Nasi Goreng Burger
During 'balik kampung' time back in the days, I don't think I remember going through the highway to go to Port Dickson. We had to take the 'kampung' road. And I can still remember passing by a certain river bridge that has this really really really strong stench that surpasses my brother's toxic fart and could pass through our old Volvo car. My parents would say "Bau babi, bau babi." I think they were right. Masa tu banyak case J.E.. Takda hygiene babi langsung.
In PD town, Dad would show us where his old house was. It was by the beach, facing the sea. "You could see the sunset every single day when the sky was clear," he said. But in this time after decades, the land has been submerged by the sea itself. The level has gone up by THAT much, because last time he could still walk THAT far. *imagine me pointing the far sea to you, hehehe* We would also go eat ABC gelas. Apparently the business is there every since Dad's time! And I would assume much earlier too because during Dad's time, the business was the father's and now it's the friend's. And like right now, it's the son's! Get it? But owh well, they still remember each other and we would always go find that ABC gelas. Last raya we were looking for it and realised that the whole block was demolished or something. Then we found a sign, ABC gelas somewhere. And it turns out to be them!! What coincidence eh? Meanwhile, Mum would show us the old cinema where she watched a movie with Dad. The building is still there with the old sign, never demolished. Not yet, anyway. On the same day, the May 13th incident happened. She said there were noises and sirens every where but they were asked to stay indoors, ke something like that, I don't really remember. I only remember the sirens part, hehe.
Back in the days in Taman TKK, we would be so excited to meet each other! All the cousins, the uncles and aunts, and of course our beloved Tuk and Nenek. There were loadssss of us kids, it was a noisy house. The house is not the typical kampung house. It's single storey bungalow with a large living room, three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a small kitchen. Not to mention the big garden space at the front AND back. All with beautiful flowers kept by Nenek. All the boys would want to book the 'bilik hujung' while all the girls want the 'bilik tengah'. But when it comes to bedtime, everyone wants to bring out the mattresses and toto(s) and pillows and blankets to the large living room and sleep together. We would tell each other stories and eventually sleep.
When morning comes, Tuk would be the one cooking breakfast for us. Then we would all walk to the beach to mandi laut. Bila puas, pergi beli ice cream kat tepi Petronas pump station, or beli nasi lemak. And then continue mandi laut again until surut around 5-ish. I really don't like it bila dah surut, the laut feels weird and makes me itchy. I remember everyone saying, memanglah hitam, mandi laut pagi ke petang. Well, memang pun. :)
Tuk would make a special nasi goreng called NASI GORENG BURGER!! Basically it's the usual fried rice but with small cubes of burger meat. It was so so heavenly. We asked Mum to make them every time we miss eating nasi goreng burger since Tuk had a stroke and couldn't really move about. It's actually the same, she cooked it the same way and everything. But it still feels and tastes different. We still wanted him to cook for us. Tuk masak sedapppp. Telur goreng pun boleh jadi sedap. Every time any of us ask him to cook something, he would put a thumbs up and say "SET!" with a big cheeky smile. Kind of like my dad. Hehe. And air milo would always be the nicest when made by him. Ingat lagi we all budak-budak ponteng puasa, he made air milo so that we can eat them with bread. Heaven, I tell you.
But we were all afraid of Nenek. Nenek memang garang. We would be running every where in the house, spraying water at each other, and with just one word from her, everyone would suddenly be sitting down, reading books or watching tele. Hehe. I remember being so scared of Nenek. She was beautiful, but she always looked so thin and frail although she was actually strong.
Nenek passed away of Alzheimer's. She really couldn't remember any of us. Except for my mum. She only trusted Mummy, as far as I can remember. She passed away when I was 13. I remember being so devastated because she was my first family member to go, so it was kind of like a first time for me to feel that way. To make it worse, it was during KYS's Family Day. It was past midnight when I got to Taman TKK. Everyone was asleep except a few uncles. That was the first time I saw them so weak, so heartbroken, so sad, that it made me shocked. And I saw her placed on the floor as they read Yassin in the dark, but I could still see their red, watery eyes. I couldn't bring myself to see her figure. There were no other places for me to sleep since I was late. So I had to sleep on her bed. It felt strange. I remember thinking, "No one else has been on this bed for years, except for Nenek. She would lie down here and ask for water and every time I want to salam her she would be lying here. And now it's empty, and I'm sleeping here!" I also remember telling myself to not be scared. They say after 3 days a person passes away, the soul would still be in the house to watch over relatives? I don't know how true that is.
I think Tuk passed away 2 years later. About the same month I think, or maybe near. I remember lots of tears, especially those who really took care of him over the years. It was an overnight weekend for me. We just got home from fetching me from KYS and were preparing to have a dinner out when Dad got a call. I have never seen him so urgent before. We skipped dinner and went straight to PD hospital, but we were too late. I think only one of the aunts saw him left. Everyone was crying next to his bed, but I remember just sitting at the corner and looking at them. You know the scenarios in the dramas or movies where they stood around the bed crying and the camera just has the nicest angle to see them. At that particular time, I was the camera. I saw it all. I remember lots of tears during the funeral. Some were unmanageable. I was scared looking at his pale face and I choked up, but I wanted to give him my last goodbye kiss. I didn't cry. One thing I can't do, cry in front of my family. There are only a few times I did and I can but at that time, I didn't. I felt I needed to be strong for them. But as always, in KYS, before I sleep I would remember both Tuk and Nenek and I would cry.
The year after, Raya was just not the same, it felt so strange. No one knows where to go and what to do and at the end of the season, you won't be able to meet everyone pun. A few years later, we managed. Like now, we would go back to Linggi and visit the kambing(s) and see the puppies and the turkeys. I say not only the kids that are excited, even we were! And of course we get to meet our big big other side of the family too. It has been a few years already since I set my eyes on that wonderful house in Taman TKK. The last time I did, the jungle opposite it was still scary, Nenek's flowers were all dry and gone, the house looked sad. Just sad. I even felt afraid to go in. How could I when even the gate would feel just so familiar. Burglars kept breaking in, taking the good TV, the still good old vacuum cleaner (it's a good brand, maybe that's why it was taken), the washing machine, the lights and fans! Seriously people, get a life.
All that will be changed. Dad told me they would be selling the house soon. They're trying to find a good and trustworthy buyer as the house means a lot to all of us. Dad said as they were cleaning the house, he found so many things still kept by Tuk. He found letters that were sent by him to Tuk when he was staying in the States. Tuk kept every single letter, apparently, and filed them together. There were also Tuk's clothes and kain pelekat. Photos and even birth certs! One thing went through my head when Dad told me all this: I wonder how Dad felt when he found the things left by Tuk. I never want to imagine.
Now, Adam and Ariz are going through what I went through when I was a much younger grandchild. Except they didn't go and mandi laut every weekend, hehe. Sebab tu diorang putih! haha! Mum always cooks the rice with a little bit of brown rice, for health reasons. The kids just love it so that asked their Mum to cook the rice the same way. But nope, it wasn't a success for them. They say it doesn't feel right and it just doesn't taste the same! Doesn't that seem familiar? Hehe. They want Nanna to do it, jugak.
Just like how we loved our nasi goreng burger.
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