The flicker of the street lights, their reflections on the puddles, the peaceful mood of the dusk, the sound of chirping crickets, the scent of the hot air and the cooling breezes in between.
All these are memories and impressions I have from my childhood in my hometown. They are so intense and are buried so deep down in my heart that I never ever gonna forget them. Every time I look back I wonder how I can remember all these things even though they are so far in the past, so long ago and I’m always amazed that I can see everything so clearly in front of my eyes.
I can remember the old uncle with his cart which has an ice crushing table on it. He pushed the cart up and down the streets everyday and sold his sweet sweet delicious crushed ice he made on the table. He would go from house to house and ring his bell to lure us kids out. Me and my cousins never missed a day without buying his sweet crushed ice. It tastes so good that I still can remember the sweet process of the ice melting in my mouth.
And then on other days we were spending our time running around on the farm and rice fields. I remember that there was this huge stack of hay we were using to hide us in when we played hide and seek and every time I came out of the haystack I would feel itchy and scratchy all over my body. We had a blithe and happy time on the farm.
We were one big family living under the same corrugated iron roof. Me and my cousins were sleeping on mats that were lined up on the floor directly in front of an old old television. And every evening there would be a gathering of everyone from my great-grandma to my uncles and aunties around that old television to watch our series and dramas. There was funny moments, happy moments and sad moments, but every moment has one thing in common, it was warm and caring. And I also remember that there was this big fan hanging from the ceiling which gave us a slightly light cooling from the hot hot nights we had, so we could fall asleep easier. I still can hear the humming of the spinning fan whenever I think back to that time.
It was a wonderful and peaceful time. We had no concerns as kids. Just playing day by day and living an easy-going life. As a kid you experience the world you are living in with a whole different feeling. You see and feel everything that happens around you as what they are. You laugh when you are happy and you cry when you are sad.
It was a wonderful and peaceful time. We had no concerns as kids. Just playing day by day and living an easy-going life. As a kid you experience the world you are living in with a whole different feeling. You see and feel everything that happens around you as what they are. You laugh when you are happy and you cry when you are sad.
This must be the reason why I still can see these memories, these pictures of the past so clearly. The happier I was at that time the clearer I can see them now. And every time I look back to this period, it puts a smile on my face and reminds me that I should see the world and the people on it as what they are, see the beauty and happiness of everyone and everything through the eyes of a child.