Story continued. . .

I was not so close with the relatives from my father's side. This might be due to the reason that I was staying with my grandparents from my mother's side since I was born. Moreover, most of the relatives from father's side are staying further from my hometown. They are staying in Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Kedah. My eldest uncle is staying in the same town as mine. Thus, I was closer to his children. My eldest uncle and aunt were rubber tappers. They had to wake up before dawn to tap and collect rubber. They would set up a stall in night market at the near by town a few times in a week and also at the Sunday morning market to sell the rubber tapping equipments. Sometimes I would pay a visit to his house during the weekend to play with his children. We played "Hide-and-Seek" and the rope-jumping. I remembered there was a room at the upstairs of the house. My uncle forbad us to enter the room. It was belonged to our late grandfather. Sometimes they would come to my house to play video games together. Everytime they came and left, I had an uncomfortable feeling. I felt that I had lost something. It was awkward. We seldom contacted each other as we grew older.

My youngest uncle is staying in Ampang. He would buy the famous "Ampang Yong Tau Foo" and sometimes egg tarts when he came back to visit my grandmother. My grandmother had been staying with us since my third brother was born. When I was young, I thought why my father disliked my youngest uncle. Whenever he came back, my grandmother also looked happy and he bought us food. Then, I found out that he always borrowed money from my grandmother. He was a spender. He could not afford to buy a car but he still bought one by borrowing money from others. My father sometimes scolded him because thought that he was so mature already but still could not think rationally. He also did not seem to have a girlfriend even though he was already in his 30's then. Luckily, he could find his life partner when he was almost 40's. However, at that age, my uncle and aunt did not plan to give birth already. I swore to myself that I did not want to follow his footstep.

Two of my aunts are staying in Ipoh. I remembered I went to my eldest aunt's house when I was young. I was not close to her children because the difference in age between us was quite large. They are very smart. My parents always asked me to take them as my role model. All of them had at least a Master's Degree. All of them are professionals now. Ipoh is famous for its foods, temples and caves. Ipoh people are also very fluent in Cantonese. I had been using Cantonese since I was born. Was it because of fate that I got to know my girlfriend, who is from Ipoh also? However, I spoke Chinese with her instead. Obviously, she talked more when the conversation was in Cantonese. She could speak extremely fast when she used Cantonese. Was it the reason that failed the relationship? After so many years, finally I got the chance to visit Ipoh again. It was when I went to Langkawi Island with my girlfriend and our friends then. We just stopped by Ipoh to have breakfast in the famous dim sum restaurant. I did not expect that it would be my last trip with her...
Now, I also made some friends from Ipoh. Whenever they talked about their hometown, it made me to think of her. Sometimes, I think is it the God trying to make fun of me?

Another aunty is staying in Sungai Petani. She and her husband were school teachers. As her husband's hometown was in Karak, sometimes she would bring me along when her family had a trip and if she passed by my hometown. I prefered to be a small kid. I had less thing to worry about. I got to go to travel. The people around me all loved and cared for me. I had friends. I would be happy even upon a small thing. Family members, relatives and friends showered me with their loves. I just had to get the love from a lover so that my life could be complete. As I grew older, the love from family members, relatives and friends began to fade away. Then, I began to get used to do activities alone. I could understand that everyone might have their own lifestyles as they grew older. I thought it was time for me to pay attention to people around me and get a partner so that I had a companion. I had already missed a lot of opportunies previously. I knew I should do something about it. I swore I would treat my future girlfriend and wife with all my love at that time.