Orang asing yang kau tak akan kenang dan tahu jasa-jasanya.

Staring at this ticking clock, i know time is running out. Aku bertanya pada diri, apakah kualiti aku sebagai anak selama ini? Adakah ibu bapaku rasa dihargai?