That dear old man
Boy... Am I getting over-emotional or what..?
My eyes were fixed on the TV while making dinner. It was a sitcom, for Pete’s sake… and my eyes started stinging when the scene zoomed into an old couple in a restaurant.
A kind-looking old man asked his wife to look at something in a distant, as she faced the direction he has pointed, he quickly placed a red rose in an empty vase on their table. The old lady turned back and discovered the sweet rose… has that most beautiful smile on her face as she reached out for her old fellow for a hug.
I have no idea why it affected me so much… that sweet touch of romance? The companionship that stays beyond old age? Or maybe it’s the fact that an old lady got herself a rose where I don’t even get a stem at all?
Whenever I saw an old couple on the streets, hands in hands, a smile will spread across my face. How rare, I wonder aloud to my friends, that they still remember the romance ritual of holding hands, despite all those eventful decades.
My parents aren’t exactly the ‘hold hands’ type. My dad‘s most obvious affection displays are those little comments about her new hairstyle and her cooking. I have never seen him buying anything for her- well, to be fair… he doesn’t even buy stuff for himself. I think the only transactions he has with merchants… happen within 3km vicinity and the purchases usually consist of coffee, food, newspaper and of course, his sidekick- Consulate.
I guess the ability to show affections openly is something that our older generation lacks. Whenever Dad pretend to kiss Mom in front of us, she will be squealing with disgust, struggling and pushing him away… where I know there’s a genuine laugh behind all the wrestling. We usually watch in delight- like observing the lion and his lioness having a playful game of courtship.
Boy… I miss home…
Perhaps, when we are old, when career, wealth and success no longer matter as much and all we need to have, to pass the remaining days of our life, is a little companion by our side.
Someone who knew exactly what you have been through, he will laugh along with you on those silly little mistakes that both of you have made in those younger days.
He will squeeze your hands tightly when you reminisce about the loved ones you lost along those years.
You two will share a secret smile when you see a young couple making out in their car, thinking about those days when your sexual desires were so intense~ ah… those naughty escapades…
I am all out to experience life, in all best ways I know of, with all the courage I possess. Ask me how my life is. I can reply in an instant~ It is excellent.
It flows the way it should. The way I will it to be. It may not be smooth at times but I survived the storms and rode out to the sun.
But there were times when I sat down crestfallen, disillusioned by life’s treacheries and callousness; I will wish for that old trusty companion by my side then. Cos if he is here with me, I will no longer need to keep the tears to myself.
And he will tease me with a twinkle in his kind old eyes:-
“Silly girl, you know that nothing really matters in the end. It’s just Life, our dear old friend. And you have me... right till the end of the journey…”
