SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

The weather was unbearably hot (it almost made me want to strip off all my clothing and head straight to the nearest river to cool myself) and suddenly without any warning, the rain fell hard. Out of nowhere, this beautiful rainbow appeared. It had been a while since I last saw a rainbow and like a small child, I was extremely excited. Too bad I didn't have a better camera (I still don't) to capture the amazing sight with. I called a few friends so they could share this fleeting moment with me. We were at the opposite sides of town but it made me really excited that we were looking at the same rainbow but from different angles. We were telling each other excitedly what we could see from where we were and I was not aware it was a double rainbow until one of my friends told me so. 'The twin' was not really visible from where I was standing in front of my house. Only after I took the pictures could I see its faint colours on the camera screen (does that man I am slightly colour blind?). Once, it was considered a taboo among the older generation Malays to point a finger at a rainbow. When I was a child, I was told that you could lose a finger (usually the forefinger) if you pointed at a rainbow (I'm glad I followed that advice and I am proud to say that I am the owner of ten beautifully self-manicured fingers). There have also been many folk tales and stories regarding rainbows. I especially like the ones about a pot of gold buried at the end of every rainbow and a prince coming down to earth to find his golden pail. Well, the rain that fell down this evening did not bring much respite from the scorching heat but the rainbow certainly did bring me a lot of joy and happiness. It makes me remember the beginning of a John Keat's poem, Endymion (don't ask me about the rest of the poem since I don't remember) and I have to say that years from now, each time I see a rainbow I will remember one Friday afternoon which coincidentally was Prophet Muhammad's birthday when the sky was suddenly graced by a rainbow's beauty.

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.