BY THE RIVERSIDE 1

My childhood home was near a river and before the government began supplying piped water to homes, that river was the main source of water for the villagers. I know that it sounds so 'pre-historic' to a lot of people nowadays but that was the actual truth. My Mum would go to the river almost daily to wash our clothes. When the water level went down, my second youngest brother, my cousin and I would tag along. We would take some food and there, we would have our small picnic. There was nothing elaborate and fancy about the picnic. Usually, it would be 'jemput-jemput', simple 'nasi goreng' or 'kuih tepek' cooked by my Mum (I'll write about these 'delicacies' in another post later but don't count too much on it). There would be an instant sandy beach spread before our own very eyes, sometimes even stretching to the middle of the river. The adults could go from one side of the river to the other easily. The water was clean and cool. The surrounding was beautiful and peaceful. You could see the little fish swimming in the crystal-clear water. By the bank of the river, bamboo and 'sentul' trees grew abundantly. Sometimes we would collect the fallen 'sentul' fruits from the trees. Our favourite activities were building 'nests' for the freshwater prawns and competing who could dig the deepest hole on the beach. It was fun splashing and playing in the water but it would have been better if I knew how to swim. I never understood why floating and swimming was problematic for me until later. I had learned how to swim properly (unsuccessfully nevertheless) but since I have scoliosis, breathing under water and coordination can be quite difficult for me. FYI, scoliosis is curvature of the spine which can be quite severe in certain cases (More about scoliosis in another post if I have time). I've been back to the place where my childhood home was a few times and the area around the river is as beautiful and peaceful as ever. The 'sentul' trees are nowhere to be seen but the 'magic' is still in the air. I wish I could let go of all my inhibitions and start acting like a small kid again; frolicking in the cool water and doing silly things without a single care. But I guess that wish will always remain a wish...