We arrived by car. It's been a while since we last saw her and the family. Glad that we did, we were soon taken by surprise at how quickly the throng of lost relatives surrounded us with their odd welcoming boisterousness.
Her afflictions have not been kind and she had to strap herself up in a rather bizarre contraption that elevated her from the ground much like a puppet while columns of piping encased the suspension lines. Within these pipes, warm medicinal vapours were being pumped into the structural form. The suit itself was somehow amazingly constructed to do just that, a therapeutic sauna of a kind circulating herbalic fumes. I could never understand the hocus- pocustry, if there was such a word, of traditional medicine but if it has brought hope to someone, I dared not argue.
She was glad to see us - the cousins elated at doing donuts around the parameter with our V8; scaring the neighbours with the incessant rumbling that came from a heavy-footed juvenile. The dust-filled terrain reminded me as to the real reason why I left this place but yet at the same time, I was glad to be somewhere familiar.
Their neighbours were expatriates who came down the stairs looking rather displeased until they caught sight of me. All decked for a night out, they awkwardly broke into conversation though I could care less if they had just walked away quietly without blinking an eye. Assuming that I was totally out of place, they began a conversation about work, lives and why I should come by for dinner one day. It seemed far too bizarre that in all that despair, elation and confusion - how all our lives are separate but yet intertwined by a mere introduction. What a twat of a couple!
Of course I stood there politely conversing about the most unnatural of topics to expatriates that had no understanding of the culture, language and conception of living in a foreign land but I acquiesced out of politeness; pretended that I gave a damn about what they thought and transformed myself into a social butterfly, skilled by years of experience. That was what I do best - kept the best part of my thoughts to myself; I hate peering into someone's soul always left wanting. Surely there must be something better to do than listen to strangers dignifying their self-impotence!
"Hadi! Wake up! Dreaming!?"
Dragging myself out of bed, I draped open the curtains, turned off the air-conditioning and made my way quietly to the bathroom.
And so the day begins again.
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2 comments:
That was so vivid, I felt like I was right there.
I don't hang with family very often. My family is basically my mother and her sisters. I rarely see anyone else. I used to think it was sad, but it is what it is.
One thing with me is I stopped holding my tongue. My family knows I will say what I want to.
Isn't it interesting how family say, "let's keep in touch" and we never do.
I guess that's sad.
It can be especially if you have a big family. My philosophy has always been, it takes two and if they reciprocate then I'd do the same.
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