My elder brother would be out of the house once the sun has risen from the eastern sky. He hardly brushed his teeth and I could not remember if he had ever taken any breakfast before going out. My mother was often worried about his whereabouts which he never disclosed and even if he did, it was not always the truth. Being the only son, he knew how much he had been dote upon by both my mother and grandma. My father, on the other hand, was cold to both of us but deep down in my heart, I knew he had just wanted to put on such a front so that we would be fearful of him and would keep out of trouble.
However, my brother was not one to be fearful of anybody. If at all he was home, he would make me cry by his teasing and annoying antics. The only way for me to take revenge was to call him all sorts of names that were within my vocabulary. He was too agile for me to catch up with him and too strong for me to give a good fight.
However, my brother was not one to be fearful of anybody. If at all he was home, he would make me cry by his teasing and annoying antics. The only way for me to take revenge was to call him all sorts of names that were within my vocabulary. He was too agile for me to catch up with him and too strong for me to give a good fight.
There was one place that my brother frequented at some point with a few of the neighbourhood boys. I happened to be around when they were chatting about it and having known about it, it brought much misery to my life because I had to keep it a top secret. Many times I intended to break this promise especially when my brother had irritated me to the extreme. Letting out the secret meant offence done not only to my brother but to the whole group of burly looking boys and I was intimidated by them.
It was the foothills of Gunung Lambak, a mountain about less than 1000 feet in height. Over there, the boys were trying to catch some parakeets found to be nesting in that area. These birds were of bright green and red in colours. After hours of bird watching and setting traps, the boys managed to catch a couple of these birds. My brother brought home one.
My mother saw it but could not open her mouth to scold him because she, herself was fascinated by it. She even helped him get a cage to put the lovely bird. Together I saw them making the bird feel at home. Although my mother was very worried about my brother spending time bird watching in the jungle with his friends, there was not much she could do actually. She had to take the ‘soft approach’ towards tackling the problem. Her first step was to allow him have this hobby, hoping that it could keep him at home. However, her hopes were soon dashed.
My mother saw it but could not open her mouth to scold him because she, herself was fascinated by it. She even helped him get a cage to put the lovely bird. Together I saw them making the bird feel at home. Although my mother was very worried about my brother spending time bird watching in the jungle with his friends, there was not much she could do actually. She had to take the ‘soft approach’ towards tackling the problem. Her first step was to allow him have this hobby, hoping that it could keep him at home. However, her hopes were soon dashed.
One late afternoon my brother came rushing home to his bird cage, startling almost everyone; even my father was awakened from his nap. There was a lot of commotion as he tried to retrieve the equally surprised bird from the cage. As the bird flew away from his grasp, it squawked and flapped so hard that some feathers dropped off.
Suddenly there was a loud shout from my brother which made me run towards him to see what was going on. Normally I was clever not to meddle with his affairs but I just could not control my curiosity. I saw that he had successfully got hold of the bird in his right hand, but what caught my eyes was something in his left hand which looked very familiar.
It was the tail of the parakeet. It might have been accidentally broken off due to his rough handling. My brother looked devastated; he looked as if the sky had fallen down. I jeered at his carelessness. He was so mad that he shouted at me and this made my mother come out of the bedroom to investigate what the noise was.
Feeling as sad as my brother, she consoled him by saying that it would soon grow back and told him to leave the bird alone. Birds or chickens are not to be held in the hands for too long because they will feel overheated, my mother added.
Suddenly there was a loud shout from my brother which made me run towards him to see what was going on. Normally I was clever not to meddle with his affairs but I just could not control my curiosity. I saw that he had successfully got hold of the bird in his right hand, but what caught my eyes was something in his left hand which looked very familiar.
It was the tail of the parakeet. It might have been accidentally broken off due to his rough handling. My brother looked devastated; he looked as if the sky had fallen down. I jeered at his carelessness. He was so mad that he shouted at me and this made my mother come out of the bedroom to investigate what the noise was.
Feeling as sad as my brother, she consoled him by saying that it would soon grow back and told him to leave the bird alone. Birds or chickens are not to be held in the hands for too long because they will feel overheated, my mother added.
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