I remember back when I was about 12 years old, I took a Karate lesson during night time after school. After each of every lesson, my Sensei would send me home but not at the stairs of my house, it was more like a couple of hundred meters from my house at the edge of a jambatan gantung, a Kampung bridge across the small Liawan river. So I would walk down there and looked around, sometimes stumble, but most of the time scared. My heart would be pumping hard while walking through the depth of nights, but I’m greatful that I’ve experience it and it made them a wonderful memory.
There was a tree, though. A very special tree for me. I don’t know if you believe this but, every time I was walking across the bridge, the tree would suddenly turned in to a Christmas tree. One can see all the fireflies would fly and gather there making it shines similar to a Christmas tree, filled with color lights and blinking all night long. There was a special feeling about that but I would never stop and took the time to enjoy that scene. The moment you get that special feeling makes the night even scarier. The sense will tell you, there is something wrong about it and you will start to have goosebumps.
I want to actually enjoy watching the tree and the fireflies but I failed in every attempt, too hardcore for a 12 years old. There was a time when my friends and I went to check out the tree but nothing happened. No fireflies, no Christmas tree and no nothing. I wonder why? Btw, that place actually has its own tales. Scary ones to be exact.
It happened every night until I was 14 when the tree got washed out by the raging stormy flood in the 96. I never saw fireflies since then. I guess not many people experienced that and I for one, pity some of the young ones who I believe don’t even know what is a firefly. Not just fireflies, lots of other beauty of nature I used to see back then, are now disappeared. NOT even a bettlebug. You know that small red little bug with black dots on its back. And there was this square shaped bug, sometimes yellowish, sometimes whitish.. gosh, I miss the old times.
I used to go play in the bushes searching for insects and plants. Remembering back, there was a lot of names I hardly hear people saying them now such as rumput sundal, kucingan, jarak, etc. I can’t recall the name for that plant which has a purplish bud-kinda-flower and its leaves can shy shy one…oh shit, it’s that rumput semalu!!! hahaha. I always ended up getting stings by bees. Funny but enjoyable because back then there was no computers, no counter strike, no DOTA, no nothing of such.
Such a wonderful memory.
