She Was Once a Girl Too

by Ivana Christina Jasman (Indonesia)

I didn't expect to find Malaysia

I got very antsy. The departure time had arrived but there was no sign of people prepared anything at the gate and there were no other passengers around this waiting room. I checked the information board again and assured myself that this was the right waiting room. Okay. Five minutes passed the departure time, I could not sit idly and decided to find other information. Right then, I heard “This is the final boarding call for…” my name! I grabbed my mother’s hand and ran for our life. “That is me! I am here!” I shouted so loudly but their expressions were just so calm and right away directed us to our plane. I was finally calmed down once I sit at the right seat and the plane departed. It was my first trip with my mother. My father passed away four months before our trip because of cancer. I then asked my mother to have a full check up at this specific hospital in Penang, Malaysia. On the other hand, after the funeral and legal stuffs, I thought my mother and I deserved a simple reward. My mother and I have similar personalities. We both are stubborn and we speak bluntly. Thus, I was very concerned about how this trip would be. I made sure to check on everything. However, you see, we began the trip with wrong gate there. Penang’s weather when we arrived was more humid than expected. The taxis were also not as modern as what we had in our home country, and I could list tons of things that did not go according to my initial plan. I just did not show it on my face to avoid my mother caught it up. Nevertheless, the trip had begun and I determined to make my mother’s mood good for the rest of this trip. Since it was too early for a lunch, I decided to visit this famous Pinang Peranakan Mansion. “This mansion recreates the typical home of a rich Baba a century ago. You can see this right side is…” The guide man was very informative, indeed. He explained each room and its function, down to each antique and their motifs meaning. The mansion itself was very pretty and unique as I have not seen any other places that had the same interiors. At one point, my mother began to walk further ahead. She touched a displayed blanket and stood silently. “What’s wrong, mom?” “This is exactly how my blanket was. This same pattern, same stitches technique, and I think the same textures. We were not very well back then, so my mother, your Sofina Grandma, stitched our blanket by hand. Your aunt and I had to share this together every night on a cramped bed. Right. Since buying fabric in bigger amount would be cheaper, she bought more of it. We had this same pattern not only for our clothes, but also skirts, blanket, curtains, and table cloth.” For the first time that day I heard a small laugh escaped her mouth. She then asked me to take photos of these antiques and rooms and sent it to my aunt. She also asked me to put explanations which mostly began with a “Do you remember this?” Walked further inside, the guide started to take pictures of us. By how happy she was inside and how exciting her smiles in our pictures I realized that this place was not only a tourist place for her. She walked down her memory lane. In some rooms, she talked more about her childhood memories. It made me realize, although in my whole lifetime I know her as my mother and the wife of my father, she was once a girl too. Over the plates of Char Kway Teow and glasses of ice tea, I saw her deeply and asked the question that had been bugging me ever since we left the mansion, “So, tell me. Are you a good girl when you were a teen?” With a soft smile and dreamy eyes she began her stories.