the rain

almost everyone would prefer a clear day compared to a rainy day. it has been raining for a few days and i've either heard or read that most of my friends are cursing the rain. i, however, prefer rainy days. it gets very.. nostalgic.. full of emotions and feelings. more often than not, the rain soothes my feelings a lil bit. somehow it calms me down, and the sight of lightning fascinates me.

the rain reminds me of things which i can never forget. never ever. the earliest memory of the rain which i have is when i was still in my kampung. my bro and i were playing in the rain, and my neighbour's daughter caught us playing and told our parents about it. what happened next, i've forgot. but i still remember the fun of playing in the rain with him. and we were ignorant about lightning strikes and fever and illness and whatever rain related mishaps. things have changed now. i no longer live in the kampung.. my neighbour, that particular pak-pak passed away a few years back.. and the thing which changed most is, i'm no longer close to him..

scouting, friendship, and the rain. it would be easy to relate scouting and friendship, but how do those two relate to the rain? simple. put scouting and friendship under the rain! yes, the rain reminds me of them as well. whenever it rains, we would have to sum up all our energy to dig the drain. otherwise, the tent will flood. there were a few times that the drain was not complete, and i remember only once that the drain i dig worked. then came this so called 'bridge' project. one of our activity in scouting was to build a bridge across burmese pool (burmese pool is not a pool, but a stream instead). yea, it was hard work, really hard work to build a bamboo bridge in a stream. yes, it was raining as well. that's what made it so memorable. the result? the bridge was never up. but the fun part was getting soaked in the stream for one whole day with my friends. another occasion that i remember is one of my friend's birthday. yea. it was drizzling, if not raining. we went out for dinner at KFC, walked around town like nobody's business, and forced one of my friend to a haircut which he hated! and that all happened while it was raining. as much as my childhood has changed, all these has changed as well.. i am no longer a scout.. so i no longer dig drains and build bridges that are better off unbuilt. i am no longer close to my friends.. and i no longer attend parties that i've enjoyed and felt so comfortable with previously.

then came the big 'crush' thing. i still remember the brief evening walks which we had, up to the big water tank at our housing area. i still remember she, looking forward to a clear evening just to find it raining in the end. i still remember the fear that she felt when she was caught in the rain up at the water tank and thunderstorms clapping above her. and yes, things has changed as well. i am no longer as shy as then.. and i guess she is enjoying her life even without the evening walks..

and there was this great accident that i had. i can recall the details clearly before the accident. it was right after my BM tuition, and i've just got myself a new pen to make a card. it was raining and i was soaked on my way back home. if only bicycles have roofs, i wont get soaked then. and when i was going downhill, i lost my brakes because of the rain. and i went all the way downhill. i was thinking to jump, i was looking for the right place to jump, i was trying to stop the bicycle with my feet. i was trying to take control of the situation. but i couldn't. all the way down, half a minute of fear, a split second of blackout, and i was lying face down on the other side of the drain, on the other side of the road, at the foot of the hill. my bike was smashed. but fortunately, very fortunately, i was unhurt. i no longer cycle.. i no longer buy stationery.. and i no longer make my own card..

singing in the rain, singing and the rain. most of us would joke about someone else's singing is so bad it would cause rain. i am quite used to that joke coz i just don't sing well, incomparable even to the toads. but lately, she told me something rather different. sing in the rain, and it helps to stop it. and she does it often. that really left a lasting impression on me. so whenever it rains, i would try my best to humm my favourite tune; but not because i want the rain to end, because i trust her.

as much as the things i've been through with the rain has changed, i still remain the person i am. i do not wish for rain everyday. i just want to be reminded how my life was, once in a while. nobody would remember a day for its crystal clear weather. nobody would remember a day for its sunshine. but come a rainy day, it would create nostalgic, lasting memories.