05 May 2006

be the first

I alwys have this curiosity in me, ( maybe that’s the reason for most of my pondering and thinking in here ), to find out the reason behind ppl’s character or behaviour. Why is she like that? Why men think this way? Why and how..basically , that’s among the w-h questions throughout my encounters with ppl in my life. Some are helpful product of thinking, which helped to resolve some issues, but some only manage to create silly ‘merepek’ theories in my mind..ehheh.

And I learn one thing…to ‘always be the first’. Let me tell u a story.

Back during my CBN days, me and my sisters would go home after school on the yellow school bus, along with the secondary students and the boys from St John school. And I remember that I would fill my baju kurung pocket with Hudson Sweet which I bought everyday at the school canteen, ( yg warna kuning tuh, Honey-lemon flavour ). 20 cents for 5 sweets, usually I bought 10 sweets..ehhe, and I would suck the sweets all the way home. (sheesh..who would have thought that I'll be doing dentistry now, looking at my history of ‘sweet-consumption’..).

One day, as usual, I was sitting in the school bus next to the window, happily sucking the candy. Sitting next to me was a secondary school student, a plump Malay girl with curly hair. I noticed her in the bus before, and I know her as the big sister who would give me a smile whenever our eyes met. So..on tht day, she happened to be sitting next to me. No conversation whatsoever, basically it’s like stranger sitting next to stranger, me with my sweets and her with whatever things on her mind.

The thing about me and this Hudson sweet, is that when the one in my mouth has melted, i would open a new one and continue eating. It was like nonstop, continuously sucking Hudson sweets until all that’s left in my pocket were the plastic wrappers or until my palate would shout in painful agony due to vigorous sweet sucking. As I looked outside the window, suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned. The Big Sister was looking at me with the smile and on her palm were two sweets, ( if im not mistaken, gula2 SUGUS oren )
Adik, gula-gula ?” politely, she offered me one of her candy. I dont really remember how or what was my facial expression, but I do remember taking the SUGUS gratefully ( totally forgetting my mom’s advice “ jgn ambil gula2 org yg kak tak kenal bagi !” ..) and put it in my pocket. ( sbb ms tuh, dlm mulut ade gula2 lagi..eheh). As I took one of the SUGUS from her hand, she opened the other and put it in her mouth. Then only it struck me. Ive been eating my Hudson sweets one after another, making noisy crunching sound every time I opened the plastic wrapper, and smtms I even made the irritating ‘schsuk-cshuk’ sound as I suck the sweet, not to mention the ‘kruk-kruk’ sound as I crack it with my teeth…and not even once I consider to offer her one of my 10 Hudsons !

She was a nobody, just someone I met in the bus on my way home. She might have noticed me on the bus, as I alwys tried to catch her eyes to get ‘the smile’ of hers. Maybe she offered me the SUGUS bcos she thought tht I must really like sweet looking at my endless sweet sucking. Or maybe she did it out of politeness. But, that small act of kindness taught me sthg I remember till now. About generosity, about being considerate and polite. To ppl younger than u who has no significant importance to ur life. Even to strangers. She taught me to be the first to do act of kindness, no matter how small that action is, it might mean the world to others. Because from tht small kindness, it can extends to many, many other good things. Friendship created, smiles shared, happiness expanded…basically..that’s how it is. Just by being the first to do kind things to others.

I still remember her, the warm face who would smile at me. I really am grateful, and I still practise what she taught me. In many kind of ways. Be the first to smile to other ppl. And be the first to say hello to the quiet, snobbish-looking neighbour who actually is a very nice person once u get to know them. Maybe they just dont know how to break the ice. And now, whenever I have extra sweets with me ( yeah..i still eat sweets smtmes.. )..i would try to remember the feeling the ‘big sister’ instilled in me when she offered me her sweet and ill do the same to the person sitting next to me in the bus. At least, I make the person next to me happy,..just the way the BigSister made me feel. All by one small act of kindness..

So..ppl, spread the kindness. The world has become too harsh and cruel, let our small deeds bit by bit make this world a better place…






1 comment:

justme said...

heheh..ha'ah, the pau kaya, the yong tau fu, and paling best..the 'cendol mamak' dpn StJohn..fuuh..

( naz..ingat mknn je ke..?)