Thursday, October 29, 2009
today on the way back, i suddenly thought of the mama-shop uncle.
not the one who's there at my void-deck now, but the uncle who owned and ran the mama-shop before this new one came along.
the mama-shop was a HUGE part of my childhood, i can remember myself buying some snack from him everytime i got down from the schoolbus, with my little brother in tow. There was this wafer ice cream, wrapped in a really old school paper. The wafer biscuit was often soft and not really fresh actually, but I don't know why i kept buying it. maybe it was just for that familiar taste, and knowing that there wasn't anywhere else that sold it. and the little packets of sweets i used to buy for 50cents, or 20cents for the smaller ones. It was the highlight of my brother's and my day, after having come home from school, to share our treasures when we got home.
also, i remember there was this particular day. and i was still in primary school, so we had to wake up really early for the morning school session to catch the school-bus. And the sky was really dark, it was about 6am or something. and it was pouring really heavily. And my mom didn't want us to get our school-socks drenched from stepping in the puddles. So when we passed by the mama-shop as we always do, she got 4 plastic bags from the uncle. and she tied them around me and my brother's school-shoes. It was quite a sight really haha.
and i can't remember the many times we used the toilet of the mama-shop, a really small one tucked away in the back of the shop, and i would sneak looks around his store-room stacked high and full with goodies of all sorts.
and his simple nasi lemak i always had for lunch, with just good chilli and egg and fragrant rice. none of that nasty fish filled with fish-bones.
The uncle worked with his wife, and both of them opened shop almost everyday without fail. I would greet them as I passed by everyday, on the way to the lift.
and then one day, the shop was closed. and my mom broke the new to me that noon that the uncle was severely sick.
and then, just a few days later, he had passed away. His wife never did return to open the shop again, and the shop was closed for a long while.
and now, the current shop owners are also a couple, and the shop has taken on a 'hippier' look. However, i almost never buy anything from the shop anymore. Nor do I even pass by them, with the new lift that has been installed right outside my flat.
The uncle was always friendly and kindly, and always there to look out for everyone in the flat.
i miss him. :( sighh, getting really teary now.
not the one who's there at my void-deck now, but the uncle who owned and ran the mama-shop before this new one came along.
the mama-shop was a HUGE part of my childhood, i can remember myself buying some snack from him everytime i got down from the schoolbus, with my little brother in tow. There was this wafer ice cream, wrapped in a really old school paper. The wafer biscuit was often soft and not really fresh actually, but I don't know why i kept buying it. maybe it was just for that familiar taste, and knowing that there wasn't anywhere else that sold it. and the little packets of sweets i used to buy for 50cents, or 20cents for the smaller ones. It was the highlight of my brother's and my day, after having come home from school, to share our treasures when we got home.
also, i remember there was this particular day. and i was still in primary school, so we had to wake up really early for the morning school session to catch the school-bus. And the sky was really dark, it was about 6am or something. and it was pouring really heavily. And my mom didn't want us to get our school-socks drenched from stepping in the puddles. So when we passed by the mama-shop as we always do, she got 4 plastic bags from the uncle. and she tied them around me and my brother's school-shoes. It was quite a sight really haha.
and i can't remember the many times we used the toilet of the mama-shop, a really small one tucked away in the back of the shop, and i would sneak looks around his store-room stacked high and full with goodies of all sorts.
and his simple nasi lemak i always had for lunch, with just good chilli and egg and fragrant rice. none of that nasty fish filled with fish-bones.
The uncle worked with his wife, and both of them opened shop almost everyday without fail. I would greet them as I passed by everyday, on the way to the lift.
and then one day, the shop was closed. and my mom broke the new to me that noon that the uncle was severely sick.
and then, just a few days later, he had passed away. His wife never did return to open the shop again, and the shop was closed for a long while.
and now, the current shop owners are also a couple, and the shop has taken on a 'hippier' look. However, i almost never buy anything from the shop anymore. Nor do I even pass by them, with the new lift that has been installed right outside my flat.
The uncle was always friendly and kindly, and always there to look out for everyone in the flat.
i miss him. :( sighh, getting really teary now.
can you hear the soft swoosh of the butterflies' wings. 1:05 AM.
