Our Idiosyncrasies: A Malaysian short story | By Teoh Jin Wen
Illustration by Trinity and Jonathan.
At the local pasar, they take in the lively surroundings. The shophouses groan out their age through cracks and tile as Ms Lee passes them by. Like rice grains in a mill, she and many others are dressed plain and simple, each navigating the bumbling crowd. Ms Lee finds it comfortable, reminded of similar scenery back in her home country. Put listens as she barters and cracks jokes to familiar hawkers, feigning shock when no free gifts are offered, glad she’s found a home here.
Around midday, Ms Lee utilises her hand powers to slow incoming traffic as she crosses the street. Put wonders how her hands became so powerful when suddenly, Ms Lee’s pocket scrunches up around them. Oof! It appears some friendly, happy kittens have come to her heel, but they’re too playful for Put to feel safe. Thankfully, a young voice appears.
“Morning, Auntie!” Ai greets cheerfully.
“Morning, girl! You eat already?” the older woman replies.
The TnG holder swings from Ai’s bag, and the rice grain accepts the invitation to escape aboard.
—
Ai steadies her notebook and bag on her lap, fighting off a shiver in the train’s 18°c air-conditioning. Put snuggles into her bag as she draws the passing scenery, listening in on a conversation opposite. Several women dressed in kebaya are answering a curious tourist, who is surprised to learn their traditional garbs are formal office wear and, like Put, is amused when they switch between languages seamlessly.
A crowd soon floods in as the train marches towards the city center. Put grips the card holder as a grain does when being tumbled around in a container. Just then, a young man squeezes into the seat beside Ai.
“Yeah, I’m on the way… Yeah, just three more stations…” he answers a call in a hushed tone.
Not missing this opportunity to escape either, Put climbs aboard his hat in record speed.
—
Put stifles a giggle as Hafiz’s friends start playfully berating him for taking so long to arrive. They had been waiting for 30 minutes! After explaining that his car had broken down, they then berate him for not asking someone to pick him up.
After several ‘Boss’s and ‘Bang’s have taken their orders, the friends jump into discussing their upcoming Merdeka Day road trip. Hafiz lets his friends spearhead the conversation, opting to translate the double, and triple entendres in their creole humour to a new Punjabi friend. Put listens in as he tries to explain how Bahasa Rojak worked, only to derail into how sweet the drinks are.
Soon the afternoon sun blazes in. Hafiz takes up his friends’ offer and hitches a ride home. The friends’ laughter rumbles through the car. From the dashboard, Put admires the cotton dyed yellow in the sky, thoroughly satisfied with their adventure today.
Even after centuries, Put feels that the local people are most lovely to be around, second only to rice. They’re simple, yet intricate with all their idiosyncrasies, and Put will continue to watch over them and their rice.
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