Winds of Change

Angin bayu, membawa diriku,

Sepintas lalu...ku terkenangkan mu...


I am sitting on the bus, enjoying a short but unfulfilled nap. Then again, I shouldn't be expecting one: the distance between the location and the crew accommodation is less than five minutes by car (and less than twenty on foot). Somewhere next to me, on the other side of the coach, the make up artist, Fifi, continued what he had started.


Memori silam meresap malam,

Kenangan bersama, ku simpan selamanya...


The strains of familiarity tugged at me. I open my eyes wider. It is an old song that is calling out to me, more than ten years deep into my consciousness.


Walaupun kau pergi jauh dari disini,

Cintaku masih bersemadi di hati,


And in the flash of a moment, I am back. Back to the end of 1994. The furore over the World Cup of that summer had long ended, and now is the time of great change. Twas the metaphorical winter of upheaval: we were to move to London. All of us, the whole family, a decision made by my mother's desire to continue her studies.


Back in the present, others heard the song just as I did, and started to sing along, lending the lyrics a greater.


Keyakinan kitakan kembali,

Menghidupkan semula,

Janji pada cinta


3rd January, 1995. I am in the Golden Club Class cabin of the MAS aircraft. The plane had started to taxi down the runway, and I look out the window, the blinking reds showing the way forward for the pilot, for me, for my family.


Showing where we're going.


In my hands, I am holding on to a farewell gift, a thick cartoon book of Calvin and Hobbes. It had been a present for my mother, but as she had correctly predicted, I was to get far more out of it than she ever would.


The plane took off, a deep feeling pushing my stomach downwards, and I would not sleep for the next 12 odd hours.


In the coach, the singing had risen to a crescendo, everyone hitting the chorus with much aplomb.


Kita bersama mengejar mimpi,

Terpisah sementara ku pasti,

Suatu hari nanti, cinta kita bersemi,

Kembali menerangi, mekar di taman hati,


Sometimes, it is somewhat interesting how I am able to recall almost every detail, every feeling, every emotion that was once there in me. A movie, a song, can trigger a river of memories. It is not always a good thing, however, but now, looking back for a moment and seeing the red lights behind, seeing how far I've come...


Walaupun jauh pandangan mata,

Ku yakin kau kan tetap setia,

Begitulah tujuan, keikhlasan di jiwa...

Dan cinta ku, hanyalah...untuk mu.

Comments