Random Encounters
In the words of my umbrella-wielding friend, "Life is a game. You have to level up."
It's a new year, and it seems like the random encounters are getting more interesting...
Encounter # 1: Elevator
Mango and I enter the elevator. A mother stands between us with her daughter sitting in a stroller. Her daughter has nice frizzy hair which makes you want to reach down and touch it. Somehow, I'm reminded of Obama's younger daughter. As usual, it's hard to make conversation with strangers in an elevator but then I see that her daughter is eating these crackers which look delectable. So I turn to the mother and say, "Ahhh, I feel so hungry!". She smiles at me and when the rest of the people in the elevator file out, she leans down to her daughter and says, "Honey, why don't you offer these kind gentlemen some of your biscuits?". Her sentence flows out in a crisp English accent and is dripping with elegance (ahh, so hard to resist). The little girl smiles slightly, then leans forward to offer me a biscuit and does the same for Mango. It's such a simple gesture, but there's no fear in her eyes, just a curious and playful look and I feel like kissing her forehead ^^. I manage to thank her before she slides out on her stroller, but I wish I had the time to do a slight bow and say, "Thank you, madame, you are most kind and beautiful." just to see her smile a little more. And yes, the crackers are good! They actually taste like cheese, not like those Malaysian ones I used to eat for teatime.
Encounter # 2: Bookshelves
Walking in the bookstore looking for the book I was reading the last time I came here, I spot a woman with shoulder length hair in a grey tank top running her fingers down the spines of the books, doing the same thing I'm doing. Her other hand cradles two books and I walk closer to get a peek then I notice another presence. A small girl dressed in a long-sleeved light purple top, blue skirt and nice white shoes is walking behind the woman. Palms upturned, she holds a thick book and follows the woman like a puppy. Halfway down the aisle, she looks up bumps into the woman and says, "Buy for meeee!". The woman just shakes her head and continues searching, then the girl says, "But you're buying two books already! Why can't I have one?". A long sentence with at least 3 "Sayangggg" follows. Undeterred, the girl tags along again, reminding the woman to get her the book. Wanting to defuse the tension, I playfully follow the little girl and raise my palms like hers and ask her to let me have her book. Surprised, she walks closer to the woman but the woman just smiles an embarrassed smile at me before turning back to the books.
Later, I spot the woman at the counter and she turns around to stare at a corner of the bookstore. Something in the way she stares tells me that the little girl is her daughter. I follow her stare and land at a round table where the girl now sits, reading the thick book she was lugging around earlier. When I walk over, I can see her engrossed and the book is.....a Dragonball Z compilation. I can see the earlier form of Majin Buu and it's just super cute, the way she's reading so carefully with her mouth slightly open. It's nice to know that little girls nowadays have the right priorities.
Encounter # 3: LRT
I'm standing in the LRT as usual and I'm still sleepy from work. My music is on, and I take a cursory glance at the people I'm standing in front of. Two college students sit next to each other with carefully studied bored looks which look almost the same, but are slightly different. And old man sits in the corner and next to him, there's a woman in a cardigan clutching a thick book. When the old man leaves, I'm about to sit down and I notice the woman slowly folding her skirt so that I can sit down. Such courtesy is rare so I take a closer look at her. She looks like Rebecca from my high school and her glasses remind me of Jun Kit. She even has the same artsy look about her. A dance track starts and I pretend to concentrate on the backbeat while the train slowly weaves through the hazy evening. When we stop at the station, she flips open her book and I see a map of the LRT network and everything's in Korean. She traces her finger down the Kelana line and I see the word IKEA scribbled in black marker at the bottom of the page. She smiles an awkward but cute smile at me when she sees me looking, and I smile back tiredly.
When we get off at Kelana, I tell her where to wait for the IKEA shuttle bus, but she looks a little blur (she even repeats after me "This bridge?" in a japanese English accent...) so I go up the stairs and point at the taxi stand so she knows where to wait. When she starts to walk away, I notice her shapely neck and it feels like someone turned on the moonlight suddenly, but she's already gone and the next track is already spilling out of my headphones.
Yes, she was wearing glasses. Yes, she was actually quite cute. I think I must be getting old. The old me would have offered to follow her all the way to IKEA before offering her my number in case she needs more help xD
Having all these random encounters is interesting, but I do wonder whether I'm levelling up...
It's a new year, and it seems like the random encounters are getting more interesting...
Encounter # 1: Elevator
Mango and I enter the elevator. A mother stands between us with her daughter sitting in a stroller. Her daughter has nice frizzy hair which makes you want to reach down and touch it. Somehow, I'm reminded of Obama's younger daughter. As usual, it's hard to make conversation with strangers in an elevator but then I see that her daughter is eating these crackers which look delectable. So I turn to the mother and say, "Ahhh, I feel so hungry!". She smiles at me and when the rest of the people in the elevator file out, she leans down to her daughter and says, "Honey, why don't you offer these kind gentlemen some of your biscuits?". Her sentence flows out in a crisp English accent and is dripping with elegance (ahh, so hard to resist). The little girl smiles slightly, then leans forward to offer me a biscuit and does the same for Mango. It's such a simple gesture, but there's no fear in her eyes, just a curious and playful look and I feel like kissing her forehead ^^. I manage to thank her before she slides out on her stroller, but I wish I had the time to do a slight bow and say, "Thank you, madame, you are most kind and beautiful." just to see her smile a little more. And yes, the crackers are good! They actually taste like cheese, not like those Malaysian ones I used to eat for teatime.
Encounter # 2: Bookshelves
Walking in the bookstore looking for the book I was reading the last time I came here, I spot a woman with shoulder length hair in a grey tank top running her fingers down the spines of the books, doing the same thing I'm doing. Her other hand cradles two books and I walk closer to get a peek then I notice another presence. A small girl dressed in a long-sleeved light purple top, blue skirt and nice white shoes is walking behind the woman. Palms upturned, she holds a thick book and follows the woman like a puppy. Halfway down the aisle, she looks up bumps into the woman and says, "Buy for meeee!". The woman just shakes her head and continues searching, then the girl says, "But you're buying two books already! Why can't I have one?". A long sentence with at least 3 "Sayangggg" follows. Undeterred, the girl tags along again, reminding the woman to get her the book. Wanting to defuse the tension, I playfully follow the little girl and raise my palms like hers and ask her to let me have her book. Surprised, she walks closer to the woman but the woman just smiles an embarrassed smile at me before turning back to the books.
Later, I spot the woman at the counter and she turns around to stare at a corner of the bookstore. Something in the way she stares tells me that the little girl is her daughter. I follow her stare and land at a round table where the girl now sits, reading the thick book she was lugging around earlier. When I walk over, I can see her engrossed and the book is.....a Dragonball Z compilation. I can see the earlier form of Majin Buu and it's just super cute, the way she's reading so carefully with her mouth slightly open. It's nice to know that little girls nowadays have the right priorities.
Encounter # 3: LRT
I'm standing in the LRT as usual and I'm still sleepy from work. My music is on, and I take a cursory glance at the people I'm standing in front of. Two college students sit next to each other with carefully studied bored looks which look almost the same, but are slightly different. And old man sits in the corner and next to him, there's a woman in a cardigan clutching a thick book. When the old man leaves, I'm about to sit down and I notice the woman slowly folding her skirt so that I can sit down. Such courtesy is rare so I take a closer look at her. She looks like Rebecca from my high school and her glasses remind me of Jun Kit. She even has the same artsy look about her. A dance track starts and I pretend to concentrate on the backbeat while the train slowly weaves through the hazy evening. When we stop at the station, she flips open her book and I see a map of the LRT network and everything's in Korean. She traces her finger down the Kelana line and I see the word IKEA scribbled in black marker at the bottom of the page. She smiles an awkward but cute smile at me when she sees me looking, and I smile back tiredly.
When we get off at Kelana, I tell her where to wait for the IKEA shuttle bus, but she looks a little blur (she even repeats after me "This bridge?" in a japanese English accent...) so I go up the stairs and point at the taxi stand so she knows where to wait. When she starts to walk away, I notice her shapely neck and it feels like someone turned on the moonlight suddenly, but she's already gone and the next track is already spilling out of my headphones.
Yes, she was wearing glasses. Yes, she was actually quite cute. I think I must be getting old. The old me would have offered to follow her all the way to IKEA before offering her my number in case she needs more help xD
Having all these random encounters is interesting, but I do wonder whether I'm levelling up...