Short stories series #3

A Friday in the Kampung

"Do not go gentle into that good night:
Old age should burn and rave at close of day,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)


As the old man plods along the bunds in between the plots of padi-fields, the sun is already riding high in the azure Malaysian sky. He is hurrying home to take his bath so that he can attend Friday prayers at the local mosque. The way he walks does not seem hurried but he’s in a hurry all the same. In one hand Pak Hitam carries a sickle and in another, a bunch of ripe bananas. He does not have on a shirt and his shrivelled body appears ruddy under the bright sunshine. As he walks, he wipes the dripping sweat from his forehead with his bare arms.
Home is a little kampung house in Permatang Pauh. It is built on stilts as are most Malay village homes. The roof is made of attap or fronds. Pak Hitam built the house years ago when he was a much younger man and his four children were still very young.
The village is very quiet at this hour for the schoolchildren have not returned home and the afternoon session only starts after Friday prayers. Pak Hitam stands the bunch of bananas carefully against the bottom of the low ladder that leads up to the house. He then washes his mud-caked feet with water that is kept in a large earthen jar at the foot of the ladder
As Pak Hitam showers he is able to hear the azan or call to prayers coming from the mosque. Pak Hitam draws water from a well with a small, tin pail. At 75 and being a little bent, he doesn’t have the strength to use a bigger pail. His son had piped-water fixed for him but he prefers to bathe with well-water.
Pak Hitam lives alone after the death of his wife. His son and three daughters are doing well in Kuala Lumpur but he chooses to carry on living in the kampung. He likes to walk under the coconut trees and to watch the neighbourhood chickens forage for food.
He cooks his own meals and generally takes care of himself and his house. His relatives keep an eye on the old man in case he falls ill.
Sometimes he does feel lonely because his children are too busy to come back and visit often. He always looks forward to the Hari Raya Puasa or Eid celebration when school would be off and his children and grandchildren would spend a whole week with him. He likes the fasting month of Ramadhan as his children would take turns to spend the weekends with him. They are able to do so as they have the North-South Expressway now. He would have one child and his or her brood home for each of the four weekends of the fasting month. He always looks forward to the long school holidays at the end of the year.
As he is completely illiterate, Pak Hitam’s only source of entertainment is the television. His son had wanted to have cable TV fixed for him but he had refused, saying that his eyesight wasn’t very good anymore due to cataracts in both eyes. He is afraid to go for an operation for he has always been afraid of doctors and hospitals.
The village children provide Pak Hitam some companionship in their free time. They enjoy listening to his stories about old Malaya while their youthful antics amuse him.
Dressed in a comfortable baju melayu and a handsome sampin over his pair of black trousers, Pak Hitam places his white skull-cap carefully on his head and heads for the mosque.

Note : This story was inspired by my growing-up years in the kampung in the state of Province Wellesley, Penang. It will be expanded in some future time, probably into a novel. At the moment I think the main weakness is that I did not "show" in telling this story. To show is more interesting than to tell.