Whispers

No no no , pass not to the red mist lake,
For  you are not wrong,
And have never been late,
Whispers of an old man , clung to a cane.

With rush of blood , to his cold head,
The past ,  the thoughts are never-ending,
Oh God,  he wonders,  can he  ever  grasp ?,
Grains of the sacred and  pure  golden sand.

Just a dream within a dream,
He deeply hopes all these  be,
Because when he wakes  up,
The real nightmare begins.

An Experience

       Keep your head down and use cover !

      That line is still fresh in my mind . It was uttered with a slight distress in the voice by a friend when we were in a middle of a paintball match 2 years ago.Paintball is a recreational sporting activity that mimics combat scenario where special equipments such as markers are used . A marker is a specialized gas powered  gun that shoots paint pellets .There is also a set of rules to be followed with umpires present to make sure every player follows the rules like  no shots allowed whenever you are within 5 metres from the opponent and you must also wear protective equipments such as face mask and knee pads before you can play.


      It was just like in the movies with all the camouflaged clothing and the 'popping' sounds  of markers firing.Smokes of different colours such as green and red were added into the arena for the 'extra '  effects. Moreover, the location of the match in a reserved area near a forest really set the feel of the game.At one moment of the match, my team which initially had 7 people  had already 'lost' 3 members during an ambush . We retreated and regrouped somewhere  behind the 'hot spots' and tried to think of a way to turn the table around.However , we  didn't know the status of the opponents  and  we decided anyway to split the remaining members into 2 groups. The plan was to get these groups of two to surround the other team. Lady luck must be on our side that day because  the plan did work  as it turned out , my two other teammates were later surrounded by the still full force opposing team who thought we moved in one big team so they were just focusing on the 2 teammates, ignoring to cover their backs which proved to be a 'fatal'  mistake.We were hiding in the bushes and sneaked up to the opponents  from the rear and from my position, they were sitting ducks.Suffice it to say, we won and it was  sweeter to me as that was my first time joining a match.

      We also brought back extra 'souvenirs' from the whole ordeal.Everyone got coin-sized red spots from the impacts of the paint pellets anywhere on the parts of  body not covered by the protective clothing or safety equipments.But all in all , it was  great and awesome fun !

Black hole & Supernova

Behind the shut wooden doors,Safri feels like everything moves in slow motion.He notices everything.How the hall is a tad too cool or as warm as his grandma's kitchen when grandma is baking 'akok' during the fasting month.He can't help but start to estimate how many people are absent from the lecture just from the unseated seats, and summarize what colours of the clothes predominate the hall today. Not to forget all the small chit chats here and there. The hall suddenly becomes the melting pot of all the smells available in a college where he could smell perfume,cologne and even 'attar' but thankfully very rarely body odours.


One thing for sure,something is slowly sapping away his energy whenever he is in the hall.He can't figure out what that is and to him it is still a mystery.Tiredness and sleepiness are inevitable. Resistance seems almost futile.Usually during this critically low energy levels,he would just ignore everything and just try to focus to stay awake.To him , the hall is a black hole of energy.

But then,there is one thing.The lecturer.An eccentric person with some weird habits such as knocking on the table where the computer sits on, doing a microphone check every 10 minutes or so and the students' favourite, giving a thousand-yard-stare into the back corner of the hall at a few random times.The lecturer is indeed a supernova ,interesting enough to keep Safri's attention in this black hole of energy.

Wolf of the freshwater

      I believe the title fits the above picture nicely. The fish in the aforementioned picture is called sebarau @ Hampala macrolepidota and many experienced Malaysian anglers call this fish the wolf of the freshwater, as it hunts in packs and has an aggressive feeding behavior. On the other hand , I can say that I am an avid angler and it has been my passion to fish and ‘hunt’ this fish among any other  elusive species so perhaps, I can relate myself as the wolf of the Malaysian freshwater as well. 

      Just looking at the picture will bring up all the memories of the fishing trip. It was during the peak of the rainy season which was around December, at a secluded small river in Kelantan. Two friends and I made the trip after a quick planning a few days beforehand.I can still feel the spirit of camaraderie among the three of us burning inside. Some might ask, why must it be during the rainy season. Well, this predatory ‘sebarau’ has a few special characteristics for example, it is most active during the rainy season ,early in the morning  and your chance of hooking one is very high when the sun comes out just after a heavy pour.

     I was very tired and exhausted of waiting for the moment for the fish to strike. Hours of casting and retrieving started tire out my arms but when the fish did strike the lure, no words could explain the gratitude of my happiness and satisfaction as all the efforts paid off. Even the attempt to land the fish is a battle in itself and with the help from  friends I managed to land it. A picture was taken with a tired smile on my face .This whole experience will never be forgotten and my passion for fishing just goes deeper.