Ron woke up in the same room, with the same sound of rain pitter-pattering against the window, and the same throbbing ache on his head. As he scanned the room, the scene around him seemed to be a decade old. Memories from that time surfaced then fad...
Since the day I went over to say Hi, Elena and I grew closer each day and hung out almost every weekend. I would show her my new board games, and she would show me her paintings. We would exchange the marbles and Kuti-Kuti we collected and chase each other around the buildings for every silly reason. She paid no heed to my stuttering at all (something I was grateful for) and so I found it easy to be around her.
Elena loved to explore and would often dragged me along on her expeditions around the neighborhood. I always looked forward to my weekends, wondering what exciting fun ideas Elena might have when we see each other again..
I remembered that day, when the sky was greyish white and clouds were hanging low. Elena had gushed with excitement about a hidden path behind the stretch of vegetation near the quarry which, she claimed, led to a huge den. She had insisted that we ride on our bikes to visit the den and find out what animal it belonged to.
I contemplated on whether we should be riding since it looked like it might rain soon but Elena brushed off my worries with a wave of her hand, "Ron, it'll be so fun cycling in the cool breeze! Come on! Who knows, we might find some treasure today" she chirped. Elena tugged on my elbows, attempting to drag me away. I feigned a shrug and sighed loudly "Oh wells, I can't say No right?". I let her pull me away to our old-fashioned bicycles parked outside the door.
We waved goodbye to our parents and nodded cheekily when they made us promise to return home before dinner. Soon, we were on our bikes, cool breeze slamming in our faces as we sped past the shophouses and mama shops. Looking at each other, we yelled together "Weeeee!!" and laughed as we rode down the slope towards the quarry, enjoying the adrenaline from gravity's pull.
At that moment, I remembered thinking to myself, how lucky I was to have met Elena. I was not sure how I felt about her at that time, heck, I was just 11. All I know was that she was my only best friend. I was happy whenever I was with her, and I wanted to spend my time around her.
The breeze was fantastic that day, the wind was slapping at my ears and Elena's hair was dancing around her. I laughed when her lips caught a strand of hair causing her to stick out her tongue to spit it out. She made a face and laughed, her eyes formed a smiling crescent and I smiled too.
The clouds were low when we entered the vegetation, birds hiding on branches overhead echoed our laughter with coos and caws. Before we reached the clearing near the quarry, Elena led me around the main path to an ambiguous trail obscured by a stretch of fallen branches and tall grass. As we trekked in laboriously, I realized we were surrounded by the vegetation and broken branches were jutting out from the ground. "E-E-Elena, a-are you sure?" I stammered nervously. The main path where we came from had disappeared from our view.
Elena turned back as I grabbed one of the plants and twisted it around to make a knot. "Oh yes! That's a good idea! We should probably make some markings! Don't worry, its just straight ahead!" she said. She took my hand as we trudged forward, stopping along the way to mark our trail with whatever we could find.
As we exited the stretch of tall grass, we could see an old banyan tree. The sturdy branches stretched out in majestic waves, some hanging dangerously low. Around it, crickets and birds sang a melodious chorus. Underneath the low arch of the tree, a cave was dug out around the roots. A pile of withered branches and rocks laid in front like a strategic camouflage. We lingered near the entrance of the cave and saw that it was clearly a den. Pieces of scrap materials were strewn on the ground. Metal rings from tin cans, ragged scraps of cloth, bottle caps, random stones and chewed bark. However, no animals were insight.
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We decided to wait around while we have our lunch. We climbed up the lower branches and sat there munching on the sandwich Elena packed. "Ronny?", Elena swallowed a bite of her sandwich and cleared her throat "Why are you not playing with the other kids? You always avoid them when they come to say hi."
I avoided her gaze and looked down at my feet. "Was it because of your stutter?" she asked, as if she knew what I was thinking. I did not answer.
Elena reached into her pockets and tossed a bunch of stones to me. She said "If they laugh at you, throw a rock at them. If they are not your friends, then they are not mine too", then she took one stone and aimed it on the grass patch ahead. I chuckled and followed suit. We heard an unusual "thang" as our stones landed behind a patch of tall grass. "Ooh! What's that!" Elena stood up and began sliding down the branch towards the grass. I watched as she emerged with a triumphant look on her face. She climbed back up and showed me what she found.
She held out what appeared to be an old pocket watch with faded carvings on the cover. Inside, a slim hourglass was embedded in the middle of the clock face. We examined it curiously and debated on whether this was really a clock or an hourglass. There were no clock hands on the clock face and no real sand in the hourglass. The pocket watch looked worn and weathered, with the edges rusty and the rim chipping off. While it did not look at all valuable, it must be worth something.
Just then, Elena shoved the pocket watch to me and smiled mischievously "It's yours now!". Sensing that she must be up to no good, I shook my head and tried to give it back to her. She crossed her arms and beamed at me. Then she said "Look, I found this treasure for you! So now you owe me a promise". I smirked knowingly, "W-what now?".
"Tomorrow, We will go to Ahmad and Atiqah's house party" she announced like it was all set in stone. I was about to protest when we heard a rustle coming towards us. I took Elena's hand and slid us down and behind the old tree. We peeped out, trying to keep as quiet as we can. A black Mongrel with an orange underbelly came out from the grass and padded towards the den. Suddenly, it stopped, its sharp ears perked up as it caught a whiff of our presence.
Before I could stop her, Elena stepped out from behind the tree. She bent over with her hands stretched out towards the Mongrel. I watched in amusement as she spewed out a string of random food words at the dog, "Roti.. err...Goreng Pisang... ... Kopi... err... Ang Gu Kueh... Kaya-", the Mongrel strutted towards her at that moment and rolled around in the sand as a display of affection.
"Kaya! Aww! That's your name!" Elena giggled as Kaya the mongrel licked on her fingers. It had followed her home that day and she bragged to our parents for the entire week about how she found two treasures in a day.
While she had gifted the pocket watch to me, the greatest gift really came the next day when we attended our neighbours' birthday party - the day when I finally started socialising with other children in the neighbourhood; and even many other days later - when I realised that I was no longer stuttering.
