The Simple Things in Life
The sun shone down on the little boy and the teenage girl.
The little boy had a bubble gun in his hand. He pressed the trigger and both him and his cousin watched as the bubbles of all sizes floated out over the grass, skimming the greens before exploding with a small pop.
The bubble gun whirred mechanically as the little boy laughed and twirled around, making the gun spit out bubbles everywhere.
"Matt, you see, such nice bubbles aren't they?" I asked.
Matthew smiled up at me, releasing the tension on the trigger of the bubble gun.
"It's nice, it's nice!" he emphasized, laughing as he ran around the yard, spewing bubbles everywhere.
I smiled to myself and digging my hands in my pockets, watched as the multi-coloured bubbles floated towards the sun.
Click! Whir! Sput!
I turned around as Matthew frowned, trying to get the stuck bubble gun to work.
The little boy turned in my direction and held out the bubble gun to me.
"It's spoilt," he said, his face turning sad.
I frowned and took the bubble gun. I shook it and inverted it. Then I pressed the trigger. With a click, the gun sprang back to life and bubbles came out from the gun again.
"Yay! Gimme!" yelled Matthew in joy, grabbing the gun out of my hands and waving it wildly in the sky, pushed the trigger.
"Matt," I warned, "Don't play with it so much. If not it'll spoil, or it'll run out of batteries or the soap solution will run out or - "
"Don't worry," the little boy assured me, laughing as he ran around madly with the bubble gun once more, "You don't need to worry about anything."
"Matt - "
"You don't need to worry," he told me, his face solemn, "You play now and have fun. No worry."
I stared at him, his words registering with a click in my mind, suddenly.
Don't worry.... don't worry... Those words seemed nothing out of the ordinary and yet.
When was the last time I needn't had to worry? When was the last time I didn't stress about worries?
Don't worry... Ever since I could remember, I was worrying about anything and everything. About how good my grades were. About whether I could win a prize. About whether I could survive in school. About how my prefects were doing. About how I could get my homework done. About my reputation in school. About all my responsibilites.
When was the last time I was carefree and had fun as it really was? Everytime I was playing, sure I did have fun. But at the back of my mind, there always was a growing concern about what would happen next. Or what would happen once playtime was over. Because deep in my subconciousness, I knew that fun had its consequences. Sure, I could relax now but what would happen once I got back to reality? Once I got back to my hectic life? All fun ever boiled down to for me was just work, work and work. And stress. And the hectic life.
I worry about a lot of things. And I can't just shove it all aside. But now, Matt's words just rang a bell in my mind. I DID worry too much. I DID take it overboard. But could anyone blame me?
I'm a teen. He's a kid. That's what makes us so different. We live in different worlds, totally different universes. He justs needs to worry about what he's planning to eat for breakfast today. I need to worry about what life brings for me tomorrow.
And yet, could I just forget about everything? About all my responsibilities and just for once, live like a kid? Free from everything, free from worries? Could I just stop and smell the roses for once? And just forget everything, forget my being a teen?
"Siaw Hui, Siaw Hui, I want you to play also," insisted the little boy, pressing the gun into my hand.
I snapped out of my reverie, stunned.
"You play, you play," he insisted, "You blow bubbles and I catch them okay?"
I looked at him and a wild determination seized my heart.
"All right, I'll play," I grinned, cocking the gun at his head, "But we'll make the rules different okay?"
"What? What?" the little boy whined, leaping in anticipation.
"Once the bubbles pop on you, you'll die. Just like that okay?" I said, winking.
"Okay, that's a fun game," Matthew agreed enthusiastically.
I laughed and was just about to shoot bubbles at him when a thought loomed into my mind.
Oh great. My prefectorial things. I had to sort them out. And the treasure hunt. And the hollywood squares. And so... so many other things in the computer that I have to settle.
"Siaw Hui," moaned the little boy, "I wanna play I wanna play!"
Worries overtook my mind as I reached down for the little boy's hand and pressed the gun into his.
"Sorry Matt, I need to get some things settled. You play on your own, okay?"
"But I want you to play with me!" he howled, "I want! Later you do those things, okay?"
As I stood there, looking at the most adorable little cousin I would ever have, I felt discovery deal me a hard blow.
Wait, I don't have to worry not for today. I still have time to finish those things. I still have the night. It won't take long. I don't have to worry now.
"You know what Matt? I changed my mind. I'm going first," I grinned evilly and stole the gun from the little boy's hand.
"Get ready, sucker," I taunted and pulled the trigger.
The little boy squealed in joy as the bubbles burst forth from the nozzle of the gun and splashed over him.
"You're dead," I teased.
Running wildly, the both of us sprayed each other with soapy bubbles and tried to avoid them. The worries I once had in my mind was floating away just like those thousands of bubbles.
Exhausted, we finally sat on the swing as Matthew continued to pull the trigger and release the bubbles.
"Look, Siaw Hui, so many colours. Purple, blue, yellow, green," he said in amazement, pointing at the bubbles.
I nodded, weary but immensely pleased. I had just had real fun for the first time in my life since goodness knows when. And the irony was that, my real fun and realization had come from an afternoon with bubbles with my cousin.
"Look, look, I blow them!" he said, blowing the bubbles into the direction of the sun.
"Yes, Matt, you're brilliant," I said tired, watching the beautiful bubbles float towards the sun.
I closed my eyes, truly weary but a smile touched my lips.
Indeed, ignorance was bliss.
The little boy had a bubble gun in his hand. He pressed the trigger and both him and his cousin watched as the bubbles of all sizes floated out over the grass, skimming the greens before exploding with a small pop.
The bubble gun whirred mechanically as the little boy laughed and twirled around, making the gun spit out bubbles everywhere.
"Matt, you see, such nice bubbles aren't they?" I asked.
Matthew smiled up at me, releasing the tension on the trigger of the bubble gun.
"It's nice, it's nice!" he emphasized, laughing as he ran around the yard, spewing bubbles everywhere.
I smiled to myself and digging my hands in my pockets, watched as the multi-coloured bubbles floated towards the sun.
Click! Whir! Sput!
I turned around as Matthew frowned, trying to get the stuck bubble gun to work.
The little boy turned in my direction and held out the bubble gun to me.
"It's spoilt," he said, his face turning sad.
I frowned and took the bubble gun. I shook it and inverted it. Then I pressed the trigger. With a click, the gun sprang back to life and bubbles came out from the gun again.
"Yay! Gimme!" yelled Matthew in joy, grabbing the gun out of my hands and waving it wildly in the sky, pushed the trigger.
"Matt," I warned, "Don't play with it so much. If not it'll spoil, or it'll run out of batteries or the soap solution will run out or - "
"Don't worry," the little boy assured me, laughing as he ran around madly with the bubble gun once more, "You don't need to worry about anything."
"Matt - "
"You don't need to worry," he told me, his face solemn, "You play now and have fun. No worry."
I stared at him, his words registering with a click in my mind, suddenly.
Don't worry.... don't worry... Those words seemed nothing out of the ordinary and yet.
When was the last time I needn't had to worry? When was the last time I didn't stress about worries?
Don't worry... Ever since I could remember, I was worrying about anything and everything. About how good my grades were. About whether I could win a prize. About whether I could survive in school. About how my prefects were doing. About how I could get my homework done. About my reputation in school. About all my responsibilites.
When was the last time I was carefree and had fun as it really was? Everytime I was playing, sure I did have fun. But at the back of my mind, there always was a growing concern about what would happen next. Or what would happen once playtime was over. Because deep in my subconciousness, I knew that fun had its consequences. Sure, I could relax now but what would happen once I got back to reality? Once I got back to my hectic life? All fun ever boiled down to for me was just work, work and work. And stress. And the hectic life.
I worry about a lot of things. And I can't just shove it all aside. But now, Matt's words just rang a bell in my mind. I DID worry too much. I DID take it overboard. But could anyone blame me?
I'm a teen. He's a kid. That's what makes us so different. We live in different worlds, totally different universes. He justs needs to worry about what he's planning to eat for breakfast today. I need to worry about what life brings for me tomorrow.
And yet, could I just forget about everything? About all my responsibilities and just for once, live like a kid? Free from everything, free from worries? Could I just stop and smell the roses for once? And just forget everything, forget my being a teen?
"Siaw Hui, Siaw Hui, I want you to play also," insisted the little boy, pressing the gun into my hand.
I snapped out of my reverie, stunned.
"You play, you play," he insisted, "You blow bubbles and I catch them okay?"
I looked at him and a wild determination seized my heart.
"All right, I'll play," I grinned, cocking the gun at his head, "But we'll make the rules different okay?"
"What? What?" the little boy whined, leaping in anticipation.
"Once the bubbles pop on you, you'll die. Just like that okay?" I said, winking.
"Okay, that's a fun game," Matthew agreed enthusiastically.
I laughed and was just about to shoot bubbles at him when a thought loomed into my mind.
Oh great. My prefectorial things. I had to sort them out. And the treasure hunt. And the hollywood squares. And so... so many other things in the computer that I have to settle.
"Siaw Hui," moaned the little boy, "I wanna play I wanna play!"
Worries overtook my mind as I reached down for the little boy's hand and pressed the gun into his.
"Sorry Matt, I need to get some things settled. You play on your own, okay?"
"But I want you to play with me!" he howled, "I want! Later you do those things, okay?"
As I stood there, looking at the most adorable little cousin I would ever have, I felt discovery deal me a hard blow.
Wait, I don't have to worry not for today. I still have time to finish those things. I still have the night. It won't take long. I don't have to worry now.
"You know what Matt? I changed my mind. I'm going first," I grinned evilly and stole the gun from the little boy's hand.
"Get ready, sucker," I taunted and pulled the trigger.
The little boy squealed in joy as the bubbles burst forth from the nozzle of the gun and splashed over him.
"You're dead," I teased.
Running wildly, the both of us sprayed each other with soapy bubbles and tried to avoid them. The worries I once had in my mind was floating away just like those thousands of bubbles.
Exhausted, we finally sat on the swing as Matthew continued to pull the trigger and release the bubbles.
"Look, Siaw Hui, so many colours. Purple, blue, yellow, green," he said in amazement, pointing at the bubbles.
I nodded, weary but immensely pleased. I had just had real fun for the first time in my life since goodness knows when. And the irony was that, my real fun and realization had come from an afternoon with bubbles with my cousin.
"Look, look, I blow them!" he said, blowing the bubbles into the direction of the sun.
"Yes, Matt, you're brilliant," I said tired, watching the beautiful bubbles float towards the sun.
I closed my eyes, truly weary but a smile touched my lips.
Indeed, ignorance was bliss.
posted by *~siaw hui~* at 4:00 AM
4 Comments:
Crap man, Siaw Hui.
That was a good essay.
Tugged at my heatstrings.
The fact that it was non-fiction made it all the more... touching. My goodness. DON'T WORRY K!?
Heatstrings, Lionel?
Tugged at your heatstrings? Haha... and I'm not worrying not for now anyway.
Sorry la! TYPO! Lol kepala duchess of Bio married to the duke of Physics! :) :P
Okay, Lionel, that is absolutely the last straw. Just because you had your grand coronation ceremony today, had your very impressive princely resume read out to the entire Lodge nation and received your oh-so-great crown does not mean you have the right to bully me or to look down on me.
HAH!
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