i was walking alone in the woods bare-footed,
the earth was rough...hidden dangers lurked beneath the fallen leaves covering my path.
my legs were scarred and bleeding,
i needed a refuge,
a resting place.

and suddenly i saw a white wall.
it wasn' as tall as the trees surrounding me...but just a few inches above my height.
it stood there alone, white and pure among the midst of tall looking trees.
the wall beckoned to me, i approached it warily.
it claimed that it would provide me shelter and security, if only i promised to stay with it.
i touched the white and smooth surface, pondering what to do...
and finally declared that this shall be my refuge, my resting place.
and so i leaned against the wall.
it felt icing cold...
but i was certain that i could create warmth by staying with it.

and so i settled down with the wall...not wandering alone in the woods anymore.
there were times when i was sad and there were times when i was happy,
i shared everything with this new friend of mine.
but slowly i realized that it was all futile...
all i could hear was the echo of my voice.
it would not cry with me when i was sad,
it would not jump in joy with me when i was happy.
there was no trace of emotion,
i felt a sudden surge of loneliness...

1 day, i was being attacked.
i ran as fast my feet could bring me to the wall to seek refuge,
leaning hard against the wall, i hoped that it would ward them away.
i knew that what separated me from danger was only a thin layer of brick and paint.
but still, i had full faith in this friend of mine.
it promised to protect me.

what a fool i was,
the wall would only stand there and watch as i was being striked at.
as if it was a silent watcher...
it was there all the time, but it would not lend a helping hand.
it did not budge at all, it's base securely attached to the ground.
all it did was stood there and watch.
there were no arms that wrapped around me when i needed comfort the most,
realizing this, i hugged myself, leaned on the wall and cried myself to sleep...

incidents like this happened again,
and the wall would just stand there and watch.
not a word uttered or a trace of emotion showed.
when i questioned it, it would avoid the topic or just remain silent.

i decided to leave 1 day, for i've lost my faith in the wall..
it was not my refuge; it would never be.
as i was walking away, i looked around for 1 last time..
1 last longing look at the familiar environment that i've spent my days and nights with,
and my eyes finally landed on the wall.
it still did not budge an inch, standing there with much dignity and pride.

i left and trudged along the paths in the woods and found a trail.
excited, i started down the trail and saw a village,
it was filled with laughter and joy,
there were houses and people.
i've finally found a place where i belonged.

living there, i'd think of the wall occasionally,
it was once my one and only true friend.
and so i decided to pay my old pal a visit.
i back trailed into the woods to where i've 1st met my friend
but i couldn't help but gape at the sight of it.
the wall was still standing still there,
but perhaps with a new bunch of friends.
it was now full of graffiti and stains.

i carressed the surface that was once so familiar to me,
but some how it felt so different.
it looks so familiar, but yet so alien.
and i knew that it was no longer the same...

if the wall had a personality, it's been stained by all the graffitis and dirt.
if the wall could speak, it spoke of a different language - 1 that was never of it's own.

gone was the white and pure wall i've known, replaced by some unknown hybrid that looked saddening and lost.
my eyes started to sting at this point,
i thanked the wall for always being at my side, for listening silently to my prayers, and for always being a shoulder i could lean on.

that said, i turned and walked down the trail,
never looking back again.

silly

Saturday, August 6, 2005

9:54 PM | 0 Comments

this is a story about a silly boy who ran away from home.
he stomped out from his house with just his wallet and a handphone.
not knowing where to go, he wandered along the dark streets on his own.

engulfed by loneliness and frustration, he miss called his friends to see if anyone was still awake.
when he was starting to feel despair, thank god a friend replied quick.
they chatted on the phone while the boy walked along the streets.
he poured out his heart to his friend, saying that he has decided not to go home.
he felt the urge to be independant, to not rely on his parents no more.
the friend saw no point in this, as the boy's thinking was clouded by emotions.
and so they talked and talked and talked, about their lives, dreams and frustration.

suddenly, the boy realized that it was wrong to have run away from home.
it was past 2 a.m, and the boy walked quickly with his friend with him on the phone.
the streets were dark and they both sensed the dangers lurking around the corners.
the boy quickened his pace, but suddenly realized he was being trailed.
he cursed as he still had another 100 meter or so to reach safety zone.
he acted fast and sprinted towards his friend's house nearby.
without hesitation he hid his phone behind the fence out of sight but there was not enough time to do the same with his wallet.

it was then, the 2 malay stalkers on bike emerged from the dark.
they demanded that the boy walked over to their side of the street.
the boy knew he was in danger and refused to comply.
1 of the malays came down from the bike, eyeing the boy's pockets with a helmet in hand,
the boy was alert and was in a pose ready to defend himself if he was attacked.
he pointed to his friend's house and claimed that it was his, while calling out to his friend.
the robbers started to back away thinking that he was calling for his family members.
they hopped on the bike and sped down the quiet street, constantly looking back at the boy.
seeing this, the boy grabbed his handphone and started the longest 100m sprint back home.
sweat trickled down his face as he realized that never had he felt such a huge desire to be at home.
at the sight of his house gate, he knew that he has reached his finishing line.
never in his whole life has he felt so relieved to be behind the gates of his house.
they used to be bars locking him into a jail; but now they served as a high wall providing him refuge.

the boy still dreams of being independant, but he'll think twice before he takes any harsh actions.


in case you're wondering, it's a true story.
i'm sharing this story with my friends so that we would be cautious and never try to venture out in the dark alone. warn your loved ones as well.
if the boy wasn't clever and alert enough, he might not have been able to cross the finishing line.
his friend would've been calling the ambulance instead of calling him.

so for now, lesson learnt.

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