In contrast to my previous post, although many things have change, some things thankfully have remained the same. Home is when you can find the light switch in a dark room (literally!). I can reach my hand out, at the right height and distance for my fingers to find the right light switch. It has always been in the same spot since birth - so one needs not working eyes in the morning to light up the room.
Home is when upon your arrival, your favourite fruits are laid on the table, happily waiting to be devoured. Home is when you can happily sprawl out on the couch in front of the television to take an afternoon nap in your pyjamas without an ounce of guilt. Home is Saturday night dinners - when the big family gathers around the dinner table to exchange stories from the past week. Unfiltered,warts and all. It is when I find comfort in my seat around the table despite being absent for a year. And home is when we pray as a family - standing before our Lord with humility and unity.
Home is when my aunt says, "You are going to be 27 already? We are practically the same age!" And it is when I see my once little baby cousins now grown up to become full blown teenagers - acne, moody demeanour and all. Home is my grandmother's laughter - the sort that fills up an entire room. And it is also the stillness of the house in the late afternoons when the everyone is resting in their respective rooms. Especially, when it rains. The familiar smell of rain, the sound of thunder rumbling over the rooftops, the spark of lightning through the window and the fact that we never get TV signal in stormy weather - that is home.
It is very difficult to figure out what to do when I come back here. A part of me wants to explore, eat everything that I can get my hands on in the short time I have, meet everyone that I know and speedily soak in the sights and sounds of Malaysia. But another part of me just wants to cocoon myself in my house and be still. To just be where my loved ones are, because I am afraid that if I flinch, these precious moments will quickly pass me by.
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